New library in Tipperary will only have new books and stay open until 10pm
Council says the building is still under construction but should open to the public before the end of the year
Tipperary County Council has confirmed that every book in the new Cahir Library will be newly purchased, as well as a “My Open Library” system allowing the public to enter from 8am to 10pm daily.
During June’s Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel MD, District Director for the MD Damian Ginty answered councillors' questions regarding the new building.
“We’re buying a very eclectic collection of books, every book in that library will be brand new and we’ve been buying those for months now,” he told the meeting.
“All of these books then need to be brought in, boxed then shelved,” he said, explaining that the opening may extend beyond the estimated timeframe of September.
The discussion about the new library began after Independent councillor Mairin McGrath asked for an update on when it will open to the public.
“The building dates back to 1810,” explained Mr Ginty.
“The builders are on site and while they are on schedule, they still have months of work left to do. After the work is done, rooms need to be commissioned like the sensory room and podcasting room.
“Services like WiFi and printing all need to be commissioned also.”
With this in mind he said that the new Cahir library will likely open in Q4 instead of September. “We are anticipating opening this year, that is the plan,” he concluded.
Fine Gael Cllr Marie Murphy asked the meeting about the staffing situation in regards to the new library.
In response, Mr Ginty said that there will be four staff hired to do a five day week and the library will be open at weekends using the new ‘my open library’ system.
“This system means that everyone can use the library Monday to Sunday from 8am until 10pm,” he explained.