Over half a million hours of Internet booked in Clare

The Clare Champion, Friday, 13th January 2006

Ennis library users have topped a poll of the amount of internet hours booked in libraries throughout County Clare. More than 34,500 hours were booked by people using the library in Ennis in 2005.

Free public access to the internet was made available to the general public for the first time in all Clare services points in 2001. And over the last five years the public have used over half a million hours of internet access (531,624) by far the highest in the country even higher per head of population than Dublin city.

2004 saw a small decrease in usage, but 2005 shows an increase overall with spectacular increase in usage in places like Kilrush (28%), Miltown and Corofin (22%), Ennistymon and Kildysart (20%), Cranny (40%) and Tulla (19%). “This service has effectively got rid of the digital divide in County Clare and created a digital dividend. To put the usage in context the hours used on the Internet is the equivilant to having one computer in use 24 hours a day for over 60 years,” explained Noel Crowley, county librarian.

<< Library Newscuttings