Policy information
Public Libraries
From Department of Rural and Community Development; Local Government Management Agency (LGMA)
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With over 17 million visits annually, libraries play an important community role as centres of knowledge, information and culture.
The public library:
- is a local service with a nationwide reach – members can use all library services, including borrowing and returning items, at any library in the country
- delivers a national literacy and reading programme Right to Read through a core set of services and resources
- delivers the Healthy Ireland at your library initiative – developing health information in public libraries, providing books, e-books, audiobooks and e-magazines on health and wellbeing, as well as talks, discussions and workshops with a focus on physical health, mental health and health literacy
- offers a national public library catalogue supported by a nationwide delivery service – items can be ordered online or in person and delivered quickly to the local library – the first such national service anywhere in the world
The public library provides access to a large collection of free online resources, with:
- A collection of over 110,000 eBooks and eAudiobooks
- A collection of over 7,000 eNewspapers and eMagazines
- Over 600 online eLearning courses at a variety of levels and comprising a wide range of subjects
- Over 110 language courses for speakers of 30+ languages
Find further information here.
The current public library strategy, ‘The Library is the Place: Information, Recreation, Inspiration’, was developed jointly by the Department of Rural and Community Development, the LGMA, the CCMA and local authorities. It was also shaped by extensive engagement with key stakeholders and library staff and by feedback from a public consultation process that received almost 3,000 responses.
The Library is the Place: Information, Recreation, Inspiration - National Public Library Strategy 2023-2027
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The ambitious strategy was launched in July 2023 and will build on the success of its predecessor, ‘Our Public Libraries 2022’, through 66 strategic actions that will support the sustainable development of the public library sector over the next five years.
The new strategy contains a number of ambitious new initiatives. Among the highlights are:
- Roll out of national “Skills for Life” umbrella programme covering issues such as digital skills, financial literacy, sustainable lifestyles and environmental awareness
- New national network of Gigabit libraries
- Expansion of Right to Read programme
- Increased access for library users to book clubs
- Expansion of user-centred design approaches to library services
- Delivery of digital skills training for library staff
- New national media literacy programme for staff
- Development of data dashboard for library leaders and ultimately the public
Some facts and figures include:
- 330 library branches across 31 local authorities
- 30.5 mobile libraries in Ireland, including a shared cross-border service
- More than 13,000,000 items held by public library services across the country
- More than 76 million items issued since 2018
- 765,000 library members across the country
You can access information on your local library information on your city or county council website.
You can also find up-to-date contact details for your local library on the library website. It publishes news and information about libraries in Ireland.
See resources and services available at your local Library for more information on what you can do and find at your library.
Information on the most borrowed library books in 2022 can be found in the document below:
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.
The Right to Read Programme was launched in 2017 to support reading and literacy across all counties. The programme includes initiatives for children and families throughout the year – Spring into Storytime, Summer Stars, Children’s Book Festival and Family Time at Your Library – and a range of services to support schools.
In 2021, initiatives aimed specifically at preschool age were introduced under the Little Library Programme. The Right to Read Programme also focuses on supports and resources for adults and we will continue to expand this element of the programme under The Library is the Place. Right to Read is delivered by a local Right to Read network in each local authority and is co-ordinated by a Right to Read Co-ordinator in each local library service.
The programme grew in recognition and participation every year to 2019 with record participation in that year, including over 62,000 children taking part in Summer Stars. A swift reworking by the library team at the start of COVID-19 restrictions ensured the programme continued, largely online, throughout 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, a new mix of online and in library branch delivery proved very popular, achieving the second highest annual levels of involvement so far, including almost 56,000 children taking part in Summer Stars 2022.
Little Library is a programme under the cross government First 5 strategy and the public libraries’ Right to Read Programme. Little Library supports early language and literacy development among young children by encouraging library usage and providing library services to Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings.
The programme started in 2021 when more than 4,500 early learning and care providers were offered free book bags and storytime events. In 2022 almost 23,000 4 and 5 year olds received their My Little Library Bag and library membership to help support their transition to primary school.
Case Study Little Library in 2022 22,900 New members aged 4 and 5 under My Little Library Bag 414,450 books issued to 4 and 5 year old members 14,700 4 and 5 year olds renewed memberships under My Little Library Bag 63% of total population of 4 and 5 year olds are now library members 844 friendship themed storytime events and over 10,000 books delivered to ELCs during Ireland Reads and Spring into Storytime
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.
Sensory services in our public libraries have expanded significantly since 2019 when the Department of Rural and Community Development provided funding of €691,000. This funding supported the provision of sensory facilities, resources, and equipment in public libraries, including sensory pods, sensory toys and social stories.
These services have reached out and engaged people on the autism spectrum and have made the library space more accessible and inclusive, offering a safe and enjoyable space for all.
Many public libraries also offer a collection of toys and resources that are designed to support the development of important skills. Families can borrow the resources that might interest their child, without the expense of purchasing them.
A number of libraries have also installed sensory pods and sensory rooms which provide a facility for children and adults to go to, engage with and enjoy.
In 2019, Watch House Cross Community Library in Limerick opened the first ever dedicated Sensory Room for those on the autism spectrum and this initiative earned them the award for ‘Best Library Service’ at the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards later that year.
Libraries Development is the national adviser and development agency for public libraries in Ireland. It was established in 2012 within the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and continues the functions of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, The Library Council. They advise the department and the library authorities on public library development and on library co-operation.
The Public Library Standards and Benchmarks document provides a roadmap for the development and delivery of the library service in line with local and national government policy and with library service best practice nationally and internationally.
The aim of the document is to provide well-located, well-planned, effective public libraries with civic spaces, open and welcoming to all. It also aims to improve the physical community environment, promoting urban regeneration and sustainable communities.
All public libraries collect materials about the history of their county or locality.
There is a huge range of material available including:
- county and parish histories
- maps
- photographs
- drawings
- old records and newspapers
Developed by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD), the Ask About Ireland Website is a substantial online resource.
It can be used as a:
- local history resource
- portal to public library websites and local studies contacts
- source of local content supporting the schools’ curricula
- gateway to nationally significant historical datasets
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.
The department also financed and co-ordinated a survey of local authority records and archives which was published in the report of the Report of the Steering Group on Local Authority Records and Archives. The report also outlines a strategy for developing local archives services. Most local authorities have already established, or are developing, local archive services.