Dublin City Libraries will be closed from Saturday 3 to Monday 5 May 2025 (inclusive). Our online services will continue as usual. We will reopen on Tuesday, 6 May.
The latest Dublin City Libraries and Archives podcast is the first of a two part episode, "Selected Shorts", we hear actors Rose Henderson, Susie Lamb, Katie O'Kelly and Geraldine Plunkett perform readings from The Long Gaze Back – stories by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Lia Mills, Christine Dwyer Hickey and Anne Devlin.
In this episode of the Dublin City Libraries and Archives podcast Lia Mills talks to Sinéad Gleeson, Alan Hayes, Rob Doyle and Eimear Ryan about all things anthology.
In this episode of the Dublin City Libraries and Archives podcast; Lisa Coen, Louise Kennedy and Kathleen McMahon discuss the forgotten writings of Charlotte Riddell, Norah Hoult and Mary Lavin.
Welcome to the ninth entry of our blog series 'Lost in the Stacks' - with recommendations by Dublin City Libraries staff exploring our first-rate catalogue, links provided, nudging you towards making an inspired selection. Short story collections usually get short shrift but this is not the case today in this quirky blog written by staff member, Brian, from our Relief Panel. Are you sick and tired of short stories parading the underbelly of life? – if so, try cocktails by the pool with John Cheever. As a bonus you’ll get the wonderfully wicked rant ‘The Worm In The Apple’ and in ‘The Swimmer’ get a brilliant description of Burt Lancaster’s torso.Celebrated opening lines of novels include “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know” from Albert Camus’ ‘The Outsider’ and from ‘Murphy’ by Beckett “The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new”. Perhaps less celebrated but my personal favourite begins the short story ‘An Interest In Life’ (from ‘The Collected Stories Of Grace Paley’) – “My husband gave me a broom one Christmas”. What follows is a story opening both perfectly put together and hilarious.I recently re-read the story ‘The Lost Salt Gift Of Blood’ from ‘Island : collected stories’ by Alistair MacLeod. I was beguiled again by MacLeod’s huge sense of a small place, by his divination of the familial ties that bind us and by his plainspeak about the unspoken.On listening to ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ recently I thought to myself that, with no offence to Morrissey and the boys, I’d prefer to be re-reading a paragraph from the short story ‘ Smorgasbord’ (collection ‘The Night In Question’) by Tobias Wolff that ends with the line “I let the light go out”. I don’t know where to start going on about this collection so I won’t. Just read.
Welcome to the third entry in our blog series 'Lost in the Stacks' - recommendations by Dublin City Libraries staff exploring overlooked gems and helping you find your next read!Our entry today comes from one of our wonderful librarians, Jessica, and looks at some of the best essay collections in our libraries!Essay CollectionsIs there a greater joy than settling comfortably with a beverage of your choice and reading a well-crafted essay?There is a particular form of literary alchemy that takes place in the best essays - the fusion of the personal with social commentary combined with a stylistic elegance. Often offering a unique perspective on a cultural moment or a brief window into another world, a good essay has a habit of staying with you long after the pages have turned and the book is closed.Here is a selection of the very best essay collections for you to enjoy. If you'd like to borrow any of the books discussed below, simply click on the book cover or title to be taken to the reserves page, where you'll need your library card and PIN to request the book.1. Pulphead: dispatches from the other side of America by John Jeremiah SullivanPulphead is a fascinating collection of essays exploring pop culture and subcultures of American life fused with memoir and aspects from the writer’s own life. Written with a gentle wit and probing intelligence, it is hard to resist reading the entire collection in one go.2. Changing my mind: occasional essays by Zadie SmithThis is a fabulous collection of Zadie Smith’s book reviews, film reviews and non-fiction prose. Witty, honest and refreshing, it is a pleasure to dip in and out of.3. Naked by David SedarisDavid Sedaris has cornered the market in humorous memoir based essays. The stories here are sardonic, wry and darkly hilarious with a touch of pathos and just the right amount of hindsight and self-knowledge to balance the comic absurdity.4. Men explain things to me by Rebecca SolnitThe title essay of this book has gained iconic status since it was published but each of the essays in this book are powerful reminders of why we need feminism. Essential reading.5. This is the story of a happy marriage by Ann PatchettAnn Patchett is best known as a novelist but this book collects her earlier non-fiction articles. This is a fabulous collection of personal essays and memoir pieces that explore key moments in her life. Her writing is warm, engaging, and shining through with humour and kindness.
This week, we are going to take a look at TumbleBooks, an online resource especially designed for the little ones in your life. TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach children the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, and then adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. This resource also includes National Geographic videos and games.(Example of National Geographic Videos)Available on TumbleBooks:Story Books: This option features animated, talking picture books for the younger reader. The reader has the option to automatically or manually turn the pages. Chapter Books/Read-Alongs: While this option does not include animation, the ebooks are narrated. They also include Chapter menus so that you can jump chapters, and a bookmarks and notes feature which are cookied onto your computer. Chapter Books also allow readers to change the colors of the background and text, as well as the font style, size, and line spacing. This helps to make the ebooks even more accessible to a wider range of readers. Videos are from the world renowned National Geographic! Simply click on "Watch Online" to watch the 2-5 minute clips on various topics. Most of these videos have been paired with ebooks as a way to introduce a topic! Featured is where teachers, librarians, parents, students, and TumbleBooks staff can recommended a book! It's a quick and easy way to find books on those rainy days! Puzzles & Games accompany each book and reinforce concepts from the books, allowing for a fun and educational learning experience. Language Learning is an easy way to access our French and Spanish titles! Non-Fiction contains a growing collection of non-fiction titles in subjects such as health, science, astronomy, biology, and nature.Playlist allows you to access the pre-loaded playlist. The eBooks play back-to-back just like a music playlist! In addition, you can create your own playlist! Simply click on the "Add to Playlist" button below a TumbleBook to create your own!(Example of Foreign Language eBooks)Access How:Website; Follow link below. To register; select the "My Cloud" tab, click where it says "Register" and enter your library card number and pin as your username and password.App; Select "Library" tab, in country box fill in "Ireland" (Note; state is NOT required), select Dublin City Council Public Library and enter your library card number. In main menu select "View by Detail" to add your favourite books to "My Favourites."URL: http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/autologin.aspx?UserID=08Hezhy7Lfgp480vNdjp%2bw%3d%3d
The online resources featured in this week’s blog are ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’ and ‘Who Next…?’Both resources are compiled by two professional librarians of long experience, drawing on contributions from other librarians.To access either one of these resources, all you need is your Dublin City Public Libraries card.Just log in with your library card number at the links below, and then select Dublin City Public Libraries. ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’“I’ve read everything written by my favourite authors, what shall I read next?”Sound familiar? Well this online resource helps answer that dilemma. ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’ is an established reference web resource and reading promotion tool. It is designed to help anyone who enjoys reading fiction to expand the number of writers they read.With the click of a mouse, youi can browse by genre or go straight to an author of interest, check up on characters and series or the latest prize-winning writers, and follow the links to authors' websites for additional information.So click on 'Browse authors' to get started and discover a whole new world of fiction writers based on your favourite authors.https://www.whoelsewriteslike.com/ ‘Who Next...?’ is specially designed to help parents, teachers and librarians in encouraging children and young people to explore the world of reading. When children ask: “Who can I read next?” or “Who writes like my favourite author?”, the answers are here in ‘Who Next…?’ Writers of children’s fiction are listed with suggestions of other authors who write in a similar way, together with key book and series titles.You can browse:Four age groups: 5-7, 8-11, 12-14 and 14+Genre and themeGraphic novels, read out loud titles, short stories and titles for dyslexic or struggling readersPrize-winning children’s booksCountry of birth of authorsOther useful linksThis is an invaluable tool for parents, teachers and librarians to help children explore the world of reading. As the award winning author, Alan Gibbons, says “A reading child is a successful child”.https://www.whonextguide.com
Warmest congratulations to Kathleen Clifford, a member of Kevin Street Library creative writing group whose book 'Back of the Hack: Growing up in the Liberties' was recently published by A. Farmar.
Listen to award-winning Irish author Sara Baume as she reads from her second novel a line made by walking, and discusses how she came to write this, and her debut novel, spill, simmer, falter, wither. Recorded at the Central Library on 9 March 2017, as part of the Contemporary Irish Literature Series.'A line made by walking' charts a young artist's search for meaning and healing in rural Ireland.
Booker-nominated novelist Donal Ryan and Patrick Kavanagh Award-winning poet Martin Dyar visited the Central Library on 2 March 2017 for a special evening of collaborative and interactive explorations of their work.
