Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Ithaca has no public library of its own; the nearest is Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, 2.7 miles away
Ithaca doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, 2.7 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
A+Civic lifeAhead of 97% of U.S. towns · #14 of 751 in New York. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Ithaca
Ithaca borrows from the libraries next door
Ithaca has no public library of its own, but three libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca (2.7 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Ithaca isn’t the only town nearby without one
Lansing, Enfield and Northeast Ithaca don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Dryden (The Southworth Library Association), Lansing (Lansing Community Library) and Newfield (Newfield Public Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Ithaca’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ithaca is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #14 of 751 in New York. Ithaca is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
119 community nonprofits are registered in Ithaca
5.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
22.7%
22.7% of Ithaca’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Ithaca’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 2.7 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Ithaca. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dryden | The Southworth Library Association fine-free | 47.9 | 42 | A |
| Newfield | Newfield Public Library fine-free | 34.8 | 37 | B+ |
| Ulysses | Ulysses Philomathic Library fine-free | 14.0 | 43 | A+ |
| Lansing | Lansing Community Library fine-free | — | 45 | A |
| Lansing | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Enfield | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Northeast Ithaca | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Cayuga Heights | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Danby | None of its own | — | — | A |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Ithaca
Does Ithaca have a public library?
No. The closest is Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, 2.7 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Ithaca’s civic life grade?
A+ Ithaca is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 of 751 in New York. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Ithaca.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.