It’s that time of year again. The time when Christmas overindulgence reaches a tipping point. When chocolate for breakfast feels more like a cry for help than a fun little treat, where we lose all sense of time and structure, and loved ones start to disappear under piles of wrapping paper and ribbon. The time when you look around yourself and think: Ok, that was fun for a while, but now things really need to change.
Whatever goals you’ve decided to set for yourself this year, we’ve got you covered. Whether you have your sights set on learning a new skill, changing careers, improving your health, or even just meeting some new people, we’re here to help.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the goals you might want to set for yourself this new year and the tools we can offer to support you.
I’m Going to Learn a New Skill
Learning a new skill is always an admirable goal and a great way to keep yourself busy and your mind active. There are many ways in which your local library can support you in your lifelong learning, so let’s take a look at some of the skills you might be looking to learn and the specific tools we can offer to support you.
Languages
Learning a new language is a huge challenge and a great goal to set. It’s something that requires dedication and a lot of time, but can absolutely be worth it. Maybe you’re looking to travel more, maybe you want to brush up on vocabulary you learned in school, or maybe you’d like to learn a few words of Irish. Whatever your ambitions are, we can help.
Language sets – Most libraries will have a selection of language sets in our adult non-fiction section. Sometimes there’s just a book, but usually these sets will have a book plus an accompanying CD, which will teach you correct pronunciation. If you’re looking for resources for a particular language but your local library doesn’t have anything in stock, you should check out our national catalogue here to see if there’s anything in a different library that would suit. You can order items to be sent to your local library from any public library in the country, so there are many more resources available to you than just what’s available in your local branch.
Transparent Language – If you’re looking for a handy way to learn a language on the go, you can download the Transparent Language app and sign up for free with your library card. This app lets you learn a language on your phone or tablet, which is very handy if you ever have a few moments to spare during the day. In addition to the 119 languages available to learn through English, there is also the option to learn English through 35 specific languages, as well as a general English option. The app also offers the option to practice speaking the language, where you can record yourself speaking words or phrases and compare it with the correct pronunciation from a fluent speaker. If you’d rather not talk to yourself in public however, this is entirely optional and easy to skip if you’d prefer!
LOTE4Kids – LOTE provides access to digital books for children in languages other than English, which helps them with learning language skills through fun storytelling. It offers stories in other languages and some stories also offer a bilingual option, where each page is read in both English and a second language. Many of the stories also have free activity sheets that you can download and print off, such as colouring pages or “spot the difference†challenges.
Foreign Language Books/Magazines – If you’re looking to practice reading in other languages, or indeed if English isn’t your first language, we have books available in a variety of languages. Your local library might have a limited selection of such books, or a limited number of languages available, so you might need to search the national catalogue to find what you’re looking for. You can filter search results by language, so it’s easy enough to search through the collection. We also have foreign language books available for children, including some bilingual books, which have the same text in both English and another language.
We don’t have foreign language magazines in our branches, however there is a good selection available digitally through Libby. This is an app that you can download onto your phone or tablet and use for free by signing up with your library card. In addition to a great selection of magazines in English, there are titles available in many other languages also.
Cooking
Dining out can be very expensive and, with the cost of living increasing, it’s very useful to know the basics of cooking in order to save money and time by cooking at home. Plus, it’s fun! Once you’ve gotten the hang of the basics, you can make your favourite dishes at home and tailor them to suit your own tastes.
Every library usually has a big collection of cookbooks in our adult non-fiction section, which we’re always adding to, and you can often find books in the kids’ section too, for any aspiring young chefs you might know. Whether you’re learning the basics or looking to expand your existing repertoire, you should be able to find something to suit your skill level in your local branch. If you’re looking for a specific cookbook, you can search for it in our catalogue to have it sent to you from another branch.
There are lots of great options to choose from, to match every lifestyle and budget. Try browsing the online catalogue to see what suits you best. You can search for budget cooking, vegetarian cooking, student meals, or even cooking with particular health requirements in mind, such as cooking for people with diabetes. Anything you need, you can probably find it there!
If you don’t have time to visit your local branch, you can also find some great recipes if you check out some of our eServices. BorrowBox allows you to borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks for free using your library card and it has a great selection of cookbooks available, including the ever-popular Mary Berry. Libby also has a great selection of cookery magazines available, which are full of great recipes.
Crafts
Arts and crafts are a great way to exercise your creativity and keep you busy. Plus, you can make some lovely things, either for yourself or to give away as gifts, so there’s no downside really. Some crafts require you to buy materials, which can be expensive depending on what you’re interested in, but that’s not always the case. If you have just a piece of paper and a pencil at home, you can get started learning to draw, or if you can reach out to friends to see if you can borrow materials from them – it’s always very helpful to borrow instead of buying new, especially if you’re not sure if you’ll stick with your new hobby. If you have a smartphone, you could try out photography or film. If you have a spare notebook lying around, you could take up journalling or creative writing. There are plenty of options, you just need to find what’s right for you!
Your local branch should have plenty of books in the non-fiction section, covering a variety of hobbies and crafts. Crochet and knitting are always very popular and you should definitely be able to find something for them, but you might also be able to find other crafts also if they don’t interest you. Quilting, embroidery, painting, printing, collage, drawing – there are so many options to choose from.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in your local branch, you can search our online catalogue to see what’s available in other branches, or you can also check out our eServices. Libby has a huge collection of crafting magazines, with a great variety of arts and crafts to choose from. BorrowBox also has a big collection of craft and hobby books, which you can access by using just your phone or tablet at home.
Many of our libraries will have craft groups also, who meet regularly in the library. These events aren’t usually classes, they’re social groups for people who are interested in crafts to meet up, work together, and have a chat about their craft projects. Some groups are for particular crafts, such as knitting, crochet, creative writing etc., but others are more general. If you reach out to your local library the staff there can let you know what groups they have, or you can sign up for our email newsletter for the latest events and updates for your local branch.
I’m Going to Find a New Job
Finding a job can be tough and finding the job that’s right for you is even tougher still. Even if you’re currently in employment, but looking for a change, leaving your job can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’ve worked in the same place or the same field for some time, but often it can be worth it to find a job that’s a better fit for you.
We have plenty of books in our catalogue that cover general job-seeking skills, such as interview tips, creating a CV, and aptitude tests. If you’re looking to brush up on your skills, we also have online classes available through Universal Class. Here, you can find courses in general skills, such as social and interview techniques, but also more specific courses, such as accounting, business, and computer literacy. There are plenty of classes to choose from and they’re all free with your library account, so you should definitely check it out!
If you’re looking to hunt for a new job, but you don’t have a PC or laptop at home to work on your CV or to fill out online applications, your local library should have PCs available for you to use, along with printing, photocopying, and scanning services. Some branches even have laptops and tablets available for use in the library, you just need your library card to check them out.
I’m Going to Improve my Health
“Your health is your wealthâ€, as some like to say. It’s not always easy to get into healthy habits, but it can definitely be worth it. There are many small changes that we could all make to improve our health, maybe by getting in more exercise or learning a few nutritious recipes.
If you’re looking to work on your health, the first place to go would be our Healthy Ireland collection. Each library has a collection of Healthy Ireland books, which cover a wide range of topics, from physical to mental health. This collection is funded by the Department of Health and what makes it stand out from the rest of our non-fiction collection is that all of the books on the list have been recommended by healthcare professionals. There’s also a huge collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks on health and fitness available from BorrowBox, if you don’t get a chance to head to your local branch, including many books from the Healthy Ireland collection.
In addition to our Healthy Ireland book collection, we also run a series of Healthy Ireland events throughout the year. This includes talks and workshops, covering a wide variety of topics and facilitated by qualified professionals. The best way to keep up with the events in your local library is to subscribe to the newsletter. If you can’t make it to in-person events, Libraries Ireland also have a series of recorded webinars here, which might be of interest.
A great way to improve your fitness level is to take up a new activity or sport. All of our libraries have books on different sports in our non-fiction section, which can help you get started. If you’re not interested in competitive sports, we also have books on solo activities, such as walking, running, or hiking. Have a look and there’s sure to be something of interest!
If you take a look at the Libby app, there’s also a great collection of health and fitness magazines to get you started, including some in languages other than English.
I’m Going to Meet New People
If your goal for the year is to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people, you should check out some of the events in your local library. In addition to some great once-off workshops and talks throughout the year, we also have plenty of groups who meet regularly.
There are of course the usual book clubs, with some libraries running book clubs for particular genres, such as crime, fantasy, or sci-fi. Many libraries also usually have craft groups, including crochet or knitting groups, where members meet to chat about their shared interests and work on craft projects together.
If you want to learn about all of the events happening in your local library, you can ask staff at the desk, or you can subscribe to our monthly email newsletter to get all the latest updates.
So, there you have it! Hopefully we can help you with your resolutions, whatever they may be, and if we can’t then let us know! At the moment, we’re in the process of creating a new Library Development Plan, to cover from 2024-2028, and feedback is so helpful to us, as it lets us know where we need to improve and what services our users are looking for. If you’d like to give us some feedback, we have a survey form here, which will be available until the 26th of January.
Leave a Reply