There are 353 branch libraries and 31 mobile libraries provided by 32 library authorities.  There are over 12 million visits to Irish public libraries each year.  A survey commissioned in 2003, puts the level of usage at 36% with over two-thirds of the population having been a member of a public library at some stage.
In 2005 (most recent figures available), there were 778,421 registered members in the public library system, equivalent to 18% of the population.  Membership figures alone do not reflect the increasing level of usage by adults of the reference, information and other services in public libraries, such as local history and exhibitions.

BorrowBooks (www.borrowbooks.ie) provides an online single point of access and search across all of the public library authorities catalogues and enables borrowers to locate and request items not held in their own library service from any Internet access location.  It is an initiative of the Irish public libraries, supported by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and initially funded by the Information Society Fund. The service was launched officially in February 2006. The BorrowBooks service in its first year of existence received a total of 10,900 items requested during the year from public library users, and 6.795 items were supplied by public library authorities.
More information on public libraries is available at www.librarycouncil.ie