Once upon a time in a land far far way (1884 in Thomas Street and Capel Street to be precise) Dublin's first two municipal public libraries were opened. And now, 150 years later, you're using QR codes and phones to open our website.
To show just how far we've come, we’re inviting you to check out our ebooks, audiobooks, eMagazines and eNewspapers. All for free through BorrowBox.
Whether you're already a member, or new to our libraries, everyone is welcome to explore our fantastic eResources.
(Podcast) "The women were worse than the men: crime in Dublin in 1916", the 19th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture, was given by Pádraig Yeates at the Dublin City Library and Archive on Thursday, 21 January 2016.
'Girls of the Globe' was a poetry reading by Rosemarie Rowley held at Pearse Street Library on 17 June 2015.Rosemarie Rowley has been writing for four decades, often in formal verse, and often about women and their experiences. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she has worked abroad and presented papers at conferences worldwide.Her poetry collections include 'The Broken Pledge' (1985), 'The Sea of Affliction', 'Flight into Reality' , 'Hot Cinquefoil Star' and 'In Memory of Her' (2008). Her most recent book is 'Girls of the Globe', where she gives a female voice to Shakespeare's heroines and a voice to those who are not often heard.
The life of 19th century mathematician and poet, William Rowan Hamilton, was told through a sequence of sonnets by poet Iggy McGovern and friends Paula Murphy and Noel Duffy at Pearse Street Library 26 February 2015.William Rown Hamilton (1805-65) was the foremost mathematician of the mid nineteenth century. Iggy McGovern's 'A mystic dream of 4' is a sonnet sequence based on the life and time of this remarkable Irishman.The event featured as part of the Mind Yourself Programme.You can listen to the event here (playing time: 49:48 mins):
Coinciding with the launch of a new database of children's books and accompanying exhibition, Timothy Young (Yale University) delivered a lecture at Dublin City Library & Archive on 28 September 2015 entitled 'Happy Deaths and Urban Dangers: The Darker Side of Children's Literature'.Young is curator of the Betsy Beinecke Shirley Collection of American Children's Literature, Yale University.TranscriptListen to a recording of the lecture:About the NCCB DatabaseA two year project by the National Collection of Children’s Books (NCCB) project has seen the development of a new online catalogue (nccb.tcd.ie) detailing over 250,000 children’s books in over 90 languages from five libraries in Dublin, including the Dublin City Library & Archive in Pearse Street. The catalogue also lists books from the following libraries: Trinity College Library; the Church of Ireland College of Education Library; the National Library of Ireland; and Cregan Library, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra (DCU).Access the NCCB catalogue.About the Included Dublin City Library & Archive MaterialChildren's Books CollectionThere are 779 books in the Children's Book Collection held at the Dublin City Library & Archive in Pearse Street, Dublin 2. The material within the Children's Book Collection does not come from one single source. Some of the material originally formed part of the Dix Collection (donated to the city by the Irish bibliographer E. R. McClintock Dix and containing some 700 books and pamphlets), while more of the material was moved from the Gilbert Collection. The remainder of the items were donated or acquired by Dublin City Public Libraries since its establishment.More about the Book and Manuscript Collections housed in the Dublin City Library & Archive.Chapbook CollectionThe Chapbook Collection contains 108 texts. Most are fictional works, though some are textbooks. A considerable number are Kildare Place Society 'Library books'.Schoolbook CollectionThe Schoolbook Collection has been assembled over the last 25 years following an appeal for donations through the public library network. There are 1,334 individual items in the collection, which includes both primary and second level textbooks, almost exclusively Irish published. Over 1,000 of the texts are English-language with 307 Irish language texts.Read more about the Dublin City Library & Archive material included in the NCCB database.About the Exhibition'Come Closer: The Darker Side of Children’s Books', went on display in the Dublin City Library & Archive until 14 November 2015. It offered a glimpse of some of the sophisticated and complex ways in which writers and illustrators of children’s texts have engaged with controversial subjects. The exhibition featured 40 children's books from the 17th century to the modern day which have dealt with controversial issues such as death, fear, sexuality, depression, and violence.
The Orchestra of St Cecilia Collection: 1995 – 2014
Dublin City Library and Archive has recently acquired the Orchestra of St Cecilia Collection, donated by manager/artistic director Lindsay Armstrong after his retirement in 2014. The collection comprises Armstrong’s comprehensive administrative records arranged chronologically with individual folders for each orchestral performance.
"Dublin as a global city: through time and space", the 18th Annual Sir John T. Gilbert Lecture, was given by Kevin Whelan at the Dublin City Library and Archive on 22 January 2015.
Rathmines can boast a rich literary heritage having played host to many leading literary figures including James Joyce, William Carleton, George Russell and Paul Durcan. "A Sense of Place", a literary evening held at Rathmines Library, honoured the rich literary life of the area.
In 1902, Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council applied for a grant to Andrew Carnegie who was at that time dispensing large sums of money for the building of libraries, the world over. The application was successful and in 1903 a sum of £7,500, later increased to £8,500 was granted.