Cork PAL Now Active!
Cork PAL is now active on a pilot basis, with referrals to and from the participating libraries.Click here to see the list of libraries participating in Cork PAL.
Background
In 2005 COLICO (COLICO (Committee on Library Co-operation in Ireland) noted the success of cross-sectoral library service provision set by INSPIRE in the UK (www.inspire.co.uk) and agreed to explore the potential for transferring the programme into an Irish context.
Following a conference COLICO agreed to establish the Pathways to Learning programme (PAL) in Ireland. PAL addresses the challenges in providing managed wider access to the rich resources of Irish libraries, archives and information services.
The Cork region is the first regional choice for a PAL because of the range of public, educational and health libraries and archives. Good transport links and technological support are available to enhance the users’ experience.
Cork PAL
Various meetings were held in Cork in 2007 and 2008 and in November 2008 a presentation from the Foyle Programme in Northern Ireland showed how such a local sharing programme was developed in Derry.
All relevant Cork Libraries have now agreed participation in principle (click here to see list and learn more). Draft criteria for the programme have been developed and agreed. These can be downloaded here. Also a common PAL access agreement between Music PAL and Cork PAL has been drafted and can be seen here.
A training day for the participating libraries was held in UCC on May 21st and in-house library training will take place in the Summer of 2009 with a view to initial piloting in Autumn 2009. The programme will then be formally launched in 2010.
Training Day May 21st 2009
To facilitate Cork PAL implementation a training day was organised for May 21st 2009 in the Boole Library, UCC. This familiarised all the participants with what is involved and enabled them to go on to provide internal training to all their staff during the Summer of 2009.
A draft agenda for the training is available here.
Cork PAL Coordinating Team
A coordinating team has been set up to implement Cork PAL with representatives from all the participating libraries. This team, chaired by John Fitzgerald (Librarian, UCC) meets regularly to facilitate the programme’s implementation.
Cork PAL coordinating team