Latest Posts

2018 Income Tax Forms and Instruction Booklets Available at Tompkins County Public Library

UPDATED 2/13/2019! 

The following forms and booklets are now available at TCPL, and are located at our Copy Center.

Winter is upon us, and what better way to fill cozy hours indoors than by learning and creating? We are pleased to announce our partnership with Creativebug, a new database available to TCPL cardholders. Creativebug, found on our Research Databases page, allows free access to over a thousand award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.

Join us for the 2018 Community Read discussion of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Shirley Jackson's deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family takes readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, macabre humor, and gothic atmosphere.

Hello from the TCPL Makerspace!
Today I want to share one of our tools with you, the Epilog Helix Laser Cutter and Engraver! A versatile machine, the Epilog Laser can both cut and engrave many materials and objects. A few ways one could use the Epilog Laser:

TCPL’s Readathon, the annual read-out-loud fundraising event, will take place beginning at noon on Saturday, September 29 and will run for 24 hours straight, till noon on Sunday, September 30. In its sixth year, the Readathon enlists readers to raise funds for TCPL, culminating in a 24-hour celebration of reading out loud outside our building on Green Street. The goal for this year’s Readathon is $25,000, which will be used to purchase materials for our collection, such as books, movies, music, and more.

This week’s author spotlight is English writer, Neil Gaiman.  Gaiman is an accomplished writer of short fiction, novels, graphic novels, comics, and film.  I absolutely love the way Gaiman describes his characters and the worlds around them, creating dazzling visuals inside the reader’s head that stick with you long after you put the book down.  He manages to balance elements of fantasy, horror, and wit seamlessly, without clutching to the familiar clichés one would expect from those genres.  

Did you know that your soon-to-be-born baby is listening to you?

Here’s what we know from various studies (see links at the end of each quote to learn more): 

“Studies of newborn behavior show that babies get used to the music and voices they've heard in the womb. When your baby is born, if he hears sounds he's heard before birth, he may respond by appearing more alert and active. Your newborn may also pay more attention to your voice than any other.” Read more.

Good poetry fosters children’s love for language and helps them build literacy. Good poetry touches emotions. It is, therefore, a healthy way for children to express their emotions and deal with emotionally challenging situations. Good poetry sets off children’s imagination, enriches their world, and makes a space in which they can dream. Good poetry allows children to look at the world in a new way. Children obtain a wealth of developmental benefits from good poetry.

You may already know that the Library is offering a bevy of programs this summer, from Stories in the Park, to STEAM Crafternoon, to Creative Dance. But did you know that we also collaborate with community partners all over Ithaca share our love of reading, creating and hands-on fun?

TCPL offers test proctoring for students of all ages.  We have developed relationships with universities throughout the United States, in order to be certified to proctor all kinds of tests: online high school courses; real estate qualifying tests; banker promotional tests; and my favorite, a sailing captain’s qualifying test (with charts!)

Comment:  We are learning more and more screen time is bad for young kids, so as we limit it, maybe longer checkout times or renewal options for kids DVD.
Response: Recently we changed our renewal options so that all materials can be renewed once.

Summer Family Storytime (SFST) was born 2 years ago for those who can’t make it to our popular Stories in the Park program on Tuesday mornings due to scheduling conflicts.  The program is held on Saturday mornings at 11:00, and is basically a repeat of the previous Tuesday’s Stories in the Park program, but we meet inside, and I get to add a craft :) (which is practically impossible to do in the park. You never know how many people will show up - and how to cart all those supplies??).

Here are a few of the crafts we have enjoyed making at SFST so far this summer:

During the summer, Youth Services staff spend a lot of our energies reaching out to our local community organizations.  The library does not exist solely between our building’s walls - you may see us anywhere! Whether it’s visiting Cass Park summer camp, Coddington Community Center, or various Headstart locations or it’s hosting the GIAC Tiny Tots or BOCES Smith school students here at the library, we love bringing books and activities to all our communities’ children!  This year, we were excited to add Downtown Ithaca Childcare Center and Global Roots Play School to our schedule!

Have you visited our new Local History Room yet?  Located on the eastern side of the library, the Local History Room offers a wealth of material useful for genealogical research as well as general information about the history of Ithaca and the surrounding areas.