Archive: Around Town

The Finger Lakes Library System has a New Home (FLLS) will show off its new home today (September 25th) from 3-6pm.  FLLS is the part of local public libraries that you don't really see, but most library card holders enjoy various services from the system.  Considering the scope of services the system offers, the new building is a vast improvement over a corner of the Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) it previously occupied.

"If you use a library you are probably using our library system every day without realizing it," says FLLS Executive Director, Sarah Glogowski.  "Say you are in Lansing and you want a particular book that is not on Lansing's shelf.  You would put a hold on the item, and maybe Groton would send it to Lansing so you can check it out.  We are the ones that then deliver it from Groton to Lansing.  The Lansing staff would check it out to you. When you're done you could return it to Lansing and then we deliver it back to Groton.  It is very seamless."

FLLS was headquartered in TCPL for decades.  That limited the training the system could offer to member libraries, not all of whom can afford professional librarians.   That was one of the main drivers for getting a dedicated building with conference rooms for training.  FLLS obtained the old Treeforms warehouse on Dryden road, then made major renovations and additions to the building. 

In addition to offices and work spaces for FLLS's 20 employees, the new building has a dedicated sorting room next to a garage that houses FLLS's two vans.  The vans traverse all five counties every day to bring books and materials to and from individual libraries to satisfy inter-library loans.  This service is the backbone of the library system.  It also has a small collection of resources in its own stacks, items the member libraries don't carry, available for inter-library loan.  Larger libraries receive deliveries each day, while smaller ones may have deliveries twice a week.


Various training sessions will now be offered for professional member library staff as well as volunteers.  The Trumansburg library, for example, has over 120 volunteers.  FLLS also provides training for library trustees.

Public Library Systems were established in New York Education Law in the late 1950s to help local libraries by offering an economy of scale on materials and services smaller libraries might not be able to afford on their own.  In a sense FLLS is the BOCES of libraries.  Just as BOCES offers affordable services and classes school districts may not be able to afford to provide themselves, library systems provide shared resources to all public libraries within their areas of operation.  FLLS was established in 1958, and today it serves 33 public libraries across Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins Counties.  Library services are also provided to each county's jail, as well as four correctional facilities including Auburn Correctional Facility, a maximum security state prison.


"We provide services that, especially, the very small libraries in our system could never afford," says Glogowski.  "That could range from computer services to bulk buying of computers and technical support.  We provide Internet for the smaller libraries, and a catalog.  No library in our system could afford our library catalog.  It is all computerized, and it is the main thing that all the libraries really depend on in the delivery of books."

Every library system has to have an outreach librarian, a consultant who visits member libraries to offer help on programming, and serving children.  The system also employs an inter-library loan librarian.  Staff delivers and sorts books and other items, and catalogs materials including books and eBooks and e-audio books.  There are three staff members in the computer department to provide remote services to member libraries.  The system also provides reference services to the correctional facilities, where librarians are not allowed to access the Internet.



Glogowski says she would like to hire one more librarian soon, and the new building affords just enough room to accommodate that.  Eventually another addition may be needed if more staff is added in the future.

FLLS purchased the building in 2013.  The renovations and an addition were begun in 2014, and the staff moved into the finished building last January.  Glogowski and her staff will be on hand this afternoon to demonstrate new library services including 3D printing, a downloadable magazine service available at all local libraries, and show how gaming is used in local library programming.  Elected officials and staff from area not-for-profits have been invited to the open house, as well as staff, volunteers and librarians from all the member libraries.  The state librarian and staff has also been invited, and librarians from other libraries including local college libraries.

"We're very excited to be here," Glogowski says.

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