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Public is borrowing more...
Figures released during the Bord Gais Energy Readiscover your Local Library Week show that the public borrowed a record 16 million1 books nationwide from Ireland's 359 public libraries. This is the highest figure recorded since the local authorities began collecting figures on the nation's library reading habits, according to The Library Council.
Expenditure on public library stock, however, is set to fall by 25% this year according to figures supplied by public library authorities. Public library managers and staff are striving to provide innovative service provision solutions in these challenging times. However, cuts in book funds have long term implications for library use, impacting on the development of the 'smart' economy and the cultural economy - two themes which are central to the economic recovery of the country.
Withdrawal, for the second year running, of the Department of Education and Skill's grant to primary school libraries has further diminished the ability of libraries to provide the quality and range of materials which are necessary to create a service relevant to the needs of children.
Public Library Authorities Annual Budgets 2010 show reduction in stock expenditure from 13.5 million euro in 2009 to 10 million euro this year; a fall in the per capita figure from 3.17 euro to 2.37 euro. This follows an 11% reduction in between 2009 and 2008.
All 32 public library authorities have reduced their investment in library services this year.
Public Library Authorities Annual Budgets 2010 provides further analysis and comparisons with previous years. Further information from Alun Bevan, Research & Information Officer.
Download 2010 Budgets.
12008 Actuals.
Frontline Trainee of the Month at Clonakilty Library
V
eronica Whooley of Cork County's Clonakilty Library, has been voted Frontline Trainee of the Month July 2010 by the co-ordinators at Opening the Book.
This is the second time this award has been presented to a participant from an Irish Public Library Authority.Frontline is an interactive online course for library staff developed in the U.K. by Opening the Book which has extensive experience of designing and delivering reading development training courses. Frontline is available to all public library staff in Ireland and can be taken anywhere, at any time, in variable timeslots of five minutes to two hours. It takes 28 hours to complete the course, and participants only need internet access and an email address. Further details
Bord Gáis Energy READISCOVER Your Local Library
'Pull up a chair and escape in a book'... Just one of the invitations being issued to all during Bord Gáis Energy READISCOVER Your Local Library Week which will take place from April 19th - 25th in the 359 public libraries around the country.
Bord Gáis Energy READISCOVER Your Local Library Week, which is being run in association with public library service, is encouraging people to think about all that their library has to offer and the fun that can be had by adults and children alike through a trip to their local library.
Libraries will celebrate READISCOVER Week with exciting events including readings by children's author and rugby pundit Brent Pope in libraries in Cork, Waterford, Mayo and Louth while Book of the Year Winner Colum McCann will do a reading in South County Library, Tallaght on Thursday, April 22nd.
Read more.
eLEARNING AT THE LIBRARY
Library users around the country are signing up for free online courses in a collaboration between FÁS, public library services and An Chomhairle Leabharlanna.
Under the programme, which is being rolled-out in stages across the country, library users are being offered free online courses at participating elearning libraries, with the support of a dedicated facilitator assigned to each library.
Aimed at absolute beginners and those who want to improve their skills, the courses on offer include ECDL; Health & Safety; Basic Photography; Finance Fundamentals; Computer SKills; Office Administration/Reception; Child Development Basics; Gardening and Horticulture, and English as a second language.
Library users can sign up for the courses and access them using the Internet PCs in the library, all at no charge.
PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING AWARDS 2009 ANNOUNCED
While Librarians and architects design public library spaces, it is the general public that will shape their usage into the 21st century. This is the view of the judging panels of the Public Library Buildings Awards, 2009.
Popular author Gervase Phinn announced the Public Library Building Awards UK and Republic of Ireland 2009 at an award ceremony during the Public Library Authorities Conference held in Bristol October 7th, 2009. For more details on the awards and winners click here.
Annual Report 2008.
An Chomhairle's annual report for 2008 is now available online at www.librarycouncil.ie/annualreport 2008. The report is being published on a dedicated website and is also available as Gaeilge. Further information is available from Brendan Teeling
ENFO Service and Ask About Ireland website Launched.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, T.D., launched the new ENFO Environmental Information Service and Ask About Ireland website in Dublin Central Library on Tuesday 8th September 2009.
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, has recently finished work on the new and much improved Ask About Ireland website www.askaboutireland.ie. The website now includes Digital Books, Griffiths Valuation, and an Irish Historic Newsreel, as well as hosting the new ENFO Environmental Information Service.
Europe Direct contract announced.
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna has been awarded a new four year contract to operate EU Direct centres in seven library authorities across Ireland, including a dedicated Irish language centre in Carraroe, Co. Galway.
This new phase of Europe Direct in Ireland was launched by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, T.D., at Dundalk Library on June 19. The Minister said, 'It is a great compliment to An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, and indeed the public library service in general, that this contract had been awarded'.
Borrowing habits exposed
The lists of the top forty borrowed books and authors in Irish libraries for January - June 2009 have been published by An Chomhairle's PLR Team.
The Top 40 List is conspicuous by the high number of Irish authors featured throughout the titles list, some with multiple entries. However, one name dominates above all others and that is the prolific Francesca Simon. Her ‘Horrid Henry’ series of books is hugely popular with Irish children as are the works of Jacqueline Wilson and Daisy Meadows who appear at No.2 and No.3 respectively in the authors list. Another interesting aspect of the list is that only two of the titles in the Top 40, namely ‘The Official Driver Theory Test’ and ‘The Secret’ are non-fiction with the other 38 entries either children’s literature or fiction.
Minister Kitt announces capital programme
for 2009-2010
Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government Michael Kitt, T.D., has announced his approval for a two year Capital Programme for Public Libraries 2009-2010, amounting to €8.5 million in 2009, which will contribute towards the development and refurbishment of a range of Public Libraries throughout the country.
The Minister said that he was delighted to be in a position to deliver on the important commitment of Branching Out - Future Directions, the Government's policy document on Public Library provision in Ireland which was launched in June 2008. Read more...
Bibliotherapy Programme Launched
The Power of Words is a national bibliotherapy programme launched by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP), the HSE, An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, and public library authorities around the country. A list of 30 books has been selected by a group of HSE psychologists, and will be available in public libraries.
Authors encouraged to register for PLR
Ruth Flanagan (Cork County Librarian and member of An Chomhairle); Éilís Ní Dhuibhne (Author); Cllr. Mark Dearey (Chairman of An Chomhairle); Minister of State Michael Kitt, T.D.; Conor Kostick (Irish Writers' Union), and Deirdre Ellis-King (President of the Library Association of Ireland and member of An Chomhairle).
Speaking at the Library Council on 3rd March, Minister of State Michael Kitt, TD, encouraged authors to register for PLR. THe Minister thanked the library services for their co-operation in getting the scheme underway. 'Public libraries have started providing the Library Council with details of what books they lend each month and I'm delighted that the Library Council is now inviting authors to register for the scheme. The Department is pleased to be able to support writers through the PLR'.
Read more on the PLR website...
