15 hours ago
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- Irish Examiner
Books are my business: Librarian at Bantry Library Denis Murphy
Denis Murphy is a librarian at Bantry Library, which will host numerous free events as part of this year's West Cork Literary Festival, running from July 11-18.
The library first opened to the public in 1974 and a book on its historical and architectural significance, Bantry Library: Bantry's Brutalist Bibliotheque, by Dermot Harrington marked the building's 50th anniversary.
How did you get into librarianship?
Having graduated with a BA in the late 1980s, the natural course for many students was to progress to the Higher Diploma in Education, but teaching wasn't for me and after a period of uncertainty, librarianship appeared to be a more natural fit.
I later completed a post-graduate diploma in library and information studies in UCD.
I have worked over the years in most sections of the Cork County Library and Arts Service, based in our HQ at the County Hall campus.
I spent the restrictive covid period in our Clonakilty branch before a transfer to my home town, Bantry, in January 2022.
What does your role involve?
My role includes a mix of planning, preparing and hosting of events, library administration and reports, community outreach, countywide library projects, and interacting with patrons at the issue desk.
Approaching high summer, the West Cork Literary Festival concentrates most of my attention.
It brings a terrific buzz to the town and the library, as one of eight venues, will host 13 free events, including the festival opening reception.
A mark of its continued success is the volume of repeat visitors to the library and it's also nice to see more locals attending.
What do you like most about it?
Seeing the excitement and sense of wonder children bring to the library.
We have moved beyond church-pew quietness so whether through a family or class visit, building Lego, playing chess, solving puzzles, or making crafts with the library's wonderfully creative staff, children just make the place their own.
It's also an enjoyable challenge to present library stock in an appealing way to patrons.
Removing a languishing novel from its alphabetical sequence and placing it on a themed pop-up display can be a ticket to a new home for three weeks.
When that works, it's very satisfying.
The retail side of librarianship also remains important and enjoyable.
If I turn around at the issue desk and look out the library's fabulous bow window, I can almost see the front of my father's old premises, 'The Mans Shop', where I would have first learned customer skills.
He was the best in the business at that. Whenever I slip up, I wonder how would he have handled it.
What do you like least about it?
Bantry Library is a wonderful heritage building with a book, film, and recent architectural award to its credit.
My role also involves a degree of facilities management. On occasion, chasing jobs to completion requires much patience.
Three desert island books
That Place We Call Home by John Creedon, which I really enjoyed and which would give me a sense of home if I was on a desert island.
He looks at the stories behind Irish place names and it is all done in a relatable conversational tone, in that typical Creedon way. I'm looking forward to seeing him at the festival.
I am a big fan of Michael Connelly's books, they are unputdownable and you would fly through them.
My second pick would be his book The Late Show, in which he introduced the feisty and fearless character Renee Ballard.
The third one would be The Game by the Cork writer Tadhg Coakley, who I met when he spoke about the book at the festival in 2022.
It is a fabulous book, a lovely blend of writing about his life, his involvement with the GAA and his love of sport.
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