Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today launched a public consultation on the development of a new strategy for the public library service.

The main objective of this consultation is to seek the views of the public and understand attitudes towards the library service. It will also seek feedback on how services can be improved in terms of access, use and visibility of the public library.

The consultation will assist in the development of a new Public Library Strategy which will be published next year. This strategy will underpin ongoing government and local authority investment in the public library service over the next five years.

The new strategy will be the successor to ‘Our Public Libraries 2022 – Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities’ which has overseen much progress in the public library service in Ireland over the past five years. The new strategy will be equally ambitious in continuing to grow the library service.

Speaking about the importance of engaging with this consultation, Minister Humphreys said:

“Our public libraries play a vital role in the community – providing a safe and welcome educational space for people of all ages. They are also a place for us to visit, to relax, to take a breath and to delve into the wonderful world of story-telling.”
“This particular strategy builds on the significant process that have been made under previous strategies and will bring our libraries onto the next stage of their development.”
“The public library service belongs to you, our citizens. And so, we want to hear from you.”

The Minister added:

“Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, our libraries continued to provide vital services to people of all ages in communities across the country.
“I really want to pay tribute to the dedicated and hard-working library staff who are a credit to themselves and the communities in which they work.
“This consultation will give the public a wonderful opportunity to give their views on how we can continue to improve our library service – so that our citizens young and old can reap the benefits.”

People are invited to complete the survey online at www.librariesIreland.ie or alternatively, visit  their local library to complete it in person.

The consultation will run for the next five weeks with the closing date scheduled for 5pm on 9 July, 2022.

The delivery of the strategy is a key commitment in Our Rural Future, the Government’s ambitious five-year policy to revitalise Rural Ireland.