In 2016, the Representative Church Body Library of the Church of Ireland placed the Bolton Library in the care of the University of Limerick and the books were relocated to the Glucksman Library’s Special Collections & Archives Department. This decision was not taken lightly.
For over two decades it proved impossible to provide the necessary environmental control and management in Cashel and the books had continued to deteriorate. Despite the best efforts of the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Dean of Cashel, the Bolton Board of Management, the University of Limerick, Cashel Heritage, the Heritage Council and the OPW many of the oldest and most valuable items in the collection were at real risk of being lost.
The books were surfaced cleaned in 2016 and were placed in a humidity and temperature controlled environment, with secure monitoring and management. The Bolton Library Cataloguer, Ms Olivia Lardner began cataloguing the collection in 2018 and she was joined by the Bolton Library Conservator, Ms Josefin Jimenez in mid-2019. This mini exhibition gives an insight into their work to date on cataloguing and conserving the books and manuscripts. We have selected several books to illustrate the wide scope of the collection. All of the work to date has been designed to uncover this hidden collection and make it available to researchers. There are now over 5,000 books catalogued on the UL Library database which is available to all of those interested in the books. The work of the Bolton Library team is a regular feature in the Special Collections & Archives UL Blog and you are encouraged to follow their work on this wonderful library.
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