“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.”

— L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island

With May now gone, summer is in full view. At your library, we've been working for months to prepare for summer. We've been planning free events, giveaways, raffles, and programming for folks of all ages.

Our action-packed June includes the kick-off to Summer Reading, where this year's theme is "Color Our World."  We're also launching a new series called The Gay Agenda which focuses on important queer-centric issues leading up to Ithaca Pride. 

June is also Audiobook Appreciation Month, so here's a reminder that TCPL has thousands of audiobooks on CDs at your library, and thousands more you can access using your library card through Libby and Hoopla.

Summer is a chance to explore the world around you, satisfy curiosity, engage in adventure, and make lasting memories.

This summer here at your library we're launching "Color Our World," which aims to help people of all ages go on a journey of art and creativity through summer reading and activities.

The celebration kicks off Friday, June 13 with a Crafternoon and Celebration for all ages from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. There will be music, snacks, and a free book to start your summer reading journey. Kids and families will also be able to pick up a copy of a coloring and activity book, featuring Hue the Chameleon, designed by our Youth Services team, to start their Summer Reading Challenge for a chance at prizes.

Adults and teens can grab a raffle entry card where you can review a book through writing or drawing!

Hue the Chameleon, illustration by TCPL librarian Kat Savage, Head of Youth Services

“We've got the programming summer-joy equivalent of staying out until the streetlights go on and drinking from the garden hose for the generations that remember such things"
-Judd Karlman, Head of Adult Services at TCPL

Also in June, the Summer Reading program will host a SPLAT Sumthin' Paint Party for kids and teens on Saturday, June 28.

And on Thursday, June 26 there is a chance to explore Ithaca's culture with History's a Drag: The History of Ithaca's Drag Scene with Tilia Cordata, PhD.

There are also free multiweek programs kicking off in June. Follow the below links to save your spot!

Teen Creative Writing Workshop
Tuesdays, 5:30 - 5:30 p.m.
beginning June 10

SingSong Music Class
Thursdays, 10:00 - 10:45 a.m.
beginning June 17

TCPL is putting Pride front and center with The Gay Agenda, starting Saturday, June 7. The series will include a resource fair, Gender-Affirming Clothing Closet pop-up, an analysis of queer cinema, a workshop on ways allies can support siblings, and other information sessions.

We'll also have recurring programs like our LGBTQIA+ Youth Group every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. and the Queer Craft Club on Monday, June 9 which this month will help zhuzh up Pride finery and clothes that need a little extra sparkle.

TCPL will also have a presence at Ithaca Pride 2025 to share more about what your library has to offer for everyone. Come see our table on Sunday, June 15!

We are happy to announce our new program for community volunteers. We will soon be inviting those interested in volunteering at TCPL to join our new Program Partners. This volunteer program is based on specific department and program needs. Stay tuned for the application process to be rolled out.  

TCPL is delighted to once again partner with Challenge Industries for an internship program that allows the opportunity to gain educational credits and helps the library. The library has a long tradition of partnering with Challenge and we are delighted to have this program offered again. 

We are also continuing to work with FE Technologies, the vendor that designed our RFID system and gates, and the County Facilities team for changes that are necessary to open the Circulation Desk.

The Howard P. Hartnett Circulation Desk in the main entrance and lobby, with the RFID gates on the right.

County Facilities is also putting together plans to refresh the outside of TCPL ahead of the 25th anniversary of our move to East Green Street. The refresh will include painting, replacing worn awnings, and more. Thank you to County Facilities for maintaining the library!

On May 27, the Library's Board of Trustees welcomed six new members, as part of its expansion to 15 total members. The Board is working with the County Legislature to approve two more members soon. We are very appreciative of those willing to volunteer their time for this important role serving the library and the community we all call home!

Lastly, just a reminder that everyone is welcome at TCPL. We have a wonderful line up of programs for June from Pride month activities to a community reading of the U.S. Constitution planned for June 14! We hope to see you at the library.

- Susan Currie, Interim Library Director

Want a book you don't see in our collection? You can suggest a title on our website!

The Friends of TCPL Book Sale in May was a rousing success, raising $268,575!

On the opening day of the sale, people were lined up as early as 3:30 a.m. to save their spot in line. At one point, the line stretched all the way up Esty Street to N. Fulton Street, then around the block to W. Court Street! One person described it as a Scholastic Book Fair for grown-ups.

A glimpse at the busy opening day of the Spring 2025 Friends of the Library Book Sale!

More than 150 volunteers contributed 14,312 hours to prepare for and staff the sale. The spring sale began with 235,874 books, DVDs, CDs, comics, puzzles, games and more donated by the community. Before the sale opened to the public, TCPL and other local and school libraries selected 3,892 items—free of charge—to add to their collections. More than 12,560 people came to shop during the three weekends of the sale.

Afterward, local non-profits took 762 of the unsold books and 24 huge boxes (an estimated 12 tons!) were sent to Zoom Books, a Canadian company that will sort them for resale, donation, or sustainable recycling, and share a portion of any income with the Friends.

One of the 24 large boxes (known as Gaylord Pallet Boxes) sent to Zoom Books after the sale.

Funds raised from the Friends Book Sales provide major annual grants to TCPL and the Finger Lakes Library System, and smaller awards to other libraries in the county, local non-profit organizations for literacy and reading projects, and scholarships for library science students.

The Friends will begin accepting donations for the Fall Sale on Saturday, June 7.

Mark your calendar now for the Fall Book Sale:

• October 11-13
• October 18-20
• October 25-28

Your library extends beyond just the walls of our building on East Green Street.  May saw outreach efforts from Slaterville Springs all the way to Syracuse! 

TCPL staff spent much of May visiting more than a dozen local schools to talk to students and teachers about Summer Reading (and deliver cool goodies like color-changing pencils and bookmarks!)

Head of Youth Services Kat and Youth Services Librarian Kai at Ithaca High School on May 19.

We also spent time in May teaching the community about the Makerspace and the potential it provides for local creators to transform things that exist in their imagination into real life creations.

Circulation Clerk Shelby and Adult Services Librarian Cady at Maker Faire Syracuse on May 3.

Our May outreach ended on a high note with staff joining members of TCPL's Board of Trustees, Friends of the Library, and even a couple pups to march in the Ithaca Festival Parade!

We also had a table at the Festival where people could learn about programs your library offers for free for everyone. Our staff were even able to sign people up for library cards on the spot!

We're already looking ahead to outreach efforts in June, which will include a community survey as we build a new strategic plan for the Library.

Circulation Library Assistant Melisa at the TCPL booth at Ithaca Festival.

In July, our Adult Services team will begin offering a book discussion group at Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services, with the help of funding from a Finger Lakes Library System Outreach Mini-Grant.

Foundation staff are grateful to our dads for encouraging us to become avid readers. 

This Father's Day, why not celebrate your dad with a gift in his honor or memory to TCPL?

A tribute gift in support of TCPL is a wonderful way to celebrate a special event, honor someone you respect, or memorialize a life that has impacted you. While honoring the past and commemorating the present, a tribute gift helps ensure a future for an institution and ideals you and your loved ones believe in.

 When you make a tribute gift, we will also notify the person you're honoring or the family of the person you are memorializing, to let them know of your gift.

Foundation Director Kerry Barnes with her father, Paul

With a tribute gift of $50 or more, you can also have a commemorative bookplate inserted into a book in the Library's collection. This striking tribute will endure as long as the book remains in TCPL's collection. We can work with you to find an appropriate book. Click here to make a tribute gift online.

Foundation Assistant Director Susanna Drbal, center,  with her father, Richard

Special tribute or memorial funds can also be established to allow the purchase of a collection of materials that reflect the essence and impact of the person being honored. And, for an ongoing tribute, you can establish an endowed fund, which generates annual income to allow yearly additions to the collection at TCPL.

Your library is available to everyone, even those who cannot make it to the physical building.

The Library by Mail service provides books and other library materials to Tompkins County residents who are physically unable to make it to the Library.

The service is free for patrons, thanks to funding from Cornell University. 

May was a month dominated by the amazing Friends of the Library Book Sale, which is such an important part of what it takes to fund not only TCPL, but also Finger Lakes Library System and local literacy programs. But, the Book Sale wasn't the only thing going on for library lovers!

On May 10, we opened up our Makerspace for a Fabric Collage, that helped people transform scraps of fabric, buttons, or anything else they chose into unique works of art!

The Fabric Collage workshop on May 10.

Your library also teamed up with Project Level the Field from Cornell University to offer two sessions for high school students to help guide them through the college application process. We hope to be able to offer these important sessions again in the future!

You will also find a new art exhibition on display on the Avenue of the Friends that combines portraits with storytelling, vulnerability, and the passage of time.

To fully appreciate Aging Ithacans by Yamilka Portorreal, it's best to take one of the printed guides from tables along the Avenue, and stroll to each portrait hung along the walls. The books contain the stories of the Ithacans featured in the portraits, revealed in candid and deeply personal interviews with the artist at McGraw House and Lifelong.

A portrait of Ralph Edgar Moss, part of the Aging Ithacans art exhibit on display on the Avenue of the Friends through August.

We ended the month with important sessions about two different types of growing on Saturday, May 31.

The first was the 0-60 Get Growing Challenge and Seed Swap, where the Creator of the 15 Minute Gardener taught those in attendance small, manageable steps to grow their own food. Seeds left over from the event were donated to the Salutations Seed Library, which is part of the Library of Things and co-sponsored by TCPL, the Master Gardeners of Tompkins County, and Cornell Climate Stewards.

Local gardeners gathered in the BorgWarner Community Room on May 31 to learn some easy steps to get a vegetable garden growing, as well as swap seeds.

In Youth Services, lead baby and storytime librarian Cassie hosted parents and caregivers for a workshop on growing reading and learning skills. Building a Strong Foundation for Reading: Early Literacy at Home, made possible by funding from the 2025 Finger Lakes Library System Literacy Mini-Grant, empowered those who care for young children with practical tips and simple activities for everyday life to help encourage learning and literacy.

Have a question about your library, or a suggestion for services you would like us to add? Let us know in the Contact Us page on tcpl.org!