Tompkins County Public Library is announcing a scheduling change for its NARCAN training sessions with the REACH project. Starting February 6, the free information and Q&A sessions will move to the first Thursday of every month at 4:00 p.m. Free NARCAN will also be given to all in attendance. You can register for the training here.

The training is part of the Library’s Information Saves Lives project, which is funded by a grant from the Tompkins County Opioid Task Force. Other programs in February include:

• February 4: Meditation and Mindfulness with Anna Salamone of FireFly Farm Retreat. This program is held on the First Tuesday of every month in 2025.
• February 21: Trauma Informed Librarianship Workshop with Karina Hagelin
• February 22: Documentary Screening: Anonymous Sister (At Cinemapolis)

“Information Saves Lives is going incredibly well,” said project manager Sasha Raffloer. “The NARCAN vending machine is being used, the collection of ISL books has clearly been seeing a lot of interest, and patrons have thanked TCPL for doing this kind of work.”

Since its unveiling in November 2024, the NARCAN vending machine inside the Library has dispensed an average of about 12 to 15 boxes of the opioid overdose reversal drug per week. Each box contains two doses. Shortly after the machine’s unveiling, an anonymous donor gave $10,000 to the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation to continue offering NARCAN training past the end of the grant.

“This gift is so, so incredible,” Raffloer said. “I get a little misty-eyed every time I think about it. How special, to know that someone would give so much to make our community safer and to promote harm reduction practices. Addiction is an illness, it doesn't look a certain way, it can affect anyone, and it's not easy to recover from.”

Library Director Leslie Tabor says NARCAN was used to revive four people at TCPL in 2024. 

“Public libraries are committed to reducing stigma and providing resources without judgment,” Tabor said. “We want everyone to know that they can be empowered to help people too.”

You can learn more about the Information Saves Lives program and find local opioid and addiction resources at https://www.tcpl.org/information-saves-lives-patron-faqs.