Ireland: National Library ‘On our Way Back Up’, Says Director, Five Year Strategic Plan Released

From The Irish Times:

The National Library of Ireland [launched] its new five-year strategy at its imposing premises next door to Leinster House on Kildare Street.

The launch comes at a pivotal moment in the library’s 140-year existence. After seven years of cuts, during which its annual budgets fell from a high of almost €12 million in 2008 to a low of under €7 million, and the loss of a quarter of its staff, the NLI is now embarking on a process of renewal, according to its director Sandra Collins. “We’re on our way back up.”

The NLI’s five strategic priorities for 2016-21 are to “collect, protect, connect, innovate and collaborate.”

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From Irish Tech Times:

Key highlights from the Annual Review 2015:
· 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.

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Full Text Resources

• NLI Annual Review 2015 (32 pages; PDF)

• NLI 2016-2021 Strategy

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