Library of the Week: Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland

The library at Trinity College, Dublin, is the largest research library in Ireland. Its history dates back to the establishment of the College in 1592. As a result of its historic standing, Trinity College Library Dublin is a legal deposit library for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and has a similar standing in Irish law. This means that the College is legally entitled to a copy of every book published in Great Britain and Ireland and, consequently, receives more than 100,000 new items every year. Today the library contains around five million books, including 30,000 current serials and significant collections of manuscripts, maps, and printed music, reflecting over 400 years of academic development.

The most famous of its manuscripts, the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, were presented by Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath and former vice-chancellor of the University, in the 1660s. Also incorporating the Long Room, the Old Library is one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions and holds thousands of rare, and in many cases very early, volumes.

In the 18th century, the college received the Brian Boru harp, one of the three surviving medieval Gaelic harps and a national symbol of Ireland, notably used on the Irish Euro coins.