Hyde Library was originally Hyde Technical School and Free Library. The foundation stone was laid in 1897 and it opened in 1899 replacing the former Mechanics Institute. In 2015 library services were moved into the Town Hall and the building abandoned. It is not listed and is now in a terrible state.

The terracotta ornamentation on the building is lavish and is topped-off by a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of the arts, trade, and strategy, holding a book.