The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is 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 ...

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...

located in

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 ...

, in a building designed by

Thomas Newenham Deane Sir Thomas Newenham Deane (1828 – 8 November 1899) was an Irish architect, the son of Sir Thomas Deane and Eliza Newenham, and the father of Sir Thomas Manly Deane. His father and son were also architects. Works attributed to Thomas Newen ...

. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is 'To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge.' The library is a

reference library A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

and, as such, does not lend. It has a large quantity of Irish and Irish-related material which can be consulted without charge; this includes books,

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 ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s, music, newspapers,

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

s and photographs. Included in their collections is material issued by private as well as government publishers. The

Chief Herald of Ireland The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...

and National Photographic Archive are attached to the library. The library holds

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

s and holds an archive of Irish newspapers. It is also the

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

National Centre for Ireland. The library also provides a number of other services including

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 ...

. The

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media ( ga, An tAire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán) is a senior minister (government), minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Depart ...

is the member of the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

responsible for the library. The main library building is on

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...

, adjacent to

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

and the archaeology section of the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

History

The National Library of Ireland was established by the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act 1877, which provided that the bulk of the collections in the possession of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, should be vested in the then Department of Science and Art for the benefit of the public and of the Society, and for the purposes of the Act. An Agreement of 1881 provided that the Library should operate under the superintendence of a Council of twelve Trustees, eight of whom were appointed by the Society and four by the Government; this Agreement also conferred on the Trustees the duty of appointing the officers of the Library. This arrangement remained in place until the library became an autonomous cultural institution in 2005. After the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1924/5 the Library was transferred to the Department of Education under which it remained until 1986 when it was transferred to the

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

. In 1927 the Library was granted legal deposit status under the Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Act 1927. In 1992 the Library transferred to the newly established Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (now Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) and on 3 May 2005 became an autonomous cultural institution under the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997. The library has had a series of notable directors, such as

Thomas William Lyster Thomas William Lyster (1855–1922) was director of the National Library of Ireland in Dublin between 1895 and his retirement in 1920. Lyster joined the library in 1878 and was appointed as its director in 1895. He was also a scholar who trans ...

(1895-1920),

Robert Lloyd Praeger Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian. Biography From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...

(1920-24),

Richard Irvine Best Richard Irvine Best (17 January 1872 – 25 September 1959), often known as R. I. Best, was an Irish scholar who specialised in Celtic Studies. Best was born into a Protestant family in Derry and educated at Foyle College before working for a ...

(1924-40), Richard J. Hayes (1940-67) and

Sandra Collins Sandra Collins is an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. Biography Collins got her start on the West Coast of the U.S. in Phoenix, Arizona and then moved into residencies in Los Angeles, and eventually moved towards trance. She used Ame ...

(2015-21). The post is currently vacant, with Katherine McSharry taking the position of Acting Director.

Collections

The main collection of the library is a combination of stock transferred from the Royal Dublin Society, later acquisitions, and copyright deposits of all work published in Ireland. The National Cultural Institutions Act 1997 mandated that the National Library of Ireland collect all materials relating to Ireland to provide an accurate record of Irish output. The NLI holds over 2785 subject items related to 20th Century Irish Poetry Irish Authors. The National Library of Ireland is main source for the collection of poetry by Irish writers. The National Library of Ireland houses collections of archival papers, including personal notes and work books, of the following eminent writers: *

Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" D ...

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...

* Una Troy *

Sheila Wingfield The Rt Hon. Sheila Wingfield, Viscountess Powerscourt (née Sheila Claude Beddington; 23 May 1906 – 8 January 1992), was an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and work Lady Powerscourt was born in Hampshire and attended the Roedean School. She attended ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

The National Library of Ireland houses the Sheehy Skeffington Papers, a collection of articles, books, poems, and other materials of Irish writers and activists,

Francis Sheehy Skeffington Francis Joseph Christopher Skeffington (later Sheehy Skeffington; 23 December 1878 – 26 April 1916) was an Irish writer and radical activist, known also by the nickname "Skeffy".Dara Redmond"Officer who exposed pacifist's murder", ''The Irish ...

, and Hanna Sheehy Skeffington. These writings offer an understanding into the influence of the Francis and Hanna Skeffington in early 20th Century Irish culture and thought as well as insight into their family life. The Library also holds the Cooper Collection. Austin Cooper (1759–1831) was a

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

clerk who produce numerous sketches of Irish antiquities which were preserved by his great grandson. The Cooper Collection also contains drawings by other artists including Francis Wheatley. In 2010, the National Library of Ireland began a collaborative effort in a new website, The National Archive of Irish Composers, which was designed to develop a free online comprehensive collection of the sheet music of 18th and 19th century Irish Composers. As of 2021, the website of The National Archive of Irish Composers describes the project as a collaborative venture between the National Library of Ireland, TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, Heritage Music Productions, and directed by Dr Una Hunt. In 2019, the Library accessioned its first "

born digital ''Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives'' is a book by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser exploring the consequences of the wide availability of internet connectivity to the first generation of people born to it, whom Palfr ...

" collection as a pilot scheme, receiving the digital collection of Irish author,

Marian Keyes Marian Keyes (born 10 September 1963) is an Irish author and radio presenter. She is principally known for her popular fiction. Keyes became known for her novels ''Watermelon'', ''Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married'', ''Rachel's Holiday'', ''Last ...

. The Library also maintains an online index of all Catholic parish registers up to the 1880s which recorded baptisms, marriages and some burials. The original collection was preserved on microfilm and later was provided online.

References

External links

*
National Library of Ireland Catalogue, including digitised material

Sources: A National Library of Ireland database for Irish research

National Library of Ireland on Facebook

National Library of Ireland on Flickr

National Library of Ireland on Twitter

The National Library of Ireland's online exhibition, ''Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats''

The National Library of Ireland's online exhibition, ''Discover your National Library''

The National Library of Ireland's online exhibition, ''The 1916 Rising: Personalities and Perspectives''

National Library of Ireland Collections on the European Library Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Library Of Ireland 1877 establishments in Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Deposit libraries Libraries in Dublin (city) Archives in the Republic of Ireland National museums of the Republic of Ireland Museums in Dublin (city) Libraries established in 1877 Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

History

Collections

See also

References

External links