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The Fagel Collection Presented in The Hague

Ambassador Rogers, Trinity Library colleagues and KB National Library of the Netherlands counterparts meet in The Hague From left: Maarten Heerlien, Esther van Gelder, Laura Shanahan, Ann-Marie Hansen, Brendan Rogers, Lily Knibbeler, Geertrui Verbraak, and Lucinda Jones

At the invitation of Brendan Rogers, the Irish Ambassador to the Netherlands, colleagues from the Library of Trinity College Dublin were recently in The Hague to speak about an important ongoing collaboration with the KB National Library of the Netherlands.

Ambassador Rogers welcomes guests to the KB

The Unlocking the Fagel Collection project began in late 2020, to document and make more widely accessible this 18th-century Dutch collection which was acquired for Trinity College in 1802. With funding now secured to continue the work on the Fagel Collection until 2025, this was an occasion to meet confirmed partners and explore public interest for the possibilities of the next phase.

Laura Shanahan, Ann-Marie Hansen and Esther van Gelder in discussion with Garrelt Verhoeven.

The next major activity planned is an academic symposium on June 22-23, 2023. This will allow stock-taking of the current state of knowledge regarding the Fagel library, the collectors who contributed to it, and the wider context in which it was and is used. Proposals for papers are welcomed on a wide range of topics, and to harness the fresh enthusiasm resulting from the recent visit, the deadline for submissions has been extended to January 20, 2023.

To learn more about the Fagel Collection and project, see the Library’s videos on The Fagels and Unlocking the Fagel Collection.

The Library of Trinity College Dublin – Retiree special 2020-2022

After 3 long years, the Library of Trinity College Dublin gathered last night in the Long Room of the Old Library and held a very special event in honour of ten members of staff who retired in 2020, 2021 and four more due to retire this week, September 2022.

Sean Breen, Readers’ Services (1974-2021), Carmel Carr, Librarian’s Office (1980-2022), Loretto Curley, Library Guard (2005-2020), Paul Doyle, Readers’ Services (1972-2020), Helen Flynn, Cataloguing (1982-2021), Peter Guilding, Cataloguing (1980-2021), Assumpta Guilfoyle, Cataloguing (1974-2021), Una Lynch, Readers’ Services (1976-2022), Paul Mulligan, Map Library (2007-2022) and Paula Norris, Readers’ Services (1977-2022).

These ten people in particular, have given an enormous amount over the decades – who combined, served a staggering 387.5 years and of themselves – incalculable dedication.

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Re-discovered Treasure from the Long Room

Giordani music manuscripts rediscovered during Old Library redevelopment preparations

The unseen high galleries and closed stacks of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin are currently a hive of activity, as a small army of library staff and project assistants have begun to empty the shelves in preparation for the restoration and redevelopment of the building which is due to begin late next year. Each individual volume must be cleaned and measured, its physical condition assessed and recorded, an electronic tag attached, and its catalogue description checked for accuracy. All of this information must then be entered in the Library’s online database before the volume is carefully packed away and sent to secure off-site storage (where it will remain retrievable for researchers throughout the project).

This amounts to the most detailed and systematic shelf check of this material for many years, and already it has thrown up some interesting new discoveries. One such occurred when examining the contents of a volume of assorted vocal and instrumental sheet music collected in the late 18th century by a member of the Balfour family of Townley Hall, (a country house near Drogheda in Co. Louth, about 55 kilometres from Dublin). Bound in at the back of this volume (shelfmark OLS X-2-1) was a hitherto undocumented music manuscript, faintly headed “Giordani Solfeggio”.

Music score of 18th century composerTommaso Giordani, titled “Giordani Solfeggio”
Continue reading “Re-discovered Treasure from the Long Room”