Courtney McGrailStaff Reporter
A plan to let Dublin City University take on the running of the historic Catholic Central Library in Merrion Square, Dublin, now looks to be danger after the Annual General Meeting of the members of the library last week.
New members were elected to the board of the library and a majority appear to be opposed to plans by the previous board to effectively merge the library with DCU. The previous board believed this would secure the future of the library and ensure that the library’s very extensive collection of books, some of them very rare, would be properly archived and preserved.
However, some of the new board members fear that the move would jeopardise the identity of the library and therefore want to consider alternative ways to secure the library’s future.
Like many libraries, the Catholic Central Library has seen a huge drop in demand for its services. In the 1940s, thousands of people used it each year. Today, only a few people use it each week. In addition, the library is running at a small financial deficit each year which is running down its cash reserve.
The new board must now devise and consider alternative proposals to the DCU one, or else return to the DCU proposal if it is still on the table.