Dr Sandra Collins, NLI Director, speaking at the launch (08.09.16) by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD, outlined the Library’s vision to expand the national collections for a changing digital world.
According to Dr Collins, the memory of modern Ireland is increasingly created in digital form and we need innovative approaches to capture and share the contemporary record.
“The national collections are the heart of the Library. They are permanent and open to all. The National Library has always collected the memory of Ireland in its many different forms, from letters to manuscripts, from photographs to newspapers, and today as our lives become more digital we are adding these new digital memories into the national collections.”
The NLI has set ambitious yet grounded strategic priorities that optimise the services it delivers and to ensure the national collection is safely and expertly cared for.
The five strategic priorities for the National Library of Ireland for 2016-2021 are to collect, protect, connect, innovate and collaborate. The NLI’s Strategy 2016 – 2021 can be downloaded from here.
The Annual Review 2015 outlines the achievements of the Library last year. Key highlights are:
- The NLI attracted 21.1 million interactions online.
- There were almost a quarter of a million visitors to the NLI in 2015.
- A total of 12,887 new and antiquarian books were catalogued – including books from the WB Yeats Library, the poet’s own book collection.
- During 2015, 15,859 people attended tours, talks, workshops and performances at the NLI.
- Six major exhibitions were staged during 2015, attracting 150,000 visitors. A series of travelling exhibitions were hosted by 13 locations, around Ireland and internationally, increasing the reach and access of the Library’s exhibitions.
Further information is available at www.nli.ie.