THE THREAT TO library services has been a huge issue in Co Sligo over the last few weeks – after the local council’s CEO said earlier this month that current operations were being reviewed.
Sligo County Council had been operating the service with depleted resources for some time, Ciaran Hayes said, according to the Sligo Champion.
“It is not possible to continue to service three libraries with such a reduced compliment which regrettably necessitates an examination of the service in its entirety.”
The move – as you might imagine – has been met with some public outcry, and protest groups have been formed.
It appeared some progress was being made this week, after Sligo County Council Cathaoirleach Joseph Queenan said he was certain no libraries would be closed.
However, the council CEO is still yet to make a public statement to that effect – and other councillors are calling on him to confirm the libraries’ doors will be staying open by next Monday.
Amidst all this – with the issue a regular topic of conversation at the family dinner table, and in her school – 7-year-old Grace McGlone decided to put pen to paper this week to make the case for Ballymote’s library to remain open.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about alright, but she just came home one day and sat down and decided to write it,” Grace’s dad, Dermot, told us.
She came in to ask me where the address goes on a letter, and all that sort of thing.
The library, according to Grace, is one of the best she has “ever seen”.
“I have read about two hundred books in that place,” she writes – before listing her top five (perhaps with one eye on a job at TheJournal.ie some day).
Here’s the whole thing…
In case you can’t make it out (it’s a little light) – here’s the transcript:
Please don’t close Bally-mote library, because evry one loves it. We do music there and get lovely books. Louise, Bridy and Bernedette [the librarians, we're told] are very nice and friendly too. If you do lots of Bally-mote’s resedents will get upset a they might cry! It is one of the best librarys I have ever seen. The fourth class go to music too. Evry time we go there are about ten pepoel there. I am sure resedents from other towns come, and that might be the only library they know. I have read about two hundred books in that place! There are the top five books, “Otoline goes to School”, “Helen Keller Courage in the Dark”, “Mheanwhile”, “Kittens and Puppies” and “Bugs”.Please don’t close our library
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