The Hazard Library Association received its Charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York on June 26, 1895. The Association is the direct descendant of the Reading Room established by William R. Hazard in 1874. Mr. Hazard donated his personal library of some 700 volumes as well as property, 16 by 20 rods, with a brick building and a hotel.
Located between Cayuga and Owasco Lakes in the Finger Lakes Region, the building remains on the northwest corner of the intersection of Poplar Ridge Road and State Route 34B. Much of the original property was sold and used to double the size of the building in 1913. The building today is shared with the Poplar Ridge Post Office.
The mission of the Hazard Library Association is to provide the best possible library service to our community. We serve to inform and enlighten, and we are committed to fostering intelligent literacy and a love of reading among our patrons. Our Library has an extensive local history collection and continues to maintain a Quaker collection as well as volumes from the original Reading Room.
In 1958, the Library Board signed an agreement to become part of the Finger Lakes Library System. We are chartered by New York State to serve the Towns of Genoa, Ledyard, and Venice and our patrons come from the entire Southern Cayuga Central School District and beyond.
New York State Education Law provides that, as an Association Library, everyone who has a Hazard Library card is a member of the Association. Every year there is a general meeting at which the Annual Report is presented and the Board of Trustees is elected. Often this meeting has included a variety of short programs, refreshments and a chance to meet and mingle with your neighbors who also love books and reading.