| Tompkins County Public Library | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1864[1] |
| Location | Ithaca, New York |
| Branches | 1 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 244,000[2] |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | 835,000[1] |
| Population served | 96,501 residents of Tompkins County[1] |
| Members | 47,000 registered borrowers[1] |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $3,436,953[3] |
| Director | Susan Currie[4] |
| Website | www.tcpl.org |
| Phone number | 607-272-4557 |
The Tompkins County Public Library, part of the Finger Lakes Library System,[5] is the public library for Tompkins County, New York, a county which includes Ithaca, New York, where are Ithaca College and Cornell University. The original Ithaca Free Library was a gift from Ezra Cornell, a local farmer, inventor, investor, Republican politician, and the founder of his eponymous university.
It is known for the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library Book Sale, a semiannual event which is billed as the third largest event of its type in the United States. The book sale is a major community event for residents of the area and students and faculty of Ithaca College and Cornell University. Some people even camp outside of the warehouse overnight before the first day of the sale. While some of these people are ardent bibliophiles looking to expand their own collections, many of them are used book dealers looking to purchase items at the low prices of the book sale and then resell them with a markup at their own businesses. For this reason, buyers are limited to fifty purchases per visit on the first day of the sale. At the end of the sale, leftover materials are donated to non-profit organizations, teachers, and home schoolers. The money earned from the sale is used to support the Tompkins County Public Library.[6]
It is a part of the Ithaca Discovery Trail.
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