Galway East TD and Minister for Rural Affairs Seán Canney has welcomed the announcement of a €200,000 fund to buy 5,000 eBooks and eAudiobooks for public libraries following increased public demand.
Minister Canney said: “The COVID-19 crisis has seen an unprecedented demand for these services and I am delighted that my Department has responded in this way.
“Clearly people are not in a position to physically visit their local library in the current circumstances so it is only right that we should invest more in online services to meet demand..
“I acknowledge the support of my ministerial colleague the Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring TD in approving the new fund.”
In the week following the closure of public libraries more than 7,300 people registered for the Borrowbox service, which provides e-Books and eAudiobooks to library members. This was nearly as many people as had joined since the start of the year.
More than 25,000 eBooks were downloaded between March 13 and 19, which was three times the previous week.
During the same period, more than 26,000 eAudiobooks were downloaded, more than double the previous week.
Anyone interested in joining their local library can get further information at https://librariesireland.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/19000112082-how-can-i-get-a-library-card-so-that-i-can-read-ebooks[JD(1

For more information, contact Minister Canney on 086-2513639
March 26 2020