County Library and Museum Services 2002

The implementation of the Library Development Plan 2001 - 2005 continued apace in 2002 with the renovation of Enniscrone Branch Library and the completion of Tubbercurry Community Library. Both new libraries provides the Library Service with an opportunity to expand our services to our growing number of customers throughout the county. One of our main objectives has been to increase access to Library services, this has been achieved with six day opening, including late evenings and Saturdays in Enniscrone.

Customer Service Plus Survey

Sligo County Library participated in 2002 in a Public Library User Survey entitled PLUS. This Public Library User Survey is a national survey which is taking place in all public libraries in Ireland during January and February of 2002.

The first part of this survey, a visitor count, took place the week beginning Monday January 21st 2002 to Saturday January 26th 2002. The next stage involved the issuing of questionnaires to customers using the libraries. These questionnaires were designed to explore how well the library service meets the needs of the public.

The table below outlines the total number of visitors to each of the Library’s five service points in County Sligo.

On foot of the questionnaire An Chomhairle Leabharlanna issued a report which indicated an overall satisfaction rate of over 80%.

Babies Love Books 2002

Sligo County Library launched its ‘Babies Love Books’ 2002 pack in January. The launch took place at Sligo Family Centre, The Mall, Sligo. Among those attending were Cllr. Tony McLoughlin Chairman of Sligo County Council, Mr. Donal Tinney County Librarian, Ms. Pauline Brennan Executive Librarian, Ms. Sheila Boles Public Health Nurse NWHBoard and Ms. Bridie Walsh Co-Ordinator of Sligo Family Centre. In addition, a number of parents and children from Sligo Family Centre’s Parent and Toddler Group attended the launch.

The pack stems from a National Reading Initiative project funded by the Department of Education and Science working in partnership with the Public Libraries and Health Authorities. It contains five books which have been specially chosen for parents to share and enjoy with their baby, together with some Guidelines for Parents.

Sligo Library Service feels strongly that books should play a crucial role in children’s lives from the very first months of babyhood.

Childrens’ Bookweek 2002
Competitions Lectures

Children’s Book Festival took place in 2002 from Wednesday October 16th to Thursday October 31st.

The Children’s Book Festival is a nationwide celebration of reading and books and aims to promote reading as a fun activity. The emphasis in 2002 was on bringing reading alive and making it an enjoyable experience for all children.

On Wednesday October 16th Sligo City Library hosted one of Ireland’s foremost authorities on reading and literacy, Dr. Fidelma Healy Eames, who gave a very comprehensive presentation entitled ‘Motivating Children to Read - What Can Parents Do?’ Parents play a very important role where reading is concerned and encouraging children to develop a love of books and an interest in reading helps literacy levels and makes a huge difference to their children’s future.

The list of activities organised for children throughout Childrens’ Bookweek included, ‘Fairytale Frolics’, Quizzes, ‘Librarian for a Day’, Harry Potter Puzzlers and to celebrate 100 years of Peter Rabbit, a Peter Rabbit Colouring Competition.

There was also a special Library Competition where children could vote for their favourite children’s book. Childrens votes were accepted either online on the Children’s Books Ireland website or by paper ballot.

A special Book Fest recommended reading guide was also provided for Childrens Bookweek throughout the Library Branch network. This 64 page guide recommended books for various age groups and also include a section on Information Books.

Cultural Heritage Project

Sligo County Library is playing a leading role in the National Thematic Web based project which can be viewed at www.askaboutireland.com. The goal is to commence a nationwide process of digitising Local History material and providing access to this material on the Internet. The theme chosen nationally was the Big House which in Sligo’s case is Lissadell House and the Gore Booth sisters.

Playschools and Summer Camps

Some of the many successful partnerships established in 2002 were with Playschools and summer camps throughout the county, many of whom were supplied with bookstock and venues for activities.

County Museum 2002

The principal development in 2002 with regard to the Museum service was the finalisation of the plans for the new County Museum. The County Museum made strides in 2002 to improve upon its collection of artefacts, through the purchase of furniture from the Lissadell House clearance sale.

Development of new Sligo Branch Library and Headquarters, County Sligo Museum, new Arts Office and new Archive

Funding in the sum of €4.285m has been approved by the Department of the Environment & Local Government towards the putting in place of a new Sligo Branch Library andHeadquarters for Sligo Town, which is expected to provide the people of Sligo and visitors to the area with a modern community based library service.

A grant of a maximum of €2,920,398 has been approved under the ACCESS Programme in respect of the provision of a new premises for the Sligo County Museum to provide a high standard dedicated institution within County Sligo to research, collect and display the museums collection.

Sligo County Council has further made application to the Department of the Environment & Local Government for a sum representing 25% of the cost of putting in place a County Archive to fulfil Sligo’s need for a proper storage accommodation for its Architectural material.

As part of the development of this visionary project for a cultural corridor at this location, the Council proposes to locate its Arts Office within the cultural complex of the library, museum and archive, retaining a visibility and accessibility within the scheme. There is no grant funding available for this element of the project.

The project is proceeding on a phased basis. It is proposed that Phase 1 will consist of the new Sligo Branch Library and Headquarters and the County Museum together with the integrated strategy which will be defined by the framework plan that sets the layout for Phase 2 facilities to include civic space, future commercial development, a possible tourism flagship project and carparking. The development of the Archive and Arts Office will form the basis of the Phase 2 development.

Sligo County Council/Sligo Borough Council held a public information meeting in the Model & Niland Centre on 5th December, 2002 to inform the public on the current status of the project. The meeting was attended by a considerable number of local residents and interested parties.

The Architectural Design Competition for the project process has commenced. The advertising of the competition in local, national and EU press took place in December 2002. Stage 1 of the competition inviting interested competitors opened on 17th January, 2003, and closes on 24th March, 2003. The assessment of the Stage 1 applicants is to take place on 27/28 March 2003 following which the Stage 2 competition will be open to selected applicants. This process should close in early June 2003 with the assessment of the Stage 2 submissions. It is then intended that the project will go through the planning process.

In relation to the finances, the total net construction cost exclusive of VAT for the project has been set at €7.3m. This allows for €4.5m net construction cost for the Library and €2.8m. net construction cost for the museum.

The Council in setting these costs remains conscious of its contribution to be made over and above the grant funding (€4.285m for Library and €2.9m. for the Museum) which has been secured, while also striving to meet the objective of the provision of a high standard of cultural facilities in a framework of sustainable commercial opportunities.