Mobile Library Staff at the National Ploughing Championships in September
Over 900 new library members are registered
OVER 900 new library members were registered in September at Tallaght Library, almost double the number of new members in previous months.
Tallaght Library registered 910 new members for the month of September, according to their report at the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on October 28, reports Ellen Gough.
It’s almost double the figures from July, which saw 505 new members join, and August, which had 529 new members.
There were 19,647 visitors to the library in September, with 107 events taking place and 12,123 items issued Liz Corry, senior executive librarian at Tallaght Library, told councillors at the meeting that footfall at the library had increased by 35% in recent years since Covid.
“The footfall is up by 35% but the issues of books are only up maybe 5%,” she said.
“I’m delighted, not that the issues haven’t gone up, but delighted that people are just using the space, and that they want to come in and use it because the space is friendly and warm and we’ve done everything we can to have something for everyone in it,” she said.
This includes facilities such as the Makerspace, which allows members to use 3D printers, sewing machines and other technologies.
Ms Corry also gave a report on the council’s Mobile Libraries, who issued 9,605 items, registered 257 new borrowers and visited 22 schools in September.
The Mobile Libraries are responsible for restocking a new Lib Cabinet at Tallaght Hospital, and will service requests and returns on “alternate Fridays and Saturdays from October”.
They also visited The National Ploughing Championships for the first time from September 16-18.
“Many visitors were from local authorities in the West and the South as well as the Midlands,” Ms Corry said.
“It was a great opportunity to showcase our outreach work in SDCC libraries and to network with other library authorities as well as An Teagasc libraries.”
Ms Corry also informed councillors that on the morning of the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 28, Tallaght Library had been visited by a delegation of Danish librarians.
“We had eight librarians from Denmark in to see our facilities, because we might not be a brand new library, but we have built up quite an international renown,” she said.
Other international librarian teams have visited Tallaght in the past, from “Finland, Poland and a few from Sweden”, she said, adding that it was great to promote the library and “see the positivity”.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
