Library Hours Monday 9am-5pm Tuesday 11am-8pm Wednesday 11am-8pm Thursday 1pm-7pm Friday 9am-5pm Saturday 10am-2pm Sunday closed

Questions answered on this page

What services can I access online?

Our library, along with the other 31 libraries in the Finger Lakes Library System, uses the Polaris circulation and catalog system. You can access it from the library's computer, or from home, to do things like this:

• Reserve books.
• Renew books.
• Receive e-mail reminders of your due dates.
• Check your fines.
• Get notified when when new items arrive that you are interested in.
• Keep a personal reading history.

To do these things and more, go to the online catalog and explore. For information about your own account, click "Patron Account" tab at the top.

Note: Since Polaris supports scanning of patron cards, please bring your card when visiting your library.

What other library resources can I access from home?

Through the Finger Lakes Library System, you can also search through some extensive databases online:

• encyclopedias
• college catalogs
• newspapers
• health resources
• much more

When does the book club meet, and what are they reading?

See book club.

What can I learn about the building's design?

See architectural details.

Where is the library?

For address and directions, see map.

Who can use the library?

Any resident of the Ovid area and other areas served by member libraries of the Finger Lakes Library System.  

When is the library open?

	Monday	9am-5pm
	Tuesday	11am-8pm
	Wednesday	11am-8pm
	Thu	1pm-7pm
	Friday	9am-5pm
	Saturday	10am-4pm
	Sunday	closed

How do I get a library card?

Use of the library resources is free with a library card. New borrowers are required to show a form of identification showing permanent address. Children must be accompanied by an adult with ID when registering. Summer residents must furnish a local address and proof of permanent address.

What does the library have?

You'll find a lot to choose from:

• 12,000 books (including large-type books), about 100 magazines, audiobooks, and pamphlets
• 750 videos -- the largest movie collection in the Finger Lakes Library System
• Special areas for the children's collection, local history, reference, college catalogs, adult mysteries, westerns, science fiction
• Old South Seneca newspapers through 1982 on microfilm
• ... and more

Can I use the computers?

We have six personal computers available for public use (several courtesy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) with free Internet access (courtesy of Roadrunner).

How much can I borrow?

You may borrow any reasonable number of materials. Most items are due back in two weeks. Most books and audiobooks may be renewed, unless someone has reserved them. Videos are loaned to adults only, up to three at a time, and are due back in four days.

What if an item is checked out?

You may reserve items that are in circulation. When they come in, we try to notify you. If we don't have an item you want, but it's available elsewhere in the Finger Lakes Library System, you may borrow it through an interlibrary loan.

How much are photocopies?

$.25 per page. We can accommodate large quantity copying and copies on colored paper.

What's the phone number?

607-869-3031.

What's the E-mail?

ovidlib@rochester.rr.com

Who's the library Director?

Shannon O'Connor is the Library Director. She has a Masters in Reading from Elmira College and specializes in youth educational programming.

How many people visit?

Over 1,000 per year. For more facts, see our annual reports.

Who was Edith B. Ford?

Edith was an Ovid native who lived during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s. She and her husband, Walter Ford -- who gave the library to the people of Ovid in his wife's name -- were both committed to education. See Edith B. Ford photo and story.

What's the library's history?

Ovid's first library was founded in 1899 on the same site as today's library. Then for sixty years it was housed in the Mama Bear building. See photos and more history.

How do I become a member?

You don’t have to be a member to use our library. Services are free to residents of any county served by the Finger Lakes Library System: Seneca, Cayuga, Tioga, Cortland, or Tompkins. But libraries can’t survive on tax dollars alone. They need the support of the communities they serve. Being a member -- making an annual donation -- means that you value your library enough to help keep it strong. Please consider joining or renewing at one of our new annual levels:

Basic $5 - 9
Donor $10 - 24
Contributor $25 - 49
Supporter $50 - 99
Leader $100 - 149
Entrepreneur $150 and up

Here’s all we need:

Name(s):
Mailing address:
City, State, ZIP:
Phone number:
E-mail address (to reduce mailing costs -- will not be shared):
Date:
Comments to share with trustees:

You can write all this information on a piece of paper, or print out the membership form in one of our newsletters.

Please make out checks to Edith B. Ford Memorial Library. Bring or mail your donation to: “FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY” Membership, Edith B. Ford Library, P.O. Box 410, Ovid, NY 14521.

Special donations of any amount are also welcome any time, as gifts or as memorials.

Who's on the board of trustees?

As of July 18, 2010:

Sally Eller, President Sally Limoncelli, Vice President Barbara Gerlach, Treasurer    Mark Jauquet, Secretary

Judy Dresser Kathryn Fischer David Griffith Honorine Rock Colleen Stannard

See trustee profiles.