ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – Area libraries are getting help with programming.

The Community Foundation of Tompkins County has announced its annual Rosen Library Fund Grant Awards. Over $166,000 for programming was distributed to 24 of the 33 libraries in the Finger Lakes Library System (FLLS), including in Cortland, Tioga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tompkins Counties.

The grants are made possible thanks to nearly $3 million from the estate of Dr. Bernard Rosen. According to the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, Rosen’s vision for the fund was outlined in his will, emphasizing the promotion of intellectual curiosity and a lifelong love of reading and learning with a commitment to “promote greater and easier access by youth to local libraries.”

The endowed Bernard Carl and Shirley Rosen Library Fund has given out more than $2 million in grants over 15 years.

2025 GRANT AWARDS

TOMPKINS COUNTY

  • Groton Public Library for Building Literacy (BuLit) with T(w)eens @ GPL
  • Lansing Community Library for Color Our World Summer Reading and Fall programming
  • Newfield Public Library for NPL 2025 Summer Reading Program
  • Newfield Public Library for NPL 2025/2026 Afterschool Special
  • Southworth Library Association for Family Storytime
  • Southworth Library Association for Summer Kids’ Clubs
  • Tompkins County Public Library Foundation for Summer Adventure
  • Ulysses Philomathic Library for Summer Reading Program 2025

CORTLAND COUNTY

  • Cortland Free Library for Ready, Set, Read and Homeschool Get Ready to Read
  • Cortland Free Library for Color Our World Summer Reading Program
  • Phillips Free Library for Book Club Program 2025-2026

TIOGA COUNTY

  • Berkshire Free Library for Year-Round Youth Learning 2025
  • Candor Free Library for 2025 Summer Reading Program
  • Coburn Free Library for Summer Reading Program
  • George P. & Susan Platt Cady Library
  • Tappan-Spaulding Memorial Library for Summer Reading Program
  • Tappan-Spaulding Memorial Library for StoryTime and Beyond
  • Waverly Free Library for Color Our Library with Happiness – 2025 Summer Reading

SENECA COUNTY

  • Edith B. Ford Memorial Library for Summer Reading Program
  • Interlaken Public Library for Color Our World
  • Lodi Whittier Library for 2025 Summer Reading Program & Story Times
  • Seneca Falls Library for Colors of Storytellers
  • Seneca Falls Library for the Life Long Reader
  • Waterloo Library & Historical Society for Making Fairy Tales Come to Life

CAYUGA COUNTY

  • Aurora Free Library for Library Storytime Train 2025-2026
  • Aurora Free Library for Storytime Train: Take it on the Road and Beyond 2025
  • Hazard Library for Literacy Collaborations in Southern Cayuga
  • Port Byron Library for Traveling Library
  • Seymour Public Library District for Discover Summer 2025: Color Our World
  • Weedsport Free Library for Books Make Our Lives Brighter!