'Jewel in the crown' - 500,000 people visited Waterford's excellent libraries last year

Waterford Library Services were hailed last week as being Waterford Council's "jewel in the crown".

There were almost 500,000 visitors to Waterford’s 12 libraries last year, with a number of initiatives driving ever-increasing numbers, such as the Borrowbox scheme and recent Summer Star programme.

The ‘My Open Library’ service, allowing libraries to remain open outside of staffed hours, has also proven wildly popular, particularly amongst students.

In City Hall last week, local councillors commended library staff for their tireless work.

Cllr Seamus Ryan, a former librarian, who has long been advocating for library services in the Council Chamber, said: “I believe the library service in Waterford is the jewel in the crown of all our services.” 

Cllr Donal Barry, meanwhile, commended library staff for their "outstanding dedication".

"It is a remarkable asset to this council," he said. "The library is at a very high standard of customer service and every time you go in there's always something engaging on or an event catering to all age groups. It's a vital asset."

Cllr Damien Geoghegan described local library services as "second to none" and Cllr Lola O’Sullivan said “we are so lucky to have such wonderful library staff".

Cllr Eamon Quinlan said that the My Open Library programme has been an "outrageous success" since its implementation.

"Library staff put in a lot of time on library projects outside of their regular working hours, so they're not getting paid for it, yet the sense of ownership they feel towards our libraries and the service libraries provide for our community is very difficult to capture and document," he added. "The staff are very much the cornerstone of library services across Waterford."