Celebrate Ireland Reads at your Mayo Library
Mayo Library Service is slap bang in the middle of Ireland Reads Month, and it’s a lovely celebration of all things books, reading, writers and writing. And, of course, a celebration of all of you – our lovely readers!
All the stuff we love at any time of year, of course, but even more especially during February. The big day, naturally, is Ireland Reads Day, which falls this year on Saturday, February 28. That’s when we’d encourage you to call into your local library and have a look at all we can offer.
If you haven’t been into a library in a while you’ll see that while books are still the biggest and most important part of our business, they are not the only thing we offer. Did you know that you can borrow musical instruments – anything from a bodhrán to a harp and lots more besides – for your child that’s starting their lessons?
We’ve got Home Energy Savings Kits to help reduce your energy bills. We have blood pressure monitors you can borrow to use at home. We’ve got Radon monitors so you can check if your home has above average levels of radon – a gas that is perfectly safe outside, but a cause for concern if it’s found indoors. Or if you’re planning the dream birthday party (or First Holy Communion or Confirmation) for someone special, forget about disposable plates and plastic cutlery – ask us about our Reusable Party Kits.
But back to the books and the reading. If you are stuck in a reading rut, or you don’t know where to turn after finishing that series of page-turners by your favourite author - ask us! We’d be only too delighted to share our tips and recommendations with you. If we haven’t read it ourselves, one of our colleagues probably has, or one of our library book clubs. And, of course, we love having the book chats with people as they are returning books, so we pick up a lot that way.
If you find it difficult to fit reading time into your busy day, but you love having a podcast on the go, have you signed up for our BorrowBox app? It is full to bursting (literally) of fantastic ebooks, audiobooks, newspapers and magazines – all directly to your phone or tablet at the push of a button. We have library users constantly tell us how brilliant they find BorrowBox, so if you haven’t already tried it, make sure to get signed up.
Finally, we are celebrating a very special birthday this year – our 100th year in existence. Yes, we know, we don’t look it. On Ireland Reads Day we are launching our Create a Bookmark Competition – pick up an entry form or a blank bookmark in your local library. We’ll have design stations in our library branches on Ireland Reads Day so you can create your bookmark there or take it home with you and drop it back before the closing date of April 17.
Come up with a slogan or an illustration that captures what your library (and books and reading) mean to you. The winning bookmark will be professionally printed and made available in all of our library branches.
Contact the library on 094 9064010, librarymayo@mayococo.ie or check out the website at www.mayo.ie.
