Library Service Looking To Up Its Offerings Under New Development Plan

The Wexford Library Service is going to look at plans to provide more access to library services outside of work hours.

It was one of the biggest issues raised by the Wexford public during a recent survey as part of the latest Library Development Plan 2026 to 2030.

Library users made over 480,000 visits to their local libraries last year but many would like to go more in the evening time.

County Librarian Eileen Morrissey says they already have a similar service available and they may now look to scale it up:

"In two of our libraries, we have a service called My Open Library which allows people to register in advance and access the service outside office hours.

"That means they can get service up until 10pm and all day on Sunday for example.

"People told us they'd like to see that service extended beyond New Ross and Gorey where it currently is in place."

Library officials say they want to up their game as there has been a concerning downward trend in our reading levels.

It's believed 1 in 5 people in Ireland find it difficult to read basic instructions and need help with numbers.

A recent OECD Survey found 21 per cent of adults here up to the age of 65 read at level one of the five level literacy scale.

It's an issue the Wexford Library Service is looking to tackle in its new Development Plan.

Ms Morrissey says it's an alarming statistic

"What that means is their literacy levels are really quite low and 1 in 5 adults would struggle to read their medications or things like that and it is quite pronounced."

One way they hope to address these concerns is by asking the public what they think and what they want to see from their local library.

That included a monster public consulation process carried out by library staff recently with over 1,100 participants featuring 168 teenager surveys, 38 stakeholder organisations, 13 focus groups and 3 outreach sessions.

Eileen says they wanted to get a proper snapshot of library users and non library users to find where they can improve.

One of the greatest achievements of our library service is the fact that they have become the number one inclusive, accessible and sensory aware environments in many of our towns.

Everyone is welcome at the library and those that need additional help will always find a friendly face who's willing to give a hand.

Eileen says this is something she's immensely proud of in Wexford but they can always get better in this area:

"We're looking at making libraries more sensory friendly, more accessible and allow people to know about the e-services that are available to them.

"It's about getting that message across to the community by having more people come in to speak to us and having them join the library and appreciate what's available for them."

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.