On Jan. 1, 1996, three free association libraries officially united under one umbrella to form a special legislative district library: the Northern Onondaga Public Library. Today, NOPL’s three branches — Cicero, North Syracuse and Brewerton — are hubs of activity in their respective communities.

Those communities are invited to celebrate NOPL’s 20th anniversary with a three-part, all-day celebration at all three libraries Saturday, Sept. 26.

“We wanted an event that was really meaningful for all three of us,” said Jill Youngs, who is the manager of NOPL @ Cicero and chair of the committee that organized the 20th anniversary celebration.

NOPL’s strength, Youngs said, comes from its “sharing of materials, services and personnel.” She highlighted the libraries’ “floating collection” as an example of the flexibility and efficiency of NOPL: if a patron checks out an item from the Brewerton library but returns it to Cicero, NOPL @ Cicero hangs onto the item until it’s needed back in Brewerton. If someone in North Syracuse wants that particular item, chances are one of the sister NOPLs will have it.

-NOPL libraries are open a total of 176 hours per week

-The three libraries have more than 113,720 books, magazines, DVD’s, music CD’s, computer games and audiobooks in their collections.

-Last near nearly 18,000 people attended 1,127 library programs.

-NOPL librarians, who answered more than 17,000 questions in 2014.

-In 2015, 3,285 kids and parents attended 136 summer programs, and 503 children and teens read 8,401 books.

“We’re like our own little mini-system within the Onondaga County Public Library system,” Youngs said. “We have our own internal mini-delivery service: if a patron in Cicero puts something on hold and we don’t have it, I’m comfortable that North Syracuse or Brewerton has it. People don’t realize they’re getting their materials that much faster.”

In 1995, then-Assemblyman Michael Bragman introduced legislation to the State Assembly that would consolidate the Brewerton, Cicero and North Syracuse libraries. The history section of NOPL’s website reads that this legislation “created the district and established procedures for electing trustees and raising funds through a library tax.”

“That was visionary,” said NOPL Executive Director Kate McCaffrey. “The three free association libraries, that was a remarkable thing they did. It’s a difficult legislative process and to persuade the people in those communities to trust each other.”

McCaffrey said sharing services, staff and material has allowed NOPL to remain more financially stable than the three smaller libraries would have been on their own. She said the network allows NOPL to offer expansive children’s programming, such as the popular Lego Club.

“That’s a real strong point for us,” she said.

McCaffrey said another of NOPL’s strengths is its ability to keep up with the times by offering online resources and downloadable content through apps such as Overdrive, Hoopla and 3M.

As for NOPL’s next 20 years, McCaffrey is optimistic that the library’s electronic offerings will grow. Keeping with the nationwide library trend of lending nontraditional items (musical instruments, cake pans and sports equipment are a handful of things named in a recent New York Times article about unique library offerings), McCaffrey said NOPL will have snowshoes available for checkout this winter. But aside from the growing access to media and other resources, she said she finds it “personally inspiring” to have a part in NOPL’s role in shaping the community.

“It’s really important to provide spaces for people to meet for people to be creative and to learn new skills — not just a place to pick things up and read, but for people to do things,” McCaffrey said. “Libraries need to be more engaged in solving community problems. Libraries are trusted institutions and are seen as nonpolitical.”

McCaffrey cited examples of how libraries can help in a crisis. During the period of widespread unrest after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last year, the Ferguson Municipal Public Library opened its doors to teachers and students when schools were closed. The Ferguson library even hosted a food bank for children who usually got their meals at school. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, McCaffrey said, one library in the storm’s aftermath collected lost and found information for people’s pets.

“Libraries became a place where people could get together,” she said.

If you want to get together with NOPL, the festivities kick off at 11 a.m. at the Brewerton library with music by Jim McCarthy. While this time slot is prime lunchtime, don’t fret — there will be cake and punch, Youngs assured the Star-Review. Patrons can also flex their putting skills in the library’s mini-golf game; golf-themed door prizes will be awarded.

If you missed the first round of cake, you can catch up at 1 p.m. at NOPL at Cicero. While you’re there, take a tour of the LibraryFarm and learn about other green initiatives from OCRRA, Solarize CNY and other local organizations.

Finish off the day at 3 p.m. at the North Syracuse library by hearing local officials speak to NOPL’s success and, of course, enjoy some more cake. The winner of a tablet computer for the NOPL20 Passport Contest will be announced.

For more information, visit nopl.org/event/20th-anniversary-celebration.