Table of contents
THE SETTING
W.J. MARTINThe island of Ireland lies in the Atlantic Ocean separated from its neighbour Great Britain to the east by the Irish Sea. Ireland itself is divided geographically and politically…
THE INFORMATION MATRIX
ROSS COOPERInformation is often regarded as a nation's most valuable resource. The management of this resource at a national level presupposes the existence of a coherent national…
GOVERNMENT LIBRARIES
MARY DOYLE, OLIVER MARSHALLThe legal basis of the Irish Civil Service is contained in the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924. This act designated the extent of ministerial authority; it also established…
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
SEAN PHILLIPSFor the Republic of Ireland, as for most European countries, the period since the Second World War has been one of growth and expansion in higher education. This has resulted…
COMMUNITY LIBRARIES
DEIRDRE ELLIS‐KINGThe origins of Irish public libraries may be said to lie deep in the monastic schools of the middle ages, which housed manuscripts transcribed by the monks and which acted as the…
LEARNED SOCIETY LIBRARIES
BRIGID DOLANLearned societies, with well defined research objectives, were formed for the organisation and dissemination of Irish scholarship in the 18th century. For the members, the…
THE PROFESSION
MAIRIN O'BYRNEThe history of the early years of the library movement in Ireland must be read in conjunction with its political counterpart in order to understand why, although the enabling Acts…
TRAVELLER FROM TUNBRIDGE WELLS: RONALD BENGE REMEMBERS
DAVID GERARDWhen his first full‐length book Libraries and cultural change, was published, Ronald Benge stepped forward as the compulsive conscience of our time, a happy worrier about…