2007 was another busy year for Sligo Library Service where the calendar of events for the year reflected a host of different events, activities, presentations and exhibitions. Providing a quality service and a desire to promote and foster reading for all is at the core of the Library service.
Sligo County Library Service continued to increase its level of service and commitment to the public by increasing its opening hours in 2007. Opening at 9.30am, remaining open through lunch hour and providing late openings until 8pm, on Tuesday nights in Tubbercurry Community Library and Thursday nights in Central Library, Sligo town, ensures that the public have varied options to suit their needs and lifestyles. In addition Ballymote branch Library increased its opening hours from 11 hours to 22 hours per week from December 2007.
Access for people with disabilities was a priority for Sligo Library Service during 2007. As such disabled parking, disabled toilets, ramps, Induction loops and directional signage were all realized in selected branches. These infrastructural changes already complemented other facilities in situ, such as reading magnifiers at all desks and software such as JAWS and ZOOMTEXT available in all branches on selected public computers. A second training day for staff on the theme of ‘Making Access Happen’ was held in January 2007.
Sligo Libraries are committed to multiculturalism and recognize the importance of the various non Irish national communities in our society as a whole. In recognition of this we have implemented various strategies.
A policy of collection development aimed specifically at foreign language material, adult and juvenile, fiction and non-fiction, has been ongoing throughout 2007. Material can be found in Central Library, Stephen Street and Tubbercurry Community Library, Humbert Street, Tubbercurry.
The BorrowBooks initiative allows a library member to search across the Irish public libraries’ online catalogues to locate and request an item which is not held in the person’s own library service. This initiative, which was introduced in 2005 continues to go from strength to strength and in 2007 Sligo Library Service supplied 263 items to other libraries and received 308 items from other libraries.
Sligo Libraries provide access to electronic resources which enable non Irish nationals access to a wide range of news media. In all five branch Libraries readers can enjoy over 500 full content digital replicas of newspapers and magazines from 70 countries in 37 languages. To access simply type in the web address http://library.pressdisplay.com on any of the Public access computers in the various branches.
The Irish Times Digital Archive Sevice was launched on 8th October 2007 by Mr John Gormley, TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The digital archive contains every page of The Irish Times published since the newspaper’s foundation almost 150 years ago. The archive is available free of charge to Internet users within every public library and school via the www.askaboutireland.ie website. The digitization project was co-funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and The Irish Times Trust.
Sligo’s first Writer-In-Residence was appointed in September 2007. Niall Williams, twice IMPAC-nominated author, conducted a series of writing workshops and literary appreciation courses with writers, readers and library staff. Mr. Williams will continue his residency until March 2008.
To further encourage reader development among our customers, Sligo Libraries have a number of book clubs set up in various branches. These clubs promote the pleasures of reading and develop the members appreciation of literature at all levels.
“Thursday’s Thoughts” the second publication by the local Leyney Writers was launched by Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr. Jerry Lundy of Sligo Co. Council on Thursday 14th June 2007 at Tubbercurry Community Library. “Thursday’s Thoughts” is an anthology of stories, poems and memoirs and is the end product of a series of workshops held in Tubbercurry Community Library over the past two years.
Extracts from the book were read by various authors on the night and numerous copies were sold. The launch was very well received by the large crowd in attendance and Mr. Donal Tinney, County Librarian, congratulated the writers on their production and spoke of the Library’s support for writers and the arts. Refreshments were served courtesy of Tubbercurry Community Library staff.
The Local Studies Department increased its extensive collection by taking possession of the Harbour Board archive in 2007. The first steps in the Down Survey mapping Project were taken when all the maps were digitised in May of this year. It is expected that all maps will be viewable on the Sligo Library web-site by late summer 2008. This project will complement the already completed 1837 Ordnance Survey map collection which is available on the website www.sligolibrary.ie . Computerisation of all Local History material was ongoing with various records viewable in the aforementioned catalogue.
A major marketing survey took place in all public libraries around the country during the third week in September 2007. The aim of the Public Library User Survey was to assess how well Sligo Library Service meets the needs of its members. Almost 1,000 PLUS questionnaires, which were available in 5 languages in order to obtain the views of as wide a range of users as possible were issued to adult members during the week throughout the county.
Sligo Central Library issued 544 questionnaires alone over the week, during the Plus 2007 survey, making it the 8th busiest library in the country in terms of adult visitor count.
The following tables show Sligo libraries expenditure for the fiscal year 2007 (table 1) and how Sligo Libraries compared with the national average using the five related service indicators (table 2).
By studying this data we find that Sligo Libraries are in 27th position nationally and 4th in comparison to the other counties in Connacht in relation to annual expenditure (Table 1).
In addition we find that in four of the five service indicators, Sligo Libraries outperform the national average in the sectors outlined below (Table 2). As such by Sligo Local Authorities continuing its support for the Library Service we hope to maintain this high standard of excellence.
In all five branches on average over four and a half thousand items are borrowed each week during the year and over 600 people per week access Internet Services.
| National Position | County | Operation and Maintenance | Stock General | Stock Primary | Total Stock Fund | Contribution to Library Council | Loan Charges | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | Galway | €3,475,938 | €520,000 | €80,000 | €600,000 | €46,000 | €0 | €0 | €4,121,938 |
| 11th | Mayo | €2,780,844 | €480,000 | €69,450 | €549,450 | €37,706 | €0 | €0 | €3,368,000 |
| 22nd | Roscommon | €1,265,000 | €309,000 | €29,000 | €338,000 | €19,000 | €0 | €198,000 | €1,820,000 |
| 27th | Sligo | €1,192,827 | €195,000 | €30,000 | €225,000 | €20,673 | €85,000 | €35,000 | €1,559,000 |
| 30th | Leitrim | €1,165,996 | €95,000 | €4,000 | €109,000 | €7,800 | €65,000 | €21,000 | €1,368,796 |
Sligo population 58,200 |
Service indicators | Sligo total | National average |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Public opening hours Average hours per week for full time libraries Average hours per week for part time libraries |
36.8 15 |
38.0 16.7 |
| L2 | Number of registered members as percentage of local population | 22% | 21% |
| L3 | Number of items issued per head of population Books Other items |
3.59 0.43 |
3.4 0.2 |
| L4 | Percentage of Libraries that offer internet access to the public | 100% | 100% |
| L5 | Number of internet sessions provided per 1,000 population | 572.56 | 463.8 |
| Service Point | Issue Figures January-December 2007 | Number of Internet Users January-December 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Sligo Central Library | 133,972 | 7,271 |
| Tubbercurry Community Library | 38,891 | 9,267 |
| Enniscrone Branch Library | 10,072 | 1,619 |
| Ballymote Branch Library | 9,187 | 736 |
| Westward Centre | 5,200 | 10,759 |
| Total | 197,322 | 29,652 |