The Minister for State, Michael Finneran T.D today (15   December, 2010) announced his approval of grant assistance of €1millon towards the provision of bookstock to public libraries.
The Minister stated ‘I am very happy to announce that I will provide €1,000,000 from my Department’s 2010 funds towards investing in new bookstock in public libraries across the country. This grant will assist them in meeting the additional demand from their 810,277 registered members which is 6% up nationally.
The Minister added ‘A healthy book fund enables libraries to maintain a sufficiently wide range of new stock to meet the reading and information needs of a diverse customer base. Up-to-date bookstock is required for children to keep the schools library service relevant, retain teenagers once they have been attracted to the library; for adults by having a variety of non-fiction and specialist reading including an element of foreign language.’
The Minister emphasised that the bookstock also covers investment in multimedia resources which have seen a 20% increase in usage in the Libraries between 2008 and 2009.

A wide range of UK organisations have issued a joint statement about the value placed on library services by the public.

The statement is aimed at the leaders of local authorities, and was published a day before the announcement of the UK’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

Those supporting the statement include The Society of Authors, the Royal Society of Literature, the Campaign for the Book, Public Lending Right, the Booksellers Association, Voices for the Library, The Chartered institute of Library and Information Professionals, The Society of Chief Librarians, The Publishers Association, The Reading Agency, Unison and The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Read more on the MLA website.

Public libraries in the UK have recently had a high profile in the media, as a result of the threat of drastic cuts to library services across the country. A group of dedicated librarians and information professionals have set up Voices for the Library, a campaigning website to share positive stories from public libraries and librarians, provide factual information about library usage in the UK and draw together the fragmented responses to the many attacks on UK public library services.

Minister for Housing and Local Services, Michael Finneran, T.D., announced his approval for a two year Capital Programme for Public Libraries 2010-2011, amounting to €7.8 million in 2010, which will contribute towards the development and refurbishment of a range of public libraries throughout the country.
Minister Finneran was happy to note that, despite the pressure on public finances, his Department was in a position to continue to deliver on the very important commitment set out in 2008 in Branching Out – Future Directions, the Governments policy document on public library service provision. Minister Finneran expressed the hope that the new programme would also make a significant contribution to promoting economic recovery in the towns involved as the building and refurbishment of this vital social infrastructure will create significant local employment jobs in construction, fit out and ICT. This, the Minister noted, was in keeping with the aims of Building Irelands Smart Economy – A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal launched by An Taoiseach in December 2008.
The new 2010-2011 programme will build on that -with support for library development in Ballyfermot, Dublin City; Dún Laoghaire and Ballyroan, Co. Dublin; Carlingford, Co. Louth ; Gweedore, Co. Donegal; Roscommon Town; Muine Bheag, Co. Carlow; Tullamore, Co. Offaly; Swinford, Co. Mayo and a replacement mobile and delivery van for Limerick County.
Subject to public finances being available in 2011, library projects in Kilkenny City, Donegal Town, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, Portarlington, Co. Laois and Arklow, Co. Wicklow will receive grant aid. Funding is also designated in 2011 to provide library vehicles to South Dublin (schools mobile) and Cavan (mobile library).
The Minister reiterated his belief that the Government’s substantial investment in libraries to date will yield a huge dividend in the years to come in terms of personal and community development for people of all ages and backgrounds. With more than 16 million visits in 2008, public libraries continue to attract an increasing number of users, not just to borrow books, but to avail of the wide range of other services now available in libraries. The Minister added that he was particularly pleased to see evidence of very significant increases in library usage across the country generally with people availing of initiatives like free e-learning to update their skills to enhance their chances in the jobs market.
In conclusion, the Minister thanked all those who had contributed to the new Library Capital Programme, including An Chomhairle Leabharlanna and each of the Library Authorities. He particularly wished to thank the staff of every local library for their professionalism, dedication and enthusiasm which, he noted, greatly enhanced the quality of civic life in communities all across the country.
Source: Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government.

LinkedIn is a professional networking site with over 70 million members who are all networking with each other in their different areas of professional life. This platform is proving very useful in terms of collaboration, brainstorming and the sharing of resources. The American Library Association (ALA) has over 4,500 members on their LinkedIn Group and they are very active in sharing ideas, their experiences as well as the results of surveys and statistics.
The recently formed Irish Public Libraries group already has over 30 public librarians representing 12 different library authorities. Lively discussions have started and people are starting to open up and discuss the issues that they feel are most pertinent to their library service.
How to Link In!
To join please navigate to www.linkedin.com. Register as a user on this website. Then when this step is completed, click on Groups, and do a search for Irish Public Libraries, and request to be a member. We look forward to seeing you there! If you’ve any problems joining or any other queries then don’t hesitate to contact Liam Hogan.