National Library of Ireland

National Library of Ireland
The front façade of the library, 2011
Location	Kildare Street, Dublin, Ireland
Established	1877; 147 years ago (1877)
Collection
Items collected	Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, manuscripts, maps, prints and drawings, printed music, photographs, ephemera, and websites and databases
Size	estimated 8 million items
Legal deposit	Yes, since 1927
Access and use
Access requirements	Free. Open to all those who wish to consult the collections for material not otherwise available through the public library service or an academic library.
Other information
Director	Audrey Whitty (February 2023–)[1]
Website	www.nli.ie

The National Library of Ireland (NLI; Irish: Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge."

The library is a reference library and, as such, does not lend. It has a large quantity of Irish and Irish-related material which can be consulted without charge; this includes books, maps, manuscripts, music, newspapers, periodicals and photographs. Included in its collections are materials issued by private as well as government publishers. Among the library's major holdings are an archive of Irish newspapers and collections donated by individual authors or their estates. The library is also the ISSN National Centre for Ireland.

The office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, the National Photographic Archive and the Museum of Literature Ireland are functions of the library, the latter in partnership with University College Dublin. The library also holds exhibitions, and provides a number of other services including genealogy research tools and support. The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is the member of the Government of Ireland responsible for the library.

The main library building is on Kildare Street, adjacent to Leinster House and the archaeology section of the National Museum of Ireland.