Your Local Library

More than 17 million library visits are made annually.

As centres of knowledge, information and culture, libraries play an important community role.

The public library is a local service with a nationwide reach.

Members can use all library services at any library in the country.

Public libraries also provide a wide range of resources and activities to support schools in helping children develop literacy, numeracy, creativity and communication skills.

Public Libraries areoperate on a shared library management system.

Anyone with a public library card is allowed to borrow and reserve items from any public library in the Republic of Ireland. It is free to join and all 30 library authorities are part of the service.

Find My Local Library

At your library you can access:

• books from any library in the country
• audio books and DVDs
• literacy supports
• online newspapers and magazines
• 400 eLearning and 80 online language courses
• facilities for small businesses
• community meeting facilities
• health and wellbeing supports from the Healthy Ireland programme.

If a resource is unavailable in your local library, and is available in another library, then you can request it through the inter-library loan service.

The full Library Catalogue can be searched online at the Libraries Ireland portal.

Search the catalogue

Libraries Ireland is a shared library management system.

Anyone with a public library card is allowed to borrow and reserve items from any public library in the Republic of Ireland. It is free to join and all 30 library authorities are part of the service.

Find My Local Library

At your library you can access:

• books from any library in the country
• audio books and DVDs
• literacy supports
• online newspapers and magazines
• 400 eLearning and 80 online language courses
• support for job seekers
• facilities for small businesses
• community meeting facilities
• health and wellbeing supports from Healthy Ireland programme.

If a resource is unavailable in your local library, and is available in another library, then you can request it through the inter-library loan service.

The full Library Catalogue can be searched online at the Libraries Ireland portal.

Search the catalogue

My Open Library is an innovative, customer service focused, initiative that provides opening hours that are additional to normal staffed hours.

The free service provides enhanced access for the community and is currently available in 37 libraries nationwide.

My Open Library members can access the library from 8am - 10pm, 365 days a year.

Children under 16 can use the service if accompanied by a registered My Open Library Adult member.

Young people aged 16-18 can use the service with written consent of a parent or guardian.

My Open Library branches

There are over 400 courses available in public libraries. The courses cover topics such as accounting, history, office skills and more.

You can access the service through your local library website or through the national Libraries Ireland portal.

The e-Learning courses service

All public libraries collect materials about the history of their county or locality. There is a huge range of material available, e.g.:

• parish and county histories
• maps
• photographs
• newspapers
• old records.

The Ask About Ireland website is a substantial online resource for local history. It was Developed by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna ( The Library Council) and is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD).

The website provides free access to an extensive collection of teaching and learning resources for primary and secondary schools, offering:

• digitised content from public libraries, including Griffith’s Valuation (historical land values between 1848-1864)
• unique historical films
• out of print resources
• digital books.

Read more on Ask About Ireland

Right To Read is a national programme designed to promote literacy and reading development. The programme is open for Irish people of all ages and backgrounds.

It is delivered by the Public Library through a core set of services and resources.

It currently includes four national programmes.

The Right to Read programme

The Healthy Ireland at Your Library programme is part of the national Healthy Ireland strategy to improve health and wellbeing. The programme is available across all 30 library authorities.

Healthy Ireland at Your Library includes a book collection (books, eBooks, and eAudiobooks), events, and a Healthy Ireland at Your Library Co-ordinator at each library service co-ordinates a programme of free Healthy Ireland events across the year.

Healthy Ireland at Your Library is a consistent and reliable source of health information across Ireland’s 330 library branches.

The collection items are evaluated by health experts and the selection of event topics and speakers are led by Department of Health guidelines.

Engagement with the programme has increased since its beginning in 2017. Between July 2020 and September 2021, there was a total of 136,351 loans from the collection.

This is almost eight times the number of issues compared to the first year of the programme in 2017. The number of people attending events has also increased, with 72,596 participants between July 2020 and September 2021.

Read more on Healthy Ireland at Your Library

Lexis Nexis is a provider of news, information and company information from all over the world which also provides access to national and local Irish and international titles, including newspapers, journals and periodicals.

Visit Vision-net.ie for a fully searchable online source of company information and business names for all businesses within Ireland.

All public libraries now have computers which the public can use to access the internet. To book a session contact your local branch library. Many libraries offer introductory sessions for new users.

All public library users are provided with online access through a single platform to a number of online resources, such as:

• e-books
• e-audio books
• e-magazines/journals
• online languages
• e-learning courses
• online newspapers

Online languages can be accessed directly from the website of your library service.

Read more on the eLibrary

To view a catalogue you must provide:

• your library membership number
• your library personal identification number (PIN).

Individual library catalogues can be searched online by author, title or keyword.

It is also possible to:

• renew loans
• check borrower information such as loans and reservations online.

Access the catalogues

It is a statutory responsibility for local authority to provide the proper management, custody, care and conservation of local records and local archives.

The Department of Rural and Community Development assists local authorities to hire a qualified archivist and to rent accommodation for the purpose of processing archives.