Just over 100 years ago Charles Benjamin Reed Hazeltine donated $5000 in memory of his father Pardon.  The elder Hazeltine served as town supervisor and clerk during the 1830’s.  His will directed a library to be built as near as possible to the 5 corners in Busti and he directed the Town of Busti to provide suitable quarters for the books.  Funds from the estate of Fanny Jones were also used to establish the library.

On December 22, 1922 the library was granted a certificate to establish and in 1924 a new library opened in the Busti Town Hall. Trustees were elected to the library board, the original ones being Earl D. Andrews, Axel Levin, Fannie Jones, Stella Simmons and L. Joy Stoddard.  Busti Town Clerk LJ Bradway certified the meeting and recorded the election.  In 1934 a dedicated building was constructed on the site the library occupies now, in 1975 an addition was added and in 2004 the building was renovated to create more space for patrons and the growing library collection.  Currently the library houses over 15,000 books, 5,000 books on CDs and 2000 movies.

A Community Building has been added to expand the program space and create an area for the Author Series, play dates, book club meetings and other small gatherings.

The Hazeltine Public Library has new interior LED lights, exterior LED lights, a remodeled accessible bathroom, ADA entrance doors, 4 computers for public use; other renovations have set the stage for the next century of library service.