Looking back on Mayo library service in 1975

By Tom Gillespie

BACK in December 1975 Mayo bookworms had tossed aside the old reliable westerns and romantic novels in favour of best selling novels by Alistair McLean and Frederick Forsyth.

No longer were members of the public just going into any of the county’s then 13 libraries and selecting any old book on the shelves. The avid reader then sought a particular book, usually one which had been reviewed in the press.

Back then the task of supplying these books - in fact 140,000 in all - to Mayo readers fell to newly appointed county librarian, the late Mary Kelleher (nee O’Grady).

Mary, who had just become engaged to Oliver, had been involved in the library service since coming to Castlebar in 1964.

She was the fifth female librarian appointed by Mayo County Council since the Castlebar branch, which was opened in 1943, and she replaced Mr. Maurice Flynn who left to take up an appointment in Limerick.

With the aid of three assistant librarians and nine library assistants, Mary controlled the entire service in the county including a mobile library which was introduced in June 1975, and after three months had built up a readership of 13,000.

In the previous 12 months branch libraries had been opened in Ballina, Ballyhaunis and Westport and plans were in hand then for the opening of outlets in Belmullet and Claremorris and the building of a new 17,000 square foot library headquarters in Castlebar.

Tenders for the erection of the new HQ were to be sought in the coming months and the new premises was to include a separate children’s section, reference rooms and an exhibition area. Also planned was a facility where the public could listen to records and tapes.

The most novel innovation to be included was the installation of a microfilm reader, costing £400, and microfilms of all the past editions of the three Mayo newspapers.

These films were to be made from the files of the Western People, Connaught Telegraph and Mayo News which are stored in the British Museum.

All the books in 1975 for the branches were personally selected by Mary who travelled to booksellers in Dublin and Limerick and chose from their stock. Other books were acquired by Mary when requested by library members.

Mary said: “In more recent times more and more members are frequently requesting specific books which have been reviewed in the papers or on television.

“Usually if there is a book reviewed on RTE’s ‘Late Late Show’ on a Saturday night you can expect six our seven people requesting it the following Monday.”

A special school library service was provided then by Mary, who was a native of Co. Sligo. Two books per child were provided in each of Mayo’s 240 national schools and these books were exchanged three times a year.

To supplement this a children’s section was opened at the Castlebar base in 1971 and was stocked with 6,000 books.

Since Mary joined the library service she had to deal with members of the public who complained that some books were pornographic.

In fact, she admitted: “Some people complained there was a ‘four letter’ word in a book. I usually know when a person is genuine and what I do is take the particular book off the shelf but hold it in stock for members who request it.”

One of the most recent 1975 books was ‘The Pirate’ by Harold Robbins. In 1973 John Broderick’s ‘An Apology for Roses,’ which had since been banned by the Censorship Board, was objected to and had to be removed from public sight.

Mary decided what books were purchased and which publications would not.

One author on Mary’s ‘black list’ was Dublin writer Lee Dunne. She explained in December 1975: “Even though most of his books are banned I think his works are not of literacy merit and I would not purchase any of them.”

In contrast, all of Brendan Behan’s books were available in the Mayo libraries and no complaints were made about them. On the other hand there were none of D.H. Lawrence’s works selected for distribution in the county.

In 1974, £38,000 was allocated by Mayo County Council for the purchase of books by the library service and for 1976 the county manager had allocated £51,000 for the service.

Mary, who devoted her time to pleasing the ever-increasing reading public, was asked what she did for relaxation. She read, of course, admitting: “At night if I discover I have not a book in the house I would come up to the library and get one.”

Since 1975 the library service has developed into one of the largest and most progressive in the country under county librarian, Austin Vaughan.

The one major development was the opening in May of 1990 of the new state-of-the-art headquarters of Leabharlann Ui Mhaille in honour of the late county manager Michael J. O'Malley, who put so much effort into bringing the project to fruition.