Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive
Encyclopedia
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, serving over half a million people through a network of 41 branch libraries and service points.
Specialist services include the Local Studies and Archive, Business Library, Music Library, and an Open Learning Centre. With over three million annual 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 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
is administered by Dublin City Public Libraries.
The application for designation as a UNESCO City of Literature, part of the Creative Cities Network
Creative Cities Network
Not to be confused with:*Creative Cities, an international European project designed and managed by the British Council.*Creative city, an urban planning concept.*Creative City, an urban development project in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates....
was initiated and led by Dublin City Public Libraries.
Services
Dublin City Public Libraries provides a range of services for readers, learners, students, hobbyists, the business community, and others. These include:- Access to general collections and reference and information services
- Access to Local Studies Collections and Archives in the Reading Room at the Dublin City Library and Archive
- BroadbandBroadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
and WirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
(Wi-Fi) InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access available in all branches - DublinHeritage.ie, a history and heritage resource, which includes online databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s of Dublin City Electoral Lists, a Directory of Dublin Graveyards and community memory database which list commemorative plaques around dublin city. - Business Information Centre, a reference centre specialising in company and market research information. The centre holds books, national and international directories, magazines, trade journals, reports, databases, electronic resources, statistics, daily newspapers, government publications, City and County Development Plans, maps & atlases, newspaper/press cuttings on Irish companies & organisations and a wide range of business related subjects
- Open Learning Centre, located in the Central Library, offers a wide range of computer and language self learning courses
- Music Library, where music is available in a broad range of formats, either recorded, in the case of CDs, DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, and CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s, or printed as with our Vocal Scores, Miniature Scores, Sheet musicSheet musicSheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, Part-works, Libretti, and Songbooks. Other facilities available include CD sampling booths, a keyboard and a song-line and CD-track database. - An ongoing programme of events including lectures, recitals and exhibitions
- Language learning is also facilitated in the Dublin City Public Library System through a group dynamic process centred around conversation exchange in foreign languages
- Services to particular groups include services to schools, multicultural services, housebound 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
- Several branches provide access to Adult Literacy Services
- Most branches provide quiet areas for study
Dublin City Library and Archive
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
and committee minutes
Minutes
Minutes, also known as protocols, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.Minutes may be...
, account books, correspondence, reports, court records, charity petitions, title deeds, maps
MAPS
Maps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
and plans and drawings all of which document the development of Dublin over eight centuries.
Dublin City Public Libraries' Dublin and Irish Collections holds an extensive range of books relating to Dublin and Ireland to which are regularly added new publications. In addition to imprints from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, a considerable collection of older material is held of which the Gilbert Collection, comprising 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
Yeats
W. B. Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright.Yeats may also refer to:* Yeats ,* Yeats , an impact crater on Mercury* Yeats , an Irish thoroughbred racehorse-See also:...
Collection, the Children's Book Collection and imprints of publishers such as the Dun Emer
Dun Emer Press
The Dun Emer Press was an Irish private press founded in 1902 by Elizabeth Yeats and her brother William Butler Yeats, part of the Celtic Revival. It was named after the legendary Emer and evolved into the Cuala Press.-History:...
and Cuala Press
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.-Origins:...
. 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
Ephemera are transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters,...
. 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 language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
. The collection includes available published sources for Irish genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
and family history.
Dublin City Carnegie Libraries
The philanthropistPhilanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
(1835–1919) funded the building of four Carnegie Libraries
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
in the Dublin City Public Libraries branch network, Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street; Rathmines
Rathmines
Rathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
Library (terracotta by the famous Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth, Staffordshire); Pembroke
Pembroke Township
Pembroke Township was an area adjoining the City of Dublin, Ireland formed for local government purposes by private Act of Parliament in 1863. The township took its name from the fact that most of the area was part of the estate of the Earl of Pembroke. The township was governed by commissioners...
Library and Charleville Mall Library. Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street was originally opened in 1909. It was recently renovated and extended into two adjoining late-Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
houses, reopening in 2003. Rathmines Library was built in 1913. Pembroke Library, built in 1927 and opened in 1929, and was the last Carnegie Library opened in Ireland. The writer Frank O’Connor was appointed the first Librarian of Pembroke Library in December 1929.