Portlaoise library closing to move into long awaited new building

Portlaoise library has announced a temporary closure so it can move home.

The long awaited new county library on Main Street is about to throw open its doors. 

There will be eight days of no library at all in the town as the big move of books takes place.

"Portlaoise Library Service will close on Saturday, July 8 at 4pm.

"We will reopen in your new Portlaoise Library on Tuesday, July 18 at 10am. We look forward to seeing you on Main Street in our new premises! Library Management".

The new county library has taken a full decade of planning and construction, after being beset by multiple delays. It was built on the former Shaws department store site on Main Street, bought by Laois County Council in 2013.

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At last pricing, it is costing €6.5 million plus VAT, and will offer a 1,500m² central branch library with a local studies centre, an ICT room, staff offices, events area and an exhibition space.  

It has a series of interconnecting rooms both single height and double height, lined with bookcases, reading desks and galleries, offering a combination of calm study areas and animated public spaces. The old Shaws corner pediment was recreated in the new design.