‘Phenomenal’ increase in use of Kilkenny libraries post-Covid

Membership is booming at the public libraries in Kilkenny - but more investment is needed in new books and resources if the county is to reach the national spending target.

Almost one-quarter of the people living in Kilkenny are members of the library - with a 42% increase in membership post-Covid.

Over the same timescale there has been a 360% increase in the use of Kilkenny Library’s online services.

The positive developments were revealed in a presentation from County Librarian, Josephine Coyne, to a recent meeting of Callan Thomastown Municipal District councillors.

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As the library service rebuilt, post Covid, it has seen a 22% increase in items borrowed and 14% more visits to the libraries, across Kilkenny.
There are eight library branches and a mobile library service in the county. With a combined 311 open hours, it is a well supported service.

Ms Coyne described how one of the key achievements of the service, over the last five or six years, is welcoming 188,000 people to branches, with a standout increase of 388% of people through the doors of the Mayfair Library compared to the regular visitors to the Carnegie Library, which it replaced.

Membership in Kilkenny is higher than the national average, but the local service is working to get that to the national target of 30% of the population.

Both the increase in membership and visits show how investment in the library service can be reflected in real benefits in the community, and contribute to the vibrancy and vitality of an area.

Infrastructural work is needed in Graignamanagh and Urlingford libraries, she said.
Meanwhile work is ongoing on a new library in Thomastown and Callan should see a new library in the coming years, as part of the Friary Complex development.

The Carnegie Library is set to become the new home for the Local Studies department and a grant has been received for the purchase of a new mobile library vehicle.

However, Ms Coyne said the current per capita spend on resources in the Kilkenny service is €2.19. The national target is €4.
Funding for the library represents 3.6% of the local authority budget, Ms Coyne said. It represents value for money, she added. “We would like to invest in staff and resources so we can respond to the needs of the community.”
She said the library service has worked hard over the last few years and invested wisely.

One of the challenges to increasing participation and membership is that some people don’t know the wide range of services now available through libraries.

Kilkenny’s library service is embracing digital services.
During Covid, the use of these services increased dramatically, by 360%, Ms Coyne said. The most popular resources were Borrowbox and the Irish Newspaper Archive.
The library’s digital offering has transformed the services it can offer and has expanded to include comics, filming streaming, book clubs and virtual events.

In the libraries themselves digital services allow people to check out and return books themselves as self-service desks. Staff will always support those who struggle with technology, Ms Coyne stressed.
Covid reduced the engagement of people with the library service, Ms Coyne said. In the years since not only have they got those engagement numbers back up but increased engagement, which, she said, “is phenomenal.”

Ms Coyne set out the development plan for the Kilkenny County Council Library service, from 2025 to 2029.
The mission of the library service is to “aim to cultivate sustainable, inclusive, engaged communities and to continue to promote the love of reading, life-long learning and cultural heritage.”
It’s a statement that shows the community library has become much more than just a place to borrow a printed book.

In the plan, the service outlines how people are at the heart of what it does.
The library services sees itself having an important role in the area of cultural heritage, encouraging meaningful civic and cultural engagement, in partnership with a range of other agencies.
A digital archive has already been created and the Kilkenny Library Service hopes to recruit an archivist soon.

The library also has a role in working with new communities to ensure all cultures are catered for.
Supporting literacy and learning is a core element of the library’s work.
Ms Coyne said the library staff are a key asset to the organisation.