The Library Service in Waterford gave people in Waterford access to books and opportunities to develop literacy skills. The Library Service was, and remains, a cultural hub for people in Waterford. The early days of the service laid the foundations of its commitment to serve the people of Waterford, urban and rural, and to give people access to opportunities to learn and explore. Dervla Murphy recalls the work of her father Fergus Murphy in the 1930s in establishing the County Library Service with its new headquarters in Lismore and the great excitement of tea chests of new books arriving.