The Library’s Mission

The Oneida Public Library is dedicated to the enrichment, enlightenment, education and entertainment of all members of our community. We do this by providing free, open, easy access to information and diverse materials in multiple formats, by providing an informal learning environment and creating opportunities for meaningful and enjoyable experiences. We support this mission with an enthusiastic library staff and volunteers committed to making every interaction pleasant and rewarding.

WALK-IN & DRIVE-UP HOURS

Monday – Thursday:  10 am – 8 pm
Friday: 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 2 pm

Drive-up Window opens at:
9 am every weekday
10 am Saturday
In a more genteel era, Mrs. S. S. Goodwin invited the leading ladies of Oneida Village society to her home on Chestnut Street to discuss over tea and cakes the formation of a community library. By meeting’s end, the Ladies Circulating Library Association was created, Oneida’s first formal library. After that day in 1879, the Ladies Circulating Library had its ups and downs, and no one found the loose arrangement satisfactory.

Today, the OPL, governed by an elected seven-member board of trustees, serves the 15,000 residents who live in the special library district. It supports a collection of some 55,000 books, periodicals and audio-visual items; offers frequent and diverse children’s and adults’ programming; and provides space for numerous community groups and one-on-one tutoring. As a member of the Mid-York Library System, the OPL also gives its residents free access to the collections of 42 member libraries, to many research databases and to the Internet.