2026 FLLS Annual Meeting Summary

October 15, 2026 Jenny Shonk

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2026 Annual Meeting Summary

Description: This post is a narrative-based accompaniment to our Annual Meeting in October and looks back on our accomplishments over the last year.

FLLS Board of Trustees

Stevan Knapp, President. Represents Seneca County, term expires December 2030.
Kathyrn ‘Kasia’ Maroney, Vice President. Represents Tompkins County, term expires December 2028.
Elaine Meyers, Secretary. Represents Cayuga County, term expires December 2030.
Martin Toombs, Treasurer. Represents Seneca County, term expires December 2030.
Patricia Schaffer, represents Tioga County, term expires December 2027.
Cynthia Mannino, represents Tompkins County, term expires December 2030.
Bonnie Thomas, represents Cayuga County, term expires December 2026.
Amy Dames, represents Cortland County, term expires December 2030.
Vacant, representative of Tioga County
Vacant, representative of Cortland County
Vacant, At-Large representative

Finger Lakes Library System Financials

January 2026 to September 2026

Receipts

Expenditures

Computer Network Services

On September 28, 2026 Nicholas Cisco joined the Computer Network Services department as our new ILS Administrator. He’s visited several libraries with more visits planned over the next couple of months. Between visits he’s learning the details of Polaris and will be working on training as we move into the future with Polaris Leap and Vega.

The CNS department’s main focus this year was bringing Polaris up to the most recent release. Rex Helwig joined us in May and helped upgrade our servers and schedule our upgrade to Polaris 8.1 which was completed in July.

In 2026, we did not do a Bulk Buy for new computer equipment. Supply for computer components including RAM, hard drives, and graphic processing chips led to extremely high pricing. Coupled with the lack of an Aggregate Buy contract between Dell and New York State, the availability of the type of computers we prefer and the high prices led us to postpone ordering to see if 2027 will bring more favorable conditions. We are committed to helping the member libraries maintain their current technology and will work to find the best pricing for replacement or repair if equipment fails.

At the beginning of October 2025, we had 46 open support tickets. During the year from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 there were 532 new tickets opened and 540 were resolved leaving us with 38 open tickets at the end of the period. We continue to work through all tickets.

OverDrive

The FLLS OverDrive collection features over 12,000 e-audiobooks, 26,000 e-books, and 6000 magazine titles for patrons to enjoy. As of September 2026, patrons have read or listened to 260,000 items, an increase of 25,000 items for the same time period in 2025. The collection is funded with Central Library Services Aid, member library and FLLS contributions.

In August, the Four County Library System joined our Reciprocal Lending Arrangement. This partnership allows FLLS patrons to access some e-content from the digital collections of the Four County, OWWL, and the Southern Tier Library systems.

Because our digital collection is different from a print collection, we curate with a focus on patron requests as well as current trends. To meet the growing demand for e-content, we strategically purchase a mix of lending models. Many titles, like those in our All Access Mystery and All Access Romance collections, are always available and require no holds or waiting. However, not all titles are available in lending models that allow for broad access. This creates a challenge as we strive to balance our community’s needs with the reality of our e-content budget. You can learn more about this in our blog, Eight Things to Know About Ebooks.

As e-book and e-audiobook usage and costs continue to grow, FLLS has joined with other systems to form the NYS eBook Working Group. This coalition is exploring how libraries can develop their digital collections alongside our profession’s core values of access, equity, intellectual freedom and privacy, public good, and sustainability. Because digital collection development is evolving (and is a relatively new skillset for librarians) the group has developed guidance and best practices for selectors. Advocacy for e-book legislation addressing reasonable pricing for libraries is also of interest to the working group.

Summer Reading

If you saw dinosaurs roaming the Finger Lakes this summer, there’s a good chance you were at one of our 33 member libraries. The 2026 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) theme, “Unearth a Story”, inspired many creative programs and partnerships with local organizations like the Sciencenter, the Museum of the Earth, local school districts and summer camps.

Dinosaurs Rock was a popular program brought to several of our libraries through a grant from the Community Foundation of Tompkins County! Pictured above, Mr. Brad shows fossils to kids at Cortland Free Library.

In 2026, over 13,000 patrons of all ages participated in summer programming. Libraries offered over 10,000 program opportunities for their communities! 4 of our member libraries were Summer Meals locations for youth.

Annie from the Sciencenter offered educational, engaging and super fun programs to promote STEAM at our libraries! In the picture above, she is demonstrating the properties of dry ice to a group of children at Seneca Falls Library.

The NYS Love Your Library Fund is used to support the Summer Reading Program. These funds are allocated to library systems who then distribute the funds to their members. In 2026, FLLS awarded $250 mini-grants to two libraries from each of the five counties to offset costs for summer reading program performers and presenters. The remaining funds were used to purchase a collection of professionally curated books celebrating America’s 250^th birthday that were raffled off at our April Summer Reading meeting.

Grant Funding for Libraries

IMLS Grant

FLLS wrapped up Year 2 of our IMLS project, the Museum-Library Collaboration on STEM Learning in the Finger Lakes, with the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY. Part of the work involved creating programming kits for member libraries to borrow. The SuperSpace Tiles kit, pictured below, encourages science and literacy learning as children build structures and stories about them.

child playing with super space tiles at the library

Family Literacy Mini-Grants

FLLS offers Family Literacy Mini-Grants to member libraries through NYS-funded outreach services. The mini-grants can be used for collection development, purchasing supplies and materials and to fund performers/presenters that support the library’s literacy work for at-risk youth ages birth-21 years. The 2026 grant cycle funded $7,124 in projects for 16 member libraries, including:

Adulting 101 Plus, Phillips Free Library (pictured below)
Dig Into Literacy, Apalachin Library
Music Classes to Support Early Literacy, Newfield Public Library

young adult library patrons gather around a car to learn about car maintenance — Young adults at the Phillips Free Library learned about car maintenance as part of the Adulting 101 classes.

Construction Grants

For FY 2025 – 2026, the Finger Lakes Library System Board of Trustees approved construction projects totaling $954,318 to three libraries. The projects are as follows:

Hazard Library (Poplar Ridge) – Phase 2 of the construction of a new 2 story library building, which will be an addition to the Opendore Museum. The new addition will be 2,763 square feet, with an architecturally sympathetic design with meets SHPO criteria. This is the largest phase of the construction of their new library. The library was awarded $720,900.
Peck Memorial Library (Marathon) – The entire library roof will be replaced with new architectural shingles. The original cast iron cresting, currently stored in the library’s attic, will be restored and reinstalled, returning the building to its original appearance and ensuring the building envelope is secure. The library was awarded $155,753.
Seneca Falls Library – An elevator modernization project will update the library’s elevator to ensure full ADA compliance and equitable access, while also enhancing durability, reliability, and safety, ultimately leading to quicker service, reduced operational costs, and long-term energy savings. The library was awarded $77,665.

Thank you to our State Senators and Assemblymembers who advocate for increased funding each year to the New York State Aid for Library Construction program. This money is so valuable for our member libraries to modernize their libraries, work on energy-saving items such as new heating systems, and complete accessibility projects such as ADA-compliant doors and walkways.

Aunt Flow Mini-Grants

For the second year in a row, we were able to offer Aunt Flow Mini-Grants. These grants help our members provide period products to underserved groups and individuals with disabilities in the FLLS service area. In 2026, 8 libraries representing all five counties received 34 boxes containing dispensers and bulk period products totaling $5,654. According to an applicant from last year’s cycle:

Patrons have been greatly relieved at having supplies available, and for free. Many folks either cannot afford these costly products, or they are caught unaware and unprepared. Furthermore, routinely seeing these items alleviates some of the stigma around them; these are normal, necessary products, and no one should be ashamed or embarrassed.

FLLS continues to stock period products in all bathrooms at the System headquarters. Aunt Flow is committed to ensuring everyone has access to period products in public.

Outreach Mini-Grants

Each year, the Outreach Mini-Grants (OMG) help our members provide library services and resources to underserved groups in the FLLS service area. Targeted populations include: people who are blind or who have a physical disability, seniors, people who have a developmental or learning disability, people living in institutionalized settings, members of ethnic or minority groups in need of special services, people who are educationally disadvantaged, people who are unemployed or underemployed, people who are geographically isolated, and at risk youth from birth to age 21.

Grant recipients are selected by the FLLS Coordinated Outreach Services Advisory Council (COSAC). We are beyond thankful for our COSAC members for their continued dedication and insight each year. As of May 2026, FLLS and COSAC have awarded over $200,497 in mini-grants for 150 recipients!

For the 2025-2026 grant cycle, 17 libraries received $23,635 to support programs, services, and collections. These projects have benefitted our communities primarily through arts & crafts programs, Summer Reading programs, intergenerational programs, and projects that help the community connect with nature. Community partnerships are vital to libraries and have helped these projects succeed. Our libraries partnered with a variety of organizations including local schools, an assisted living facility, a food pantry, a recovery center, an Arc chapter, and other types of nonprofits. Congratulations to our libraries on the success of their projects! Photos from some of the projects to follow.

2025-2026 Outreach Mini-Grant Projects

a gravel trail in the woods with benches — Edith B. Ford Memorial Library used grant funding to make their reading trail accessible for all.

a teacher helping students create art — Berkshire Free Library held Summer Reading programs and provided books to kids using OMG funds.

a woman holding a large yellow snake smiling next to a teen boy — Peck Memorial Library in Marathon used grant funds to host a variety of Summer Reading programs, like Dan the Snake Man.

a man smiles showing a poster for tech time — Seneca Falls Library brought Tech Talk virtual training to their community with OMG funds.

Cataloging & InterLibrary Loan

Technical Services Librarian Deborah Geier continues to import and edit bibliographic and authority records for new items in the catalog and replace older records, bringing them up to current standards, and catalog items not found in OCLC. She monitors interlibrary loan activities.

Arlene Krebs began working full-time as an ILL assistant in October 2025 and continues to fill interlibrary loan requests and pages when needed. Aimee Dorward has taken over all paging, requesting assistance as needed, and fills in for Arlene in the interlibrary loan department.

We have already filled 4,772 out-of-system interlibrary loan requests by the end of September 2026! For the same time period in 2025, 4,500 requests had been filled!

Continuing Education & Consulting

FLLS staff continue to provide expertise, advice, or referrals in all areas of librarianship to member library directors, staff, and trustees. We are always available to answer questions, assist with library issues, or listen to your concerns. Please continue to connect with us via phone or email.

In 2026, we have offered in-person and virtual sessions to meet a variety of needs and preferences. The annual in-person Summer Reading Meeting, our most popular learning opportunity for directors and staff, provides opportunities to prepare for Summer Reading and connect with colleagues. We also held other hands-on, in-person workshops focusing on book repair with Heather Adams and an art-based communication workshop with Mike Bishop.

Mike Bishop also facilitated this year’s System-Wide Community Read of the title, Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy by Shamichael Hallman. The in-person and virtual session brought together trustees, directors, and staff from FLLS member libraries and South Central Regional Library Council for two lively discussions! Each library retained a copy of the book in their collections and a book kit will be made available at the system.

In March 2026, Public Library Minimum Standard 4 (Policies) was updated to include a list of specific policies your library must have. At focus groups and on our Member Satisfaction Survey, libraries told us that they wanted support with their policy work as well as a chance to network in-person with other FLLS members. In August, we hosted Policy Palooza, an in-person working session where library directors and trustees gathered at FLLS to discuss the new requirements, conduct an audit of their library’s current policies, and share policy development tips and resources.

We continue to add to our professional book collection, which is specifically curated for directors, librarians, library staff and trustees. Suggestions are always welcome. Some recent additions include:

The Little Book of Boards: A Board Member’s Handbook for Small (and Very Small) Nonprofits by Erik Hanberg
The Little Book of Nonprofit Leadership : An Executive Director’s Handbook for Small (and Very Small) Nonprofits by Erik Hanberg
The Little Book of Gold: Fundraising For Small and Very Small Non-Profits by Erik Hanberg
Generative AI and Libraries: Claiming Our Place in the Center of a Shared Future by Michael Hanegan
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily Bender
The Digital Accessibility Handbook for Libraries by Carli Spina
Planning Library Spaces: A Practical Guide for Library Building Projects by Lauren Stara
Leading in Libraries: Perspectives from Lived Experiences by Maha Kumaran and Beth McNeil

Our virtual meetings are still going strong! Our monthly virtual meetings have continued to be popular and well attended. The Directors’ Meeting and the Member Library Support Group provide space for our member libraries to receive important updates, network, ask questions, and support each other!

Outreach & IDEA

In addition to our Outreach Grants (Outreach, Family Literacy and Aunt Flow), we also take part in other outreach opportunities. Thanks to the New York Immigration Coalition and New York State Library, we distributed hundreds of additional Know Your Rights wallet cards to all 33 member libraries. Visit the Know Your Rights blogpost for more resources.

FLLS participates in The Great Give Back each year. Staff from FLLS and SCRLC generously donate urgently needed items to our local SPCA! We are thrilled that 16 members libraries are also participating in this state-wide initiative. 80% our members have participated since the program’s inception. Learn more on the Great Give Back website.

We keep Little Free Bookshelf stocked for anyone that visits the system headquarters. Over 160 books for all ages have been taken home as of September 2026! Books are provided by the Friends of Tompkins County Public Library and Family Literacy Grant funds.

After flooding damaged the Cayuga Heights Elementary school in April and rendered the library inaccessible, FLLS staff weeded 11 storytime kits from our collection and gave them to the school library media specialist to distribute to temporary classrooms. Below is a message from the school:

Just a note to say thank you for sharing the storytime kits with us at Cayuga Heights. They are already being put to good use!

The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee continues to meet and discuss IDEA initiatives at FLLS and our member libraries. The committee updated the FLLS IDEA Statement and planned another successful System-Wide Community Read. Thank you to our committee members!

Correctional Facilities

FLLS provides services to Auburn Correctional Facility, Cayuga Correctional Facility, and Five Points Correctional Facility. After the retirement of two beloved longtime facility librarians and a lengthy search process, we are happy to report that all three facilities are staffed by professional librarians. These librarians are new to the field of prison librarianship and bring fresh ideas and perspectives to their roles.

FLLS provides services for the facility including the purchasing and packaging items for the facilities, interlibrary loan & delivery, and reference. We have provided 155 in-system and out-of-system ILL items to the facilities as of September 2026. Jenny has answered 38 reference questions for incarcerated individuals and has fulfilled 5 Reentry Guide requests.

FLLS also provides collection development assistance, purchasing of materials, and delivery to the jails in Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. In 2026, 195 paperback books have been purchased and delivered to these county facilities.

We can’t express how thankful we are to the Friends of TCPL for inviting our correctional facility staff to select hundreds of free items for their collections each year. Our facilities selected over 300 items in 2026!

Thank you!

Thank you to the staff, directors, and trustees of our 33 member libraries for the dedication and care you bring to serving our communities across Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. Your work makes our libraries welcoming places where people can learn, connect, and grow. We at Finger Lakes are grateful for your partnership and all that you do to strengthen library service throughout our region.