The Government has approved the appointment of 13 additional temporary and permanent posts at the National Library to ease a backlog of work. The report of the library trustees for 2000 says staff shortages are limiting the ability to improve services and meet the demands of users.
In spite of an increase in numbers in 1998 and 1999, the library lacked sufficient staff to keep pace with the volume of work. The National Library has fewer staff than comparative institutions elsewhere. The national libraries in Scotland and Wales each have more than 200 full-time staff, compared to 92 in Ireland.
The library asked the Department of Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht and the Islands last year to approve the appointment of additional keepers, library assistants and conservation staff. Last year, the library spent almost £2 million on books, manuscripts and other items. The most expensive acquisition was a manuscript draft of the Circe chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses, which cost £1,384,953.
Four collections were received under a scheme allowing donors to claim tax credits. These include a large collection of papers of W.B. Yeats, presented by Mr Michael Yeats, his son, and Ms Grainne Yeats, and The Whoseday Book to celebrate the millennium. Irish Life and Permanent presented a collection of the papers of the poet Austin Clarke, and the papers of the playwright Brian Friel were donated by his family.
