The Guardian 20 August 2024 by Kate McCusker
…The country’s public libraries are alive and well, with loans up 31% in 2022 on the previous year. Ireland has just launched a programme offering a free book bag in English or Irish to every child starting school and it has an enviable programme of free author talks led by the fiction laureate, Tóibín, and funded by the arts council. “Ireland loves its libraries, and writers love Irish libraries, and there’s a real connection between the two thanks to engaged readers,” says Stuart Hamilton, the head of libraries development at the Local Government Management Agency.
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