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Our partners in The European Library play a unique role as national libraries. Each has an exciting story to tell and we are delighted to be able to profile the National Library of Ireland in this video. Katherine McSharry – Assistant Keeper, Services and Systems - of the National Library of Ireland/Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann (NLI), accepted our invitation to act as narrator.
Katherine McSharry tells us: "My role in Digital Projects also includes liaison responsibility with The European Library. During EDLproject, I helped to coordinate the work here that brought the NLI into The European Library as a Full Participant. Our entire online catalogue, including digital images from our visual collections, is now fully searchable from The European Library site. As we are embarking on major digitisation projects, the range and variety of digital content available will grow significantly over the next few years."
"Involvement with European projects such as The European Library helps to drive the adoption of those standards and protocols that maximize interoperability - and thereby bring our resources to the widest possible audience."
DIRECTOR'S CORNER: Mr. Aongus Ó hAonghusa, NLI Director
The Director’s corner is dedicated to directors and chief executives of national libraries across Europe. Mr. Aongus Ó hAonghusa, NLI Director, gives us a brief presentation of the role and position of the National Libarry of Ireland in Europe.
"The National Library of Ireland was delighted to become a Full Participant in The European Library, continuing Ireland’s long and proud history of contact with mainland Europe. People have been moving in either direction for thousands of years, ideas and knowledge traveling with them."
"Medieval Irish monks journeyed across Europe, and later migrants served in the armies of European powers, a theme addressed in our wonderful exhibition Strangers to Citizens. In the 20th century, authors such as James Joyce and Samuel Beckett spent perhaps their most creative years in European cities, their writing informed by their experiences both in their native land and their European bases. Irish culture today is being shaped by new arrivals from every country in Europe and beyond."
"The National Library of Ireland has remarkable collections covering virtually every aspect of Irish life, culture and history. Our participation in The European Library provides us with an opportunity to bring our treasures to the attention of the world at large."
IN FOCUS: Strangers to Citizens: the Irish in Europe, 1600-1800
The National Library of Ireland (NLI) has assembled unique images from museums, galleries and archives from all over Europe, describing the migration of the Irish populations over two hundred years. Following the wars at the end of the 16th century, soldiers, students, priests, professionals and merchants began to migrate to Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, and elsewhere on continental Europe. Over time, migrants formed communities and eventually integrated into their host societies.
Image of Donal Cam O’Sullivan Beare courtesy of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
The exhibition charts the main phases of migration from Ireland to various parts of the continent. It gives us key insights into why so many people decided to uproot themselves and their families.
Origins of the 17th and 18th century Irish migrations - "Irish migration to Europe in the 17th and 18th century was motivated by a complex set of factors" says Dr Thomas O’Connor from the Department of History, National University of Ireland Maynooth. Dr O’Connor is the curator of the exhibition, together with Dr Marian Lyons of St Patrick’s College, Dublin. "The dislocation caused by war was important. This is especially true of the earlier period, as the Tudor and later the Stuart state made inroads into traditional Gaelic society and into the relatively independent towns and their hinterlands, which were dominated by Catholics of Anglo-Norman descent. Religious persecution and lack of domestic economic opportunity also played a part, as did sheer wanderlust."
Migration to continental Europe versus the 19th and 20th century migration to America, Australia and elsewhere - "The migration to continental Europe had complex political and religious origins, typical of the early modern period" adds Dr O’Connor. "It differed significantly from the much larger migration to America, Australia and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries, which was principally economically motivated, fuelled by rapid population growth and accelerated by food shortages, especially the famine of 1845-50. Later migrants were predominantly from poorer backgrounds, whereas the earlier migrants, though far fewer in number, were drawn from all levels of society, including members of the noble, intellectual and ecclesiastical elite. Earlier migration also took the Irish into new linguistic and cultural zones whereas the later migrants tended to congregate in English-speaking countries linked to the British Empire.
The true stories of people who emigrated adds further colour to the exhibition.
NLI exhibition content - "The NLI structured the exhibition around a number of individuals like Florence Conry and Mary Louise Murphy" points out Thomas O’Connor. "Their experiences serve as a doorway to the networks and institutions in which they moved and lived. Through networks like the Irish colleges, the Irish regiments and Irish commercial houses, the exhibition visitor is led back to the historical sources. These are presented in biographical databases, housed in a specially designed exhibition kiosk, and in the archival, pictorial and artefactual evidence gathered by the exhibition researchers and presented virtually via multimedia screens and physically in cases."
IN DEPTH: Ireland’s history and heritage through the NLI collections
The National Library of Ireland’s holdings constitute the most comprehensive collection of Irish documentary material in the world and offer a valuable representation of Ireland’s history and heritage. Material acquired through Legal Deposit, donations and purchases is subsequently processed for storage and access.
The NLI collections comprise printed material, manuscripts, visuals and digital content relating to the island of Ireland, and produced by Irish people in Ireland or overseas.
Additionally, the Library aims to acquire reference material to support its collections and to maintain a basic collection of reference material suitable for a National Library in a European context.
Richness of the NLI collections – "The National Library’s unique, world-class collections from and about Ireland constitute a remarkably varied resource" according to the Keeper of Printed and Visual Collections, Colette O’Flaherty. "Our printed material ranges from books and newspapers to maps and music, and our visual collections include photographs, prints, drawings and ephemera. They are used by researchers and readers from all disciplines and traditions, as are our manuscript collections, which span nearly a thousand years. Increasingly, our physical collections are also being complemented by the creation or acquisition of digital content."
NLI language policy – "The NLI acquires material in both English and Irish languages, reflecting our commitment to collecting the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland Sandra McDermott, Assistant Keeper I in Reader Services tell us. "As reflected in our Customer Charter, we also aim to provide all services appropriate to our customers’ needs in English or Irish, as required. Consequently, our recently re-launched website now delivers all content in both languages."
"Family history research", a fascinating voyage into family history – "Family history research is a major growth area in libraries, and every year thousands of people visit the NLI for this purpose" says Sandra McDermott. We offer a free Genealogy Advisory Service to personal callers to the Library, introducing them to the resources available. These include copies of Catholic parish registers and of the important nineteenth century land valuations, trade and social directories, estate records and newspapers."
"dLib.si": PORTAIT IMAGES, MUSIC SCORES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND MORE!
The National and University Library NUK - Ljubljana, Slovenia – has initiated a 30-month project with the overall objective to collect, preserve and provide access to Slovenian written scientific and cultural heritage.
The project "Digital Library of Slovenia (dLib.si)" is led by the National and University Library - Ljubljana, Slovenia- with the financial support of Norwegian and EEA financial mechanisms. The dLib.si project was launched in September 2007 and the dLib.si portal provides access to roughly 180.000 objects – 1 million pages - including portrait images, music scores, photographs, newspapers and journal articles.
The dLib.si portal received the Bronze Award in the Media and Information Portals category of the NETKO 2007 national awards and the site already recorded an increase of 25% in the number of visits during the first trimester of 2008. Zoran Krstulović, Deputy Director of the Library and responsible for dLib.si, says: "The ultimate goal is to create a modern, accomplished, user-friendly and simple-to-use digital library for everybody."
The European Library is hosted by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek - National Library of The Netherlands.
Katherine McSharry tells us: "My role in Digital Projects also includes liaison responsibility with The European Library. During 
The Director’s corner is dedicated to directors and chief executives of national libraries across Europe. Mr. Aongus Ó hAonghusa, NLI Director, gives us a brief presentation of the role and position of the National Libarry of Ireland in Europe.
The National Library of Ireland’s holdings constitute the most comprehensive collection of Irish documentary material in the world and offer a valuable representation of Ireland’s history and heritage. Material acquired through Legal Deposit, donations and purchases is subsequently processed for storage and access.
The NLI collections comprise 
