What is the most popular Irish literary work? Gulliver’s Travels. Who is the most popular Irish author? Jonathan Swift. Who is the most popular contemporary Irish author? Eoin Colfer. How do we know this? Library data.
Using library data, we can also detect how works of the imagination from such luminaries as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Oliver Goldsmith, Bram Stoker, and Swift form the backbone of the Irish contribution to the published record; track the diffusion of Irish-related publications around the world; observe patterns of interest over time in Irish authors ranging from L.T. Meade to George Bernard Shaw; and perceive the strong Irish presence in contemporary genres such as young adult fantasy fiction.
A country projects its culture in many ways, but few equal the importance of published materials. As the published materials linked to a country accumulate over time, a national presence of sorts forms and expands within the published record—a corpus of publications associated with that country and its people. Source: An Exploration of the Irish Presence in the Published Record (OCLC Research; 2018)
With the aid of library collections data, a national presence can be separated out of the broader published record for study, to gain a better understanding of a country’s contributions and influence in literature, scholarship, and ideas.The published record in all its manifold expressions is scattered across a vast global network of libraries.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.