Temporary venue sought for Macroom library

CORK County Council has yet to set a date for the reopening of the Macroom Library following the fire at the Briery Gap Cultural Centre at the end of May.

While some of the books in the library were damaged by smoke during the blaze, the facility was spared major damage thanks in no small measure to the foresight of the local fire service and management at the Briery Gap.

Macroom station officer Niall Cronin said thanks to a prefire plan undertaken a couple of months before the fire his team were able to control the spread of the blaze, limiting further damage to the rest of the building including the library.

“We were aware that there were many books and documents of significant historical importance in the library and were keen to ensure they were not burned or water damaged,” said Niall.

Despite their efforts the library has remained closed since the fire, with Cork County Council now saying this has been further extended and the facility will remain closed “until further notice”.

A council spokesperson said that in the meantime the authority was in the process of “assessing options” for relocating the library to temporary accommodation.

“We hope to be able to restore services as soon as possible, albeit on a smaller scale,” said the spokesperson.

“Meanwhile borrowers can hold onto any items on loan from the library until a temporary service in place. Fines will also be suspended on all books that were loaned before the fire on May 28”.

However, books can be returned to any other County Libraries branch, the locations of which can be found at www. corkcoco.ie/library.

“People can also use their library at any branches and avail of our online services including e-books and magazines. We regret any inconvenience caused to library users and thank them for their patience,” said the spokesperson.