Clare County Library Service has overseen the planned re-opening of most library service points since June and had planned to re-open the part-time library in Kildysart this month.
However, as part of the Government’s Covid-19 response plan for the safe re-opening of schools and The Roadmap for the Full Return to School, Clare County Library Service was approached by St John Bosco Community School with a request to cede the library space in Kildysart to the school as a classroom for the coming year.
A number of options were looked at in an effort to support a library service from the classroom, but due to the highly infectious nature of Covid-19 transmission, it is not possible to use the space in a dual-function capacity.
Clare County Library Service will instead provide a contact and collect service from outside Kildysart Library, commencing at 2:00pm on Friday, 11th September, 2020.
Members of the public can contact Kilkee Library on 065-9056034 to order library items and will then be able to collect them from the library van, which will be situated outside Kildysart Library between 2:00pm and 4:00pm each Friday. Members of the public also have the option of the cocooning book delivery service for those who are unable to leave home, which similarly can be booked through Kilkee Library. This service is available for all library members, including teens and children. Members of the public can also return library items to the library van.
Other library services continue to be available such as online e-resources including books, newspapers, magazines, language and other training courses, as well as children’s resources including story time and craft sessions online.
Helen Walsh, Clare County Librarian, said: “It is unfortunate that we are unable to re-open Kildysart Library in September. This is another example of how new requirements due to Covid-19 are impacting on our ability to deliver services. We have had to react in innovative ways and we will provide a contact and collect service to the community in the interim while also exploring other options of library provision in Kildysart in the longer term. We appreciate how valued the library service is to the community.”
Non-members can join the library online at www.clarelibrary.ie.