The Cortland Free Library strives to provide information in a variety of formats to the people of the Cortland area and the patrons of the Finger Lakes Library System. It strives to make available library materials and programs to educate, inspire, enrich, entertain and inform. It strives to promote the tools, skills and techniques for literacy development, language skill acquisition, lifelong learning, recreation and research.

A non-profit (501c3) association library with roots dating back to 1886, the Cortland Free Library was chartered by the NYS Department of Education in 1925. Today its chartered service area includes the City of Cortland, Town of Cortlandville, and Town of Virgil. Regulated by New York State with oversight from a volunteer Board of Trustees, the library is funded through an annual library tax, an endowment, grants, charitable contributions, and support from the Friends of the Cortland Free Library.