Tompkins County Public Library

Last updated
Tompkins County Public Library
Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca NY.jpg
Current location at the corner of Cayuga and Green Street
Tompkins County Public Library
Established1864 [1]
Location101 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York
Coordinates 42°26′18″N76°29′54″W / 42.43824°N 76.49831°W / 42.43824; -76.49831 Coordinates: 42°26′18″N76°29′54″W / 42.43824°N 76.49831°W / 42.43824; -76.49831
Branches1
Collection
Size264,508 [2]
Access and use
Circulation580,820 [1]
Population served101,564 (2012)
Members39,883 [1]
Other information
Budget$3.87 million (2014) [3]
DirectorAnnette Birdsall [4]
Website http://www.tcpl.org

Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) is the public library for residents of Tompkins County, New York. The library has one branch which is located in Ithaca, New York.

Contents

History

Cornell Free Library, Seneca and Tioga streets, 1864 to 1960. Cornell library ithaca engraving.jpg
Cornell Free Library, Seneca and Tioga streets, 1864 to 1960.
Tompkins County Public Library, 312 N. Cayuga Street, 1969 to 2000. Tompkins County Public Library old building in 1987.jpg
Tompkins County Public Library, 312 N. Cayuga Street, 1969 to 2000.

Ithaca's first public library was founded by Ezra Cornell as the Cornell Free Library and chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1864. [5] Circulation began on March 4, 1867. [5] It stood at the southeast corner of Seneca and Tioga streets from 1864 to 1960. [6] Early classes and commencement of Cornell University took place in the library. [5]

In 1967 the library was re-designated as the county's library when the county paid for the construction of a new $1.7 million building. This new building opened at 312 North Cayuga Street in February 1969. [5] [6]

By the 1990s, the library had outgrown the space at North Cayuga Street. In November 2000, the library moved to a renovated former Woolworths department store, which was double the size of the old building. This current building is located at the corner of Cayuga and Green Street (New York Route 79) just south of the Ithaca Commons. [6] [5] In November 2010 the library celebrated ten years in the current building. The Library began celebration for its Sesquicentennial in 2014. [5] As part of that celebration, a mural of founder Ezra Cornell was hung on the exterior wall of the library building in October 2016. [7]

Description

The Library serves as the Central Library of the five-county Finger Lakes Library System [8] and provides free and equal access to residents of Tompkins, Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Schuyler and Tioga counties.

TCPL hosts nearly one million visitors each year, making it the single, largest driver of traffic to downtown Ithaca. The library provides access to digital resources, including wireless internet access, databases and eBooks, as well as an extensive print collection. It also serves as the cultural hub of Tompkins County, providing museum quality art exhibits, opportunities for civic engagement and programs for children, teens and adults.

The library's primary budget allocation comes from Tompkins County, with additional support from the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation and The Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library. In November 2014, The Tompkins County Public Library Foundation announced a $2.75 million Campaign for a 21st Century Library in support of the construction of a digital literacy lab, a teen center, collection expansion and endowment building. [9] Another $1.4 million was granted in 2016 for the creation of a teen center and renovations to the interior. [10] Part of the Campaign for a 21st Century Library is the LEGO Library, which was led by Peter and Andrew McCracken. It features a 6' by 6' model of the library post-renovation. [11]

Support from the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library is funded by the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library Booksale. One of the largest events of its type in the United States, the booksale draws thousands to an Esty Street warehouse each year in search of books, records, CDs and DVDs provided through community donations. [12]

The Tompkins County Public Library is a part of the eight-site Ithaca Discovery Trail.

One of the reading areas of the library, with a painting of Ezra Cornell in the background Tompkins County Public Library reading area.jpg
One of the reading areas of the library, with a painting of Ezra Cornell in the background

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayuga Lake</span> Body of water

Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area and second largest in volume. It is just under 39 miles (63 km) long. Its average width is 1.7 miles (2.8 km), and it is 3.5 mi wide (5.6 km) at its widest point, near Aurora. It is approximately 435 ft deep (133 m) at its deepest point, and has over 95 miles (153 km) of shoreline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca, New York</span> City in New York, United States

Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named after the Greek island of Ithaca.

Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest glacial lake entirely within the state. It is promoted as being the lake trout capital of the world, and is host of the National Lake Trout Derby. Because of its depth and relative ease of access, the US Navy uses Seneca Lake to perform test and evaluation of equipment ranging from single element transducers to complex sonar arrays and systems. The lake takes its name from the Seneca nation of Native Americans. At the north end of Seneca Lake is the city of Geneva, New York, home of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, a division of Cornell University. At the south end of the lake is the village of Watkins Glen, New York, famed for auto racing and waterfalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seneca County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Seneca County is located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,814. The county seat is Waterloo. It became a one county in 1822, which currently remains in effect and uses one locations as county seats although the majority of Seneca County administrative offices are located in Waterloo. Therefore, most political sources list only Waterloo as the county seat. The county's name comes from the Seneca Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), who occupied part of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuyler County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Schuyler County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,898, making it the second-least populous county in New York. The county seat is the village of Watkins Glen. The name is in honor of General Philip Schuyler, one of the four major generals in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tompkins County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trumansburg, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several different ways; "Truman," however, was not one of them. The village's application for a post office established the present spelling. The Village of Trumansburg is located within the Town of Ulysses and is northwest of Ithaca, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Cornell</span> American businessman, founder of Western Union and Cornell University

Ezra Cornell was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as President of the New York Agriculture Society and as a New York State Senator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Park (Ithaca, New York)</span>

Stewart Park is a municipal park operated by the City of Ithaca, New York on the southern end of Cayuga Lake, the largest of New York's Finger Lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca Commons</span> Place of local interest in New York State

The Ithaca Commons is a two-block pedestrian mall in the business improvement district known as Downtown Ithaca that serves as the city's cultural and economic center. The Commons is a popular regional destination, and is filled with upscale restaurants and shops, public art, and frequent community festivals.

This is a list of trails in Ithaca, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit</span>

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc., usually referred to as TCAT, is a private, non-profit public transportation operator, created by Cornell University, Tompkins County, and the City of Ithaca to serve Tompkins County, New York. The vast majority of TCAT bus routes are based in the City of Ithaca and surrounding urban area. These routes serve Ithaca College, Cornell University, and Tompkins Cortland Community College. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 2,122,800, or about 6,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York's 23rd congressional district</span> U.S. House district for New York

New York’s 23rd congressional district is located in Upstate New York, and covers much of the Southern Tier. It extends along New York's border with Pennsylvania from the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County to the suburbs of Binghamton in Tioga County. The district includes three of the eleven Finger Lakes: Keuka Lake, Seneca Lake, and Cayuga Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 79</span> State highway in New York, US

New York State Route 79 (NY 79) is a 93.18-mile-long (149.96 km) east–west state highway in the Southern Tier of New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at the intersection with NY 414 near the southern end of Seneca Lake just northeast of Watkins Glen. Its eastern terminus is at the Pennsylvania state line in the town of Windsor in Broome County, where it connects to Pennsylvania Route 92 (PA 92). NY 79 passes through three regions; it starts in the Finger Lakes region, runs through Central New York and ends on the western fringes of the Catskills. The route is signed east–west, but from Whitney Point to the state line it runs in a north–south orientation and is signed north-south a few miles south of Center Village, a hamlet that is a few miles south of Harpursville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 89</span> State highway in central New York, US

New York State Route 89 (NY 89) is a north–south state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for 62.35 miles (100.34 km) from an intersection with NY 13, NY 34, and NY 96 in the Tompkins County city of Ithaca to an interchange with NY 104 in the Wayne County town of Wolcott. The route spans a total of three counties, connecting the heart of the Finger Lakes Region to a point 6 miles (10 km) south of Lake Ontario. Along the way, NY 89 intersects two regionally important highways: the conjoined routes of U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 5 in Seneca Falls and NY 31 in Savannah. NY 89 runs along the western edge of Cayuga Lake from Ithaca to Seneca Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York, Auburn and Lansing Railroad</span>

The New York, Auburn and Lansing Railroad, also known as the Ithaca-Auburn Short Line, was the only interurban line to operate in Tompkins County, New York.

William Henry Miller (1848–1922) was an American architect based in Ithaca, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagan Planet Walk</span> Solar System scale model

The Sciencenter's Sagan Planet Walk is a walkable scale model of the Solar System, located in Ithaca, New York. The model scales the entire Solar System—both planet size and distances between them—down to one five billionth of its actual size. The exhibition was originally created in 1997 in memory of Ithaca resident and Cornell Professor Carl Sagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca Bus Station</span>

Ithaca Bus Station, also referred to as Ithaca Bus Terminal, is an intercity bus station in Ithaca, the county seat and only city in Tompkins County, New York. The Prairie-style building, located west of North Fulton Street between West Seneca Street and West State Street, was designed by architect Frank J. Nies in 1912 as a train station of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. DL&W ceased passenger operations in 1942, and Greyhound Bus Lines acquired the station in 1967. The station building accommodates waiting area with seats, ticketing and package express office, and restrooms.
The station closed in October, 2018 due to construction, retirement of the station operators, and changing infrastructure in the area. Buses are now boarding downtown for the time being until long-term plans are made. The City of Ithaca designated the station as a local landmark in January, 2019.

Cayuga Medical Center, officially referred to as Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca and abbreviated as CMC, is a not-for-profit general hospital in Ithaca, New York, serving the residents of Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. The hospital has 204 beds in total, and is one of the largest hospitals in the Finger Lakes region and the Southern Tier.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Profile & History". Tompkins County Public Library. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  2. "About Us". Tompkins County Public Library. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  3. "TCLP Budget" (PDF).
  4. Mearhoff, Sarah (August 30, 2017). "Tompkins County Public Library BOT names new director, Currie retires after eight years". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History of TCPL". Tompkins County Public Library. Tompkins County Public Library. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 Nocella, Michael. "Tompkins County Public Library Celebrates 150th Anniversary". Ithaca.com. Ithaca Times. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  7. "Ezra adorns downtown Ithaca library wall". Cornell Chronicle. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  8. "Finger Lakes Library System | FLLS".
  9. "Tompkins County Public Library Foundation".
  10. Casler, Andrew (January 6, 2016). "$1.4M Tompkins library renovation OK'd". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  11. "TCPL LEGO Build".
  12. "Home | Booksale".