Dublin City Libraries is the largest library authority in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, serving over half a million people through a network of 21 branch libraries, a number of specialist services. Specialist services include online resources, Dublin City Archives, Dublin and Irish Local Studies Collection, Creative Studio, Music Library. With 2.6 million visits, and Wi-Fi Internet access available in all branches, the service aims to promote the concept of "lifelong learning in the community", offering a range of opportunities for all ages and backgrounds to "develop life chances and new learning skills". The

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

is administered by Dublin City Libraries. The application for designation as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...

, part of the

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.Broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

computers and Wireless (

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

)

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

access available in all branches *Business Information resources at the Central Library *The Creative Studio at Ballyfermot Library, a free to use digital maker space facilitating the creation of music recordings, podcasts, videos, digital stories and oral histories *Databases.dublincity.ie, a history and heritage resource, which includes online

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

s of Dublin City Electoral Lists, a Directory of Dublin Graveyards, Ancient Freemen of Dublin and community memory database which lists commemorative plaques around Dublin city. *Music Library at the Central Library. Access CDs,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

s, vocal scores, miniature scores,

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

, part-works,

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

, and songbooks. Other facilities available include CD listening booths, a keyboard and CD-track database. *An ongoing programme of events including lectures, readings, recitals and exhibitions *Language learning through online learning and conversation exchange in foreign languages *Services include multicultural services, home delivery service and services to prisons *Other services include the provision of meeting rooms to local community groups such as Historical Societies, Painting Groups, Parent & Toddler Groups, Writing groups, Reading groups and

book clubs Book club may refer to: * Book discussion club, a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read ** Literature circle, a group of students who meet in a classroom to discuss a book or books that they have read * Book sal ...

*Most branches provide quiet areas for study

Dublin City Library and Archive

Dublin City Archives contains records of the civic government of Dublin from 1171 to the late 20th century. These records include

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

and committee

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

, account books, correspondence, reports, court records, charity petitions,

title deeds A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

s and plans and drawings all of which document the development of Dublin over eight centuries. The Dublin and Irish Collection holds an extensive range of books relating to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and Ireland to which are regularly added new publications. In addition to

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

s dating from the 19th century, a considerable collection of older material is held of which the Gilbert Collection, with material from 16th to 18th centuries, forms the nucleus. Other resources include the Dix Collection of mainly 17th and 18th century Dublin and Irish imprints, the Yeats Collection, the Children's Book Collection and imprints of publishers such as the Dun Emer and

Cuala Press The Cuala Press was an Irish private press set up in 1908 by Elizabeth Yeats with support from her brother William Butler Yeats that played an important role in the Celtic Revival of the early 20th century. Originally Dun Emer Press, from 1908 un ...

. The Dublin Collection holds material relevant to Dublin City including books, newspapers and journals, photographs, maps, prints, drawings, theatre programmes, playbills, posters, ballad sheets, political cartoons, audio-visual material and

ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...

. A collection of Thom's Dublin street directories and other Dublin and Irish directories is also maintained. Housed alongside the Dublin Collection, the Irish Collection extends to subjects of national interest and includes books and other materials relating to Ireland, by Irish authors, or in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. The collection includes available published sources for Irish

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and family history.

Dublin City Carnegie Libraries

The

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

(1835–1919) funded the building of four Carnegie Libraries in the Dublin City Libraries branch network, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street;

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

Library (terracotta by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth, Staffordshire); Pembroke Library and Charleville Mall Library. Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street was originally opened in 1909. It was renovated and extended into two adjoining late-

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

houses, reopening in 2003. Rathmines Library was built in 1913 and reopened following renovation in 2011. Pembroke Library, built in 1927 and opened in 1929, and was the last Carnegie Library opened in Ireland. The writer

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...

was appointed the first Librarian of Pembroke Library in December 1929.

One Dublin One Book

Since 2006, Dublin City Libraries have promoted a particular book with a series of public events.One Dublin One Book
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References

External links

Dublin City Libraries websiteDublin City Libraries blogLibraries Ireland CatalogueLibraries and Archive - Heritage Databases
{{Authority control Public libraries Libraries in Dublin (city) Archives in the Republic of Ireland Culture in Dublin (city) Irish genealogy Carnegie libraries in Ireland