20 May 2021
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
With the launch of the new Library Service Development Plan 2020-2025 Cork County Council Library and Arts Service has laid out its progressive and inclusive strategic plan for the next five years.
Prepared in consultation with library staff and the public, and within the wider context of national and local strategies including the national library strategy Our Public Libraries 2022, the Library Service Development Plan forms the basis of all that the service aspires to be and how it will function in the community.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley welcomed the launch of the new strategy document saying:
“Cork County Council Library service aims to be open, accessible, and welcoming to everyone. This Development Plan sets out how the ambitions of the service and how these goals will be achieved. The library service has proven itself committed, above and beyond, to customer service. This has been especially evident in the past year, where library members remained connected with this service and its community of users through online services and deliveries. Demand for services has remained high, highlighting the importance of libraries to towns and villages. The library service has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to the needs of its members and will continue to do so as it learns and develops alongside the community it serves”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey, commented,
“Cork County Council’s Library Development Plan is a touchstone document that allows us to gauge the success of the Library in achieving its ambitious aspirations over the coming five years. As evidenced in recent times, our libraries are a continuously evolving service. This plan ensures our continued focus on providing an agile and proactive library service that can respond effectively to any changes that may arise in our operating environment between now and 2025.”
The mission statement of the library service is ‘to empower communities by providing access to resources that educate, inform, enlighten and enrich the lives of their citizens by supporting and promoting literacy and a love of reading and by collecting and preserving resources relating to the cultural heritage of Cork.’ The Development Plan is designed to support this mission in the development of the service over the next five years.
The Library Service Development Plan 2020-2025 is now available online at www.corkcoco.ie
