About Us

Mission Statement

The Tompkins County Public Library serves community residents at each stage of their lives by providing free and open access to the world's wisdom, knowledge, and information. The library, through its collections and professional services, fosters an informed, civic-minded community and contributes to the educational, cultural, and economic well-being of the County.

— Adopted September 26, 2006

We provide more than 244,000 items in our handsome new facility, and open the doors to the rest of the world via free Internet access and interlibrary loans.

To help you navigate our virtual sea of resources, we employ professional librarians who welcome your questions and challenges. We serve children, teens, adults, seniors and those with special needs of all kinds.

Our services reach beyond our walls into community reading centers and online services accessed from anywhere in the world.

This is your library. We hope you find whatever you seek here. Please let us know how we can help.

Customer Service Principles

The staff of the Tompkins County Public Library is committed to carrying out the mission of the library through exceptional customer service. We will serve our library users in a friendly, courteous and respectful manner. We will provide prompt attention and service, accurate and clear information and results which meet or exceed expectations.

— Adopted May 5, 2004
Tompkins County Public Library Staff

Organizational Values of the Library Staff

We agree that the following five values are of most importance to us:

• Respect one another
• Communicate openly with one another
• Cooperate and mutually support one another
• Provide good customer service: be courteous, friendly, efficient
• Be self-motivated, professional, responsible