Chairman’s Foreword

As I write, public libraries around Ireland are reporting significant increases in the number of people using their services. We have seen such increases during previous recessions, but we can be grateful that today’s library users have the benefits of greatly improved library buildings and library services.

These improvements were the fruits of the Branching Out programme, which has dominated An Chomhairle’s annual reports over the past ten years. An Chomhairle welcomed the launch by Minister Gormley and Minister of State Kitt, of the second Branching Out progamme, Branching Out: Future Directions, in June 2008.

The new document looks at progress made to date and identifies the challenges facing the public library service during the period 2008-2013. Building on the original Branching Out report, Branching Out: Future Directions contains a number of recommendations to underpin the development of the service over the next six years.

Among the recommendations is the extension of the capital grants programme. An Chomhairle was pleased to note the wonderful new library buildings which opened during 2008, made possible by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s grants, and local authorities’ own funding.

Such buildings should be promoted as widely as possible, and in June I was delighted to launch www.librarybuildings.ie, a new service which showcases the countries excellent public library buildings and services offered by the county and city councils throughout Ireland.

An Chomhairle also welcomed the continuing support of the Minister, shown by the awarding of grants totaling €14,186,357.57 to twenty-four local authorities, which will bring very real benefits to library users in those areas.

In the current climate all public services must look at ways of delivering services more efficiently, and one of the important ways is through the use of the Internet and web technologies. Public libraries have led the way in e-inclusion, as demonstrated by the success of the Changing Libraries programme.

An Chomhairle’s Changing Libraries team, with the support of library staff around the country, have revamped the www.askaboutireland.ie site. It will go live during 2009.

A key approach to achieving value-for-money in the public service is collaboration, and the many collaborative actions outlined in the pages of this report show how the public library service thrives on co-operation. An Chomhairle values the opportunity to work with local authorities, other state agencies, and partner organisations to support library services around the country.

During the year I was pleased to plant a tree to mark the 60th anniversary of the first meeting of An Chomhairle. We also planted the seeds of a new venture for An Chomhairle with the establishment of the Public Lending Remuneration Scheme. The enthusiasm with which the staff of An Chomhairle and their public library colleagues took to the PLR scheme bodes well for its future success.

Collaboration and co-operation are the lifeblood of a successful public library service, and on behalf of An Chomhairle I thank the local authority managers and directors of services, and in particular the county and city librarians and public library staff, for their support during the year.

Our thanks also go to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, and his officials, for their continuing support.

The many initiatives detailed in the 2008 annual report are testament to the hard work of An Chomhairle’s staff, under the leadership of our Director, Norma McDermott. On behalf of all my colleagues on An Chomhairle, I wish to thank the Director and her team for their professional and dedicated service.

Mark Dearey
Chairman
June 2009