The second national Public Library User Survey (PLUS) was undertaken in 2007, with over 33,000 questionnaires being distributed in 369 branch and mobile libraries.
The results of the Survey were published in 2008 and officially launched by Minister of State Michael Ahern, T.D. in September.
The results show that the majority of public library users visit the library primarily in order to borrow something.
This finding carries across gender and all age ranges although the incidence of women who came to borrow items (75%) is higher that that of men (61%).
- 66% of visitors came specifically to borrow books, and of those, 90% were successful
- 15% came looking to borrow DVDs, and 69% of those were successful
- 12% wanted to borrow large print books and 79% were successful
- 12% stated that they came to borrow music CDs, and 68% of those were successful
- 10% wanted to borrow talking books and 73% of those were successful
42% of visitors intended to make use of technology during their visit, with 70% coming to use public access computers, 92% of users said that the library staff ’s knowledge was either good or very good.
Minister of State Michael Kitt, TD, and Norma McDermott at the launch of the PLUS results.
The high rate of satisfaction among library users is demonstrated by the finding that 60% of people surveyed visit the library at least once a fortnight, with just over one third making weekly visits.
An Chomhairle thanks the management and staff of library authorities and library users for their co-operation in carrying out the survey.