Hip, Hip… Hurray….The lovely new Library in Stillorgan has just opened and I popped in for a visit as I was so curious to see it.   Libraries are my favourite spot and I spend a lot of time in them… This one is close to where I live.

Everyone has been waiting for this, as the old prefab style library behind the old Stillorgan Bowling Alley closed down a good few years ago, with the library moving across the road to a much smaller space upstairs in the Shopping Centre.

The large site was developed into apartments by private developers and Dunlaoghaire Rathdown County Council.  At long last after all the years of speculation the Council’s apartments and Library are finished. 

The library is a really nice, bright, well designed space, with a good children’s section on the ground floor and space for people to study and read and browse. There is a lift and stairs to the First floor, which has more study and reading spaces and lots of lovely new books shelves to fill. It is right in the hub of Stillorgan and was already busy with a lively story telling session for younger kids, with older students arriving in school uniforms to study.

We are blessed with great libraries in the County, with the flagship one in Dun Laoghaire overlooking the harbour and pier, and other ones are in Deansgrange, Blackrock, Shankill, Ballyogan and Dundrum.

Like everyone else, it is concerning to see that the latest published readership figures show that among teenagers and young people reading books for pleasure is going down.  The vital and most important thing about libraries is to use them.