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The Linen Hall Library gratefully acknowledges the kind support of the following organisations:

Cover photos (from top l-r): From the Presbyterian Orphan and Children’s Society: Generations of Generosity exhibition. Children taking part in the Creative Writing and Drama Project. Librarian Samantha McCombe welcoming the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, on the occasion of his visit to the Library in October. Annual Report 2016_Layout 1 13/04/2017 12:45 Page 1 Annual Report 2016_Layout 1 13/04/2017 12:45 Page 2

Children at Staging 2016 – the Library’s Creative Writing and Drama Project Annual Report 2016_Layout 1 13/04/2017 12:45 Page 3

Contents

President’s Foreword

Director’s Report

Librarian’s Report

Governors

Staff & Volunteers

2016 Report

Facts & Figures

Financial Summary

Statement of Financial Activities

Statement of Financial Position

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The Joys of Browsing from ‘Serenity in Landscape’ an exhibition by Sorrel Wills. Annual Report 2016_Layout 1 13/04/2017 12:46 Page 5

President’s Foreword

From the financial report it is clear that the Library attracted significant sums of money to undertake important projects, such as Divided Society, which involves the digitisation of parts of our political collection; the Northern Ireland Literary Archive; and the popular Linen Hall cultural events programme. This is due to teamwork led by the Director and diligent management by the finance staff. Each application required strong ideas and subsequent attention to detail in the delivery of the projects, on time and within budgets.

In 2016 an additional factor came to the fore. In project applications and even in general funding bids the Library was required to supply evidence of its contributions to the cultural and heritage sectors. Under the draft Programme for Government proposals it became clear that funding would be given to those organisations which supplied evidence of the positive effect of these resources. Therefore staff have expended additional effort in Anne Davies gathering data about the Library’s activities. Statistics are relatively easy to obtain and you President will see this information in this report. But how do you measure the unique contribution of the Linen Hall Library to the people of Northern Ireland? Feedback is sought after events held; we look closely at the comments in our visitors’ books. In part, social media is useful here. Our increased presence on Twitter and Facebook is important. But, as all marketing gurus say, the most effective measure of an organisation’s reputation is word of mouth. That is where we are most grateful to our members, keeping the importance of the Library alive, donating to our collections, encouraging others to become members and even by simply renewing their subscriptions.

The highlights of the year for me are twofold: the awarding of Museum Accreditation and the visit of the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins. For as long as I have been on the Board of Governors, attainment of Museum Accreditation has been recommended, nay urged. Thanks to our Librarian, Samantha McCombe, it has finally been realised. In the midst of all the management speak of indicators of impact and justification of existence, the visit of President Higgins was a resounding reassurance of our popularity. With our Honorary Life Member, Sinéad Morrissey’s reading to a fellow poet, the real essence of the Library was celebrated, a space where the rich history and culture of Northern Ireland remains vibrant.

Such vibrancy is due to the determination and commitment of the Board of Governors and the staff of the Library, for which I thank them. The continuing existence of the Library is thanks to you, the Members.

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Director’s Report

Within this Annual Report you will see exciting developments that took place in 2016.

In the 2015 report we flagged up the digitisation project, Divided Society, we hoped would commence in relation to the Library’s Northern Ireland Political Collection. I am delighted that this project did indeed commence in August 2016, and is worth approximately £500,000. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ulster Garden Villages and the Department of Foreign Affairs Peace and Reconciliation Fund. The project will include the digitisation of periodicals and posters from the 1990s, and a comprehensive education and outreach programme completing in January 2018. Digitisation is a strategic objective for the Library as it helps to make our collections more accessible to an international audience, and can also potentially provide the Library with an income generation stream. Julie Andrews Director The Library also received funding for a Together: Building a United Community (TBUC) project from the Department for Communities. Fifty children came together from all over Belfast for a series of workshops in creative writing and drama which culminated in a showcase event. It was a delight to see so many people accessing the Library who had never visited before. This led to a summer scheme in July 2016 where children came along to design, illustrate and create a book. We hope to replicate this type of work in 2017.

After considerable effort, the Library achieved Museum Accreditation for three of its collections by Arts Council England in partnership with the Northern Ireland Museums Council. The Librarian will expound upon this further in her report, but this will provide us with further opportunities for funding, and sets the Linen Hall on an international footing with other museums.

Our Arts and Cultural Programming, funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, continued to develop in 2016 despite the funding setbacks in 2015. We are seeing increasing audience levels, and new and fruitful collaborative partnerships are being formed.

During the course of 2016 we welcomed a number of visitors to the Library including the former First Minister, Arlene Foster MLA; the Austrian Ambassador, Martin Eichtinger; the Israeli Cultural Attachee, Dan Golan; and the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities, Leo O’Reilly. We were also absolutely delighted to welcome the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, to the Library in October 2016. The President was very complimentary about the importance of the Linen Hall Library to our history and society. This was a highlight of the year.

I am continuing to explore how we can diversify our income streams. Future sustainability and relevance is at the forefront of everything we do. We want to maintain the heritage of the Linen Hall Library in the twenty-first century by being relevant and innovative in what we do. The Library is a charity, and is thankful for all the support we receive. I would ask you to encourage people to use the Library and become Members of this great institution.

I would like to record my sincere thanks to the Library’s Board of Governors and staff for their support throughout the year.

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Librarian’s Report

I am pleased to report on Library services for 2016.

The Library had a year as rich and varied as our collections and much was achieved. The collections we have are unique and we should ensure they are celebrated, preserved and made as accessible as possible. To this end, Members will have noted the programmed rotation of materials in the display cases throughout the Library, highlighting different aspects of the collections. It has been pleasing to bring our collections out from behind locked doors and to bring them to life by telling their stories. We linked our collections to significant anniversaries, commemorations and events, thus increasing the visibility and awareness of the collections as we marked important events in our shared history.

The custodianship and preservation of our collections for future generations is both a Samantha McCombe privilege and a responsibility. Members will be aware that in 2016 we became an accredited Librarian museum. This was a significant achievement which involved a tremendous amount of work to ensure our practices and procedures, documentation, disaster preparedness and emergency procedures all met the strict standards required for accreditation.

The museum accreditation process concerned three collections: Early Belfast and Provincial Printed Books, the Gibson Collection of Burns and Burnsiana, and the Northern Ireland Political Collection. The latter is also benefitting from the Divided Society project, of which you can read more at page 11; while the ‘Troubled Images’ exhibition which graces the vertical gallery was given a ‘reboot’ as a freely available educational iBook (which can be downloaded from Apple iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/troubled- images/id1181033991). And while we have largely concentrated on these collections it has not been to the detriment of others. The major retrospective cataloguing project to enhance our Irish and local studies holdings proceeded at pace in 2016. A partnership project with the Ulster-Scots Agency facilitated a comprehensive review of holdings, and the Department for Communities funded Northern Ireland Literary Archive is testament to the Library’s position as the repository for our literary heritage.

In 2016, we again focused on the archive of Michael McLaverty through the biennial short story award given in his name. From as far away as Australia, New Zealand and the United States; to every county in Ireland, we are grateful to all entrants for their industry and creativity and for contributing to the Linen Hall’s continued celebration of the legacy of one of Ireland’s most important writers.

Acknowledging the continued difficult financial environment and the issues of space within the Library, 2016 was time to ‘take stock’ and to rebalance spend between the collections for preservation and the collections for use. Our commitment to the Members who support and sustain the Library collections through their membership is unwavering and the introduction of the member only ‘Opening the Archives’ events was an acknowledgment of our gratitude for your investment in the collections, and an outline of the kind donors who enriched the collections in 2016 is included on page 12 of this report.

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Governors

President Mrs A Davies, BA Hons, DILS Vice-President Mr D Lewis, MA, PGDip, BSc (to June) Mrs A Chapman OBE, BSc Hons, MSW (from June) Honorary Secretary: Mr H Campbell, LLB, LLM (to June) Karen Blair Hugh Campbell Mr J Stewart, MSc MA BSc (from June) Honorary Treasurer: Mrs A Chapman, OBE, BSc Hons, MSW (to June) Mr D Lewis, MA, PGDip, BSc (from June)

Governors: Ms K Blair, LLB, LLM, LARTPI (co-opted September) Peter Cavan Alice Chapman Mr H Campbell, LLB, LLM (co-opted November) Mr P Cavan Professor Y Galligan, OBE, PhD, (co-opted March) Mr S Harvey, BSc Yvonne Galligan Anne Davies Mr J Johnston, MA, MLitt, JP Mr A Kershaw, BA Ms M Mackin, BA, MSc, PGDip (elected June) Mr H Odling-Smee, MA, AdvDip (co-opted January, elected June)

Mr C Radcliffe, BA Hons Stuart Harvey Jack Johnston Mr J M Scott, BA, MA

Honorary Members Audit and Risk Committee

The Linen Hall Library confers Honorary The Audit and Risk Committee meet Alan Kershaw David Lewis Membership on individuals who have four times per annum. There are a shown exceptional support for the number of independent members of organisation. the committee who have a scrutiny function. These members include: Our current Honorary Members are: Simon Bridge, Jonathan Hill, and a member of staff from our major Mrs Jennifer Campbell funder, Department for Maureen Mackin Hugh Odling-Smee Communities. Dr Pat Donlon Mr Barry Douglas Mr Tom Hartley Dr M N Hayes Ms Jennifer Johnston Cliff Radcliffe Maolcholaim Scott Mr Brian Keenan Mr Michael Longley Mr Tim McGarry Mr Neil Martin Ms Sinéad Morrissey Mr Glenn Patterson Jonathan Stewart Mr John Simms Ms Roma Tomelty Professor Brian Walker

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Staff & Volunteers

Management Team Director Ms J Andrews, LLB (Hons) Librarian Miss S McCombe, MA, MSc Deputy Librarian Mrs M Cash, BA (Hons), DLIS Customer Services Manager Mrs M Ryan Administration Manager Ms I McGirr, HND, Dip RSA Finance Manager Mrs K Law, BSSc (Hons) Accounting, FCA

Library Services Senior Library Assistant Mr G Carville, BA, PG Dip (ILS) (to August) Mr A Dunlop, BA (Hons), PG Dip (LIM) (from August) Library Assistants Mrs H Arrell Miss C Daly, MA, BA (to August) Mrs M Delargy, BA (Hons), DLIS MSSc Mr A Dunlop, BA (Hons), PG Dip (LIM) (to August) Miss M Flynn Ms B Fox (from August) Miss V Geymonat Mr A Gordon, BA, MSc (to August) Ms J Hoben (from August) Cataloguing Assistant Mrs D Ferran National Collection of NI Publications (NIPR) Mrs J Crooks, BLS, MSc (to December) Mr T Gordon, MSc, MA, BA (Hons), DLIS (from December)

Administrative Services Finance Assistant Miss A McDermott Public Relations & Marketing Officer Mrs R Wetherall, BA (Hons), MA, Dip Digital Marketing Graphics Editor Ms D Elliman Events Programmer Mrs D Douglas, BA (Hons), MA

Facilities Officer Mr R Grainger

Charity Shop Manager Mr D Cash, BA (Hons)

Divided Society Project Manager Mr G Carville, BA, PG Dip (ILS) (from August) Project Assistant Miss K Keane, BA, MA (from August) Education & Outreach Officer Mrs R Brady, BA Joint Honours, MA (from August) Cataloguing Metadata Assistant Miss C Daly, MA, BA (from August) Cataloguing Metadata Assistant Mr A Gordon, BA, MSc (from August) Administrative Assistant Ms G Dragomirescu (from May to July)

Interns Miss C Daly, Ms C Kane

Volunteers We would like to thank all our volunteers for their assistance during 2016:- Mr J Allen, Mr M Allison, Mr D Becker, Miss G Charleton, Mr H Cox, Mr E Craney, Mr G Devaney, Ms M Emmerson, Ms M Ferguson, Ms E Gilmore, Miss E Gordon, Mr J Graham, Ms M Haddock, Ms J Hall, Mrs A Hietala, Ms A Holderbaum, Ms R Hopkins, Ms K Keane, Ms A Kennedy, Mr T Kernaghan, Mr A Kershaw, Mrs L Murray, Mrs D McAuley, Ms A McBride, Mr J McBride, Mr R McChesney, Mrs A McCombe, Mr D McCombe, Mr G McCombe, Mrs P McDermott, Ms C MacGiffin, Ms S McGlue, Ms M McGoldrick, Miss C McGowan, Dr S McRandall, Ms S Napier, Mr E Parkes, Mr C Richardson, Mrs P Ricketts, Mr O Ross, Ms B Santalla, Ms C Savonitti, Mr M Stafford, Ms K Steen, Ms L Stewart, Mr G Watson, Ms K Wilson, Mrs L Wilson and Ms S Wilson.

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Arts, Culture and Tourism In 2016, the Library offered a variety of arts and cultural events, bringing a broad range of artists to its audiences. Due to ongoing financial constraints and reduced funding incomes, we have risen to the challenge by diversifying our offerings. We were delighted to develop strong working partnerships with several community projects to develop our programme of arts and cultural activities. This work was made possible by funding from the Department for Communities, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Foyle Foundation. 2016Linking our collections to memorable occasions 2016 saw a number of significant anniversaries, notably the centenary of the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme. A programme of events explored the social, cultural, linguistic, economic and political legacy of these important cultural and historical events. As the ‘Decade of Centenaries’ continued, the Library engaged in significant commemorations by offering associated events and engaging in partnership projects. The aim was to increase awareness of the Library 1 and its collections as we continue to mark important events in our shared history.

Exhibitions We hosted a number of significant exhibitions in 2016. Highlights included Scotch Town: Ulster-Scots Language and Literature in Belfast, presented by the Ulster-Scots Agency. Later in the year, 2 3 the Library was delighted to be the launch venue for the Generations of Generosity exhibition, celebrating 150 years of the Presbyterian Orphan and Children’s Society. April saw the launch of The Corr Family – Witnessing History which told the remarkable story of the Corr family from 4 Belfast. By using personal accounts and original sources, it described the roles played by the family in some of the most historical events of 1916. Other exhibitions included Images of Starlight featuring

work by the Irish Astronomical Association 5 and the Irish Federation of Astronomical 6 Societies, and Percy French: Poet, Painter, and Performer in association with the Percy French Society. 7 Music Audiences enjoyed music by Csilla Toldy and Fil Campbell in The Emigrant Woman’s Tale, describing Toldy’s childhood escape from Communist Hungary to Northern Ireland, juxtaposed with Fil Campbell’s stories of growing up on the Irish border. Later in the year Colum Sands performed his one-man show, Songs of a Storyteller.

Pictured: 1. Images of Starlight exhibition; 2. Generations of Generosity exhibition; 3. Scotch Town: Ulster-Scots Language and Literature in Belfast; 4. Belfast Somme 100: Commemorating the 1916 Battle of the Somme Centenary; 5. Colum Sands performed at Songs of a Storyteller; 6. The Corr Family - Witnessing History exhibition; 7. 1916 Easter Rising Centenary.

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Drama, Poetry and Literature In February we held the Peter Quigley Retrospective, a series of events celebrating the life and work of acclaimed Belfast actor, producer and director Peter Quigley. This marked the donation of a range of materials from Peter’s estate to the Library’s Theatre and Performing Arts Archive.

The third Writers on Writers Festival took place in May. Dedicated to former Library Governor and Belfast playwright, Christina Reid, the festival took the theme of 8 ‘women writers’. The week of talks, discussions, workshops and performances were attended by many members of the late Christina Reid’s family. Various works from Christina’s archive were performed, discussed and read by local writers Lucy Caldwell, Jo Egan, Finn Kennedy and Anne Devlin, including the well-known Tea in A China Cup and Belle of Belfast City. 9 10 Particularly poignant was the tribute paid by Anne Devlin to her close friend and fellow playwright.

In July, the Library again hosted 11 Belfast Beckett, with talks and drama workshops examining Beckett’s style and influence, as well as launching a major study ‘Staging Beckett in Ireland and Great Britain’ with author Dr 12 Trish McTighe. The bi-lingual theatre company Aisling Ghéar

13 presented Alice Milligan – a Girl of Genius by Susannah McKenna to an appreciative audience.

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Our lunchtime reading series, in association with Of Mouth Poetry Collective, continued with headliners including Ireland’s Professor of Poetry, Paula Meehan and local poet Ruth Carr. Other readers included Emily Critchley, Eilish Martin, Manuela Moser and Pádraig Regan. In November the thirtieth anniversary of The Female Line, the first anthology of women writers from Northern Ireland, was celebrated with a distinguished panel of writers, editors, academics and publishers including Patricia Craig, Anne Devlin, Leontia Flynn, Alan Hayes, Alex Pryce and Anne Tannahill. They drew on their experience and understanding to assess how the female writer had fared over the last three decades since the anthology’s original publication.

Book Launches Authors Roy Johnson and Declan Plummer launched The Musical Life of Nineteenth Century Belfast, offering a refreshing portrait of Belfast’s musical society in the 19th century. Paul Clements talked about his latest travel book Wandering Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way; and Conor O’Clery launched The Star Man, his story of William Kean, a journalist and rebel in the 1790s who worked on the radical newspaper of the time, The Northern Star.

Pictured: 8. Christina Reid; 9. Peter Quigley; 10. Christina Nelson, Jazzman McClure, Siobhan Kelly and Gerard McCabe at the Writers on Writers Festival; 11. Wandering Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, by Paul Clements; 12. Anne Tannahill at The Female Line event; 13. Alice Milligan; 14. Percy French.

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Citywide Celebrations The Library participated in a number of citywide celebrations including the Belfast Book Festival, Ulster Bank Belfast International Festival, C.S. Lewis Festival, Eastside Arts Festival and Irish Language Week amongst others. The Library was also included in the cross-border Two Cities One Book series which featured an event with poet Gerald Dawe.

Once again we celebrated European Heritage Open Day with tours of the building. We also hosted the regional heats of the Poetry Aloud competition organised by the National Library of Ireland. The Library also took part in national days such as Holocaust Memorial Day and International Women’s Day.

Partnership Activities The Library formed a number of strategic partnerships throughout 2016 with organisations including PRONI, Ulster-Scots Agency, Ulster University, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast Titanic Society, Brontë 200, Green Shoot Productions and PintSized Productions.

Local Art Art was once again well represented with a number of high-profile exhibitions. Those who took part included Antrim Art Club, which presented Paintings in Memory of World War One, and local artist Leslie 15 Nicholl with his stunning WWII exhibition Stretcher Bearer! The Last Days of Mankind, which explored the humanity by Irish, Ulster, British, German and French stretcher bearers in the Battle of the Somme. The exhibition was inspired by and featured the poetry of Sam Burnside MBE, and launched by historian Richard Doherty. Other exhibitions included Sorrel Wills Serenity in 17 Landscape featuring picturesque local scenes. 16

Other In addition, the Library’s reading group met regularly and the popular Irish language classes continued. The Irish language 18 reading group, offered as part of the Líofa Programme, continues to go from strength to strength.

Fundraising 19 As the Linen Hall is a charity, we are constantly under pressure 20 to raise money to support the Library’s running costs. In 2016 we received grant funding from the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Department for Communities, the 21 Foyle Foundation, Heritage Lottery Northern Ireland, and Ulster Garden Villages. We are very grateful for their contributions towards running costs and project costs.

We also raise money from our ‘Adopt a Book’ and ‘Adopt a Shelf’ initiatives and are grateful to those who remember us by way of legacies.The popular Linen Hall Readathon returned again in November. People taking part were asked to donate from £5 and read anything they chose for fifteen minutes. Dedicated fundraising buckets were placed around the Library to encourage giving.

Our events programme lets people access our collections, and attendance at these events contributes towards the maintenance and conservation of these collections. Donations to and purchases from the Charity Book Shop are also welcome. All of these streams contribute to the running costs of the Library.

Pictured: 15. C.S. Lewis; 16. Stretcher Bearer! The Last Days of Mankind exhibition; 17. Daddy’s Farewell by Freddy Mark from Antrim Art Club exhibition; 18. Holocaust Memorial Day; 19. Irish speakers in the First World War as part of Irish Language Week; 20. The Brontë Sisters; 21. Leslie Nicholl at Stretcher Bearer! exhibition launch.

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Outreach An education and outreach programme is taking place as part of the Divided Society project funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Peace and Reconciliation Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Ulster Garden Villages. The Library’s Education and Outreach Officer, Rachel Brady, is working with thirteen community groups across Northern Ireland. Memories and experiences of the Troubles are being collected and added to the Linen Hall’s definitive archive. These memories focus on social history, family life and working life. Each of the oral history interviews will be transcribed and a short clip made accessible via the project’s final website. Participants have discovered a wealth of enthusiasm for reminiscing about the historical events which have happened in their lifetime, some tell emotional stories of events while others provide comic interlude with humorous recollections.

Schools are also being engaged as part of the outreach work. Students will learn about the Linen Hall’s collections, exploring the wealth of original artefacts, publications and posters. A GCSE learning resource will be created to assist in the study of this topic in the classroom. The 1990s will feature on the new GCSE History specification from September 2017, making the Library’s collection on the Troubles all the more relevant as an educational tool. Pupils have enjoyed learning about the importance of the Good Friday Agreement, former US President Bill Clinton’s visit, and the first days of Stormont. Two exhibitions will be showcased in the Library, the main focus for these are The Social History of The Troubles and Political Cartoons. We are thankful that participants from community groups have donated material which will also be on display.

Facilities The Library offers a range of function rooms for hire: the Performance Area, Northern Room, Members’ Room and the iconic Governors’ Room. All are available for book launches, seminars, workshops, weddings and conferences. Many corporate bodies have hired the rooms for their events in 2016, such as the BBC, Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce, Department for Communities, International Red Cross, Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Open University. As a registered charity the Library tries to assist other charities. To that end, we provided a room for the UK children’s charity NSPCC for their collection day.

22 The Library’s imprinted merchandise range has sold well during 2016. We continue to investigate new suppliers and products that we feel add to the Library. All the proceeds from the room hires and the gift shop have helped to generate income.

Charity Shop 24 23 Linen Hall Library Charity Book Shop moved to its current 63 Fountain Street premises in August 2016 and has gone from strength to strength thanks to manager Damien Cash and his group of

25 Charity Shop volunteers. Due to the overwhelming support and donations, the Linen Hall Library Charity Book shop continues to thrive.

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Pictured: 22. Sam Burnside at the Stretcher Bearer! exhibition launch; 23. Anne Devlin at the Library’s Readathon; 24. Serenity in Landscape exhibition by Sorrel Wills; 25. Free educational iBook Troubled Images – The Northern Ireland Troubles and Peace Process 1968 - 2016 by Gordon Gillespie; 26. Damian Cash, Manager of the Linen Hall Library Charity Book Shop; 27. International Women’s Day; 28. Audience in the Library’s Performance Area.

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2016 Public Relations and Marketing Overview The Public Relations and Marketing strand of the Library continues to seek ways to heighten profile across all traditional and, increasingly, digital channels.

During 2016 our traditional print coverage achieved a circulation number of just under seven million views which translates to an equivalent ad spend approaching £400,000. As a charity, we do not have access to such a significant advertising budget, which is why we concentrate on the public relations stream of the marketing mix. However, we do purchase advertising space when we feel that it is warranted, e.g. in November/December 2016 the Library purchased space in the front window of Visit Belfast Welcome Centre to draw attention to the Library’s close proximity to the Centre’s recent move to Donegall Square North.

Digitally we aim to move with the times and are increasingly exploring new channels to exploit. Our prominent Facebook (2,479 – Dec 2016) and Twitter (4,276 – Dec 2016) pages and feeds continue to grow, and in 2016 we increased our video content through our YouTube channel. We not only produce a hard copy Linen Hall newsletter, but also a monthly e-zine for members and others who sign up for updates on our website.

Other output figures for 2016 include twenty press releases and listings releases, four What’s On guides, four Linen Hall Newsletters and twelve e-zines. Throughout 2016 we also 29 maintained our regular spot on the last Thursday of each month on local radio station Belfast 89FM.

Events and happenings that garnered significant media attention included the very visual astrophotography exhibition Images of Starlight, The Presbyterian Orphan and

Children’s Society’s examination of poverty in 30 Generations of Generosity, the remarkable story of the Corr family from Belfast in The Corr Family – Witnessing History, and artist Leslie Nicholl’s stunning series of paintings of the Battle of the Somme with Stretcher Bearer! The Last Days of Mankind.

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Pictured: 29. Julie Andrews and the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor, Alderman Brian Kingston; 30. Tim McGarry accepting his Honorary Membership from Library Governor Alice Chapman; 31. President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, on his visit to the Library; 32. Dame Fiona Kidman doing research at the Library; 33. Jenna Stevenson at the Children’s Summer Scheme.

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NIPR: The National Collection of Northern Ireland Publications The Linen Hall Library is the lead partner in NIPR, an organisation set up to collect and preserve Northern Ireland’s publications.

NIPR has undergone a few changes in 2016. Long-serving manager, Joan Crooks, took a temporary leave of absence, and Trevor Gordon has stepped into her role to manage the NIPR project. Trevor has worked for Libraries NI for the past 14 years and recently completed his MSc thesis on the challenges and opportunities facing national book depositories in the age of the digital book.

34 Another change that NIPR has had to embrace is the fact that government publications are now only being produced in electronic format. This means government electronic records will no longer be collected by NIPR, rather they will be archived by our partner organisation, Queen’s University Belfast, and links to this material shall shortly be uploaded onto the NIPR website. Despite these 35 changes, NIPR has continued to actively promote the work it undertakes in a number of media opportunities on radio, TV and in print.

NIPR has recently set up an agreement with Libraries NI which will mean creative writing groups, authors or publishers can donate copies of their work to their local library which will then be forwarded onto NIPR. Hopefully 36 this will make the process of donating material to NIPR even easier. Local publications continue to be vitally important to NIPR.

37 Digitised Archives Over the last number of years the Library has begun to digitise parts of its collections to increase accessibility, digitally preserve material and, in some cases, create new 38 revenue streams. The Digital Theatre Archive (www.digitaltheatrearchive.com) and Postcards Ireland (www.postcardsireland.com) were the first two projects and have proved to be popular resources. Increasingly, ‘digital footfall’ is seen as an important indicator of a library’s performance, and through the use of analytics we can see, for example, that 60,000 Postcards Ireland pages were viewed in 2016.

These projects were joined by the Northern Ireland Literary Archive (www.niliteraryarchive.com) in 2016. After the Library received funding from the Department for Communities, it was decided to begin digitising some of the literary manuscripts donated to the Library through the years. We approached the families and estates of the writers and the project was met with a huge amount of enthusiasm and goodwill. Soon we had permission from the estates of an impressive range of local writers including Louis MacNeice, Sam Hanna Bell, John Hewitt and Joan Lingard. Unlike previous projects, we digitised the material in-house using the latest conservation and digitisation techniques. The material was vividly brought to life by the web-designers BT48 who created an accessible and informative website with notes from historian Dr Eamonn Hughes. The site was launched with the help of the novelist David Park in September.

2016 also saw the launch of the Library’s biggest digital project yet, Divided Society. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Peace and Reconciliation Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Ulster Garden Villages, this will see thousands of political journals and posters from 1990 – 1998 digitised and made available online. The project began in August 2016 and will launch in January 2018 when it will be freely available in the UK and Ireland, and through subscription to the rest of the world.

Pictured: 34. Miniature teak barrel made from H.M.S. Iron Duke, the flagship at the Battle of Jutland; 35. Ciáran Folan, Sinéad Slattery and the winner of the Michael McLaverty Short Story Award, Kevin Doyle; 36. Divided Society items for digitisation; 37. David Park and Dr Eamonn Hughes at the launch of the Northern Ireland Literary Archive; 38. Northern Ireland Literary Archive manuscript.

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Facts & Figures

MEMBERSHIP BOOK DONATIONS 2016 2015 + or - The Library would like to thank all donors to our collections: Mr Gary Allen, Mr Ian Andrew, Mr Liam Andrews, Mr Ken Honorary 15 13 +2 Armstrong, Mr George Baird, Mr John Bassett, Dr Anne Boyd, Mr Life 569 573 -4 David Breslin, Mr Tom Brown, Mr Simon Bridge, Mrs S Bryson, Ms Fil Campbell, Mr Patrick Crilly, Mr Ciaran Crossey, Ms Bernadette Standard 695 661 +34 Cunningham, Ms Gemma Daly, Mrs Anne Davies, Mr Pádraig Concessionary 1,011 987 +24 Delargy, Democratic Unionist Party, Monica Davey on behalf of the late Joy Davey, Ms Martina Devlin, Ms Dolores Duffy, Mr Marcus Family* 80 (25) 83 (25) -3 Duignan, Mrs Dorothy Dunlop, Mr Kenneth R Duzy, Mrs Robina Ellis, Student 70 48 +22 Ms Dorothy Evans, Mr Michael Fleming, Mr Ben Forde, Mr Jonathan Fyffe, Ms Elizabeth Galloway, Mr Henry Gamble, Mr Michael Gibson, Associate 48 40 +8 Ms June Glanville, Mr John Gray, Mrs Heather Grindle, Mr Graeme Larmour, Mrs Diana S M Hadden, Mrs Margaret Haddock, Mr J Under 18 94 51 +43 Victor Hamilton, Mr Tom Hartley, Healing through Remembering, Corporate* 128 (59) 115 (56) +13 Mr Fred Heatley, Mr Jim Hendron, Mr Erskine Holmes, Mr Paul Hoyle, the Huguenot Library, University College London, Ms Fiona Total 2,710 2,571 +139 Humphries, Mr Robert Irwin, Mr Keith Johnson, Ms Rosie Johnston, Ms Julia R Kable, Ms Anna Kavanagh, Mr John Kennedy, Ms *Figure counted in tickets issued with number of such multiple memberships shown in brackets. Angeline King, Ms Mary Kintner, Ms Anita Lambe, Mr Ian Lappin, Larne Family History Society, Mrs Bridget Logue, Mr William Long, Mr John Craig Lyttle, Ms Lyn MacKender, Mrs Margaret Magennis LOAN FIGURES on behalf of the estate of Mr David Houston, Mrs Mairéad Corrigan Maguire, Mr Ray Managh, Mr Seymour Mansell, Mr Robin 2016 2015 + or - % Masefield, Mr Colin McAlpin, Ms Doreen McBride, Ms Dorothy McCandless, Dr Daniel V McCaughan, Mrs Betty McLauglin, Mr General 8,588 8,748 -160 -1.8% Andrew McClelland, Mrs Barbara McClune and Mr John Irish 4,618 4,652 -34 -0.7% Rosborough on behalf of the late Michael Maultsaid, Mrs Barbara McClune, Mr Wayne McGuigan, Mr John McNally on behalf of the 13,206 13,400 -194 -1.4% late Ms Margaret D’Arcy, Mr Brian McNaught, Mr William McStay, Ms Lia Mills, Mr David Miskimmin, Ms Ruth Moffett, Mrs Myrtle Montgomery, Mrs Anne Moody, Ms Evelyn Mullally, Mrs Patricia Total Percentage Mulholland on behalf of the late Mr Eddie Mulholland, Mr David Total Collection Queries 5,288 - Murphy, Mr Roy Newell, Northern Ireland Conservative Party, Northern Ireland Screen, Newry and Mourne Museum, Mr Cormac Irish & Local Studies 3,340 63% Ó hÁdhmaill, Mr Mick O’Reilly, Mrs Gloria Patton, Professor Newspapers 332 6% Rosalind Pritchard, Queen’s University Belfast, Mr James Robinson, Mr Oscar Ross, Mr James Rutherford, Mr Gareth Russell, Mr NIPC 828 16% Michael Sheane, Mr John Simms, Dr Brian Sims, Mr Kevin Smith, Ms Sylvia Stauffer, Mr Bill Taylor, Ms Csilla Toldy, Mr Michael Tracy, Theatre 131 3% Ulster Bank, Ulster Historical Foundation, Ms Sally Visick on behalf Other 657 12% of the late Professor Keith Jeffery, Ms Roseleen Walsh, Ms Eleanor Warick, West Tyrone Ramblers, Ms Marilyn Wickstead, Dr Ben Williams, Ms Fionnuala Carson Williams, Mr Robert Williamson, Ms Sarah Witchell, Ms Sheila Wonnacott and Ms Isabel Woods. CATALOGUING 11,615 items were added to the Library’s catalogue in 2016 (1,829 items in 2015: 535% increase). FINANCIAL DONORS FOOTFALL Visitor numbers to the Library in 2016 were 116,707. We are also grateful to everyone who made donations to the Library during the year, including: Mrs C E Anderson, Professor R S WEBSITE AND ELECTRONIC ACCESS J Clarke, Dromore Historical Society, Mr J Erskine, Mr R Managh, www.linenhall.com Moyola Cellars Limited, and Saphrim Ltd. Visitor figures from Google Analytics for 2016 identified 44,979 sessions; 28,298 users; and 111,171 We would also like to thank everyone who contributed to our page views. The site was most popular with the 25 – donation boxes. Without the support and generosity of these 34 age group. 54.15% visitors were male, 45.85% donors we would be unable to provide the wide range of services visitors were female. we offer.

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Financial Summary

Summaries of the Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2016 and the Statement of Financial Position as at that date are set out on pages 14 and 15. Full financial statements have been published separately and are available on request from the Linen Hall Library or on the Library’s website www.linenhall.com.

OVERVIEW Income from membership subscriptions GRANTS and associated Gift Aid fell by 2% to £135k The Library's operating deficit (before in 2016; this decline was across both The following table sets out recent levels actuarial movements on the pension corporate and personal membership. The of support from each of the Library’s top scheme) was reduced to £12k in 2016 from Governors and staff are continuing to seek five funders in 2016. £29k in 2015, however the timing of ways to refresh the Library’s membership payments and receipts around the year- offer and will encourage more members to FUNDER 2016 2015 2014 2013 end led to an increase in the bank sign up for Gift Aid during 2017. £K £K £K overdraft balance from £128k at the end of £K 2015 to £164k at 31 December 2016. The Fundraising trading activities made a net Dept for 294 352 364 301 Library relies on its bank overdraft facility contribution of £46k in 2016, mainly Communities to finance its day to day operations, and through the sale of donated books in a Belfast City 110 37 43 35 the Governors and staff aim to reduce the pop-up Charity Bookshop, sales of gift Council reliance on this facility in 2017 by means of items in the Library and commercial use of Heritage 88 74 14 40 additional income generation and the Library’s facilities for room hire, Lottery Fund continuing close control of all costs. catering and tours. The Governors and Ulster Garden 61 000 staff will continue to work to identify new Villages Total income from all sources rose from fundraising activities and to increase Arts Council NI 27 31 47 37 £923k in 2015 to £1,125k in 2016, with revenue from existing operations. reduced membership subscriptions, Total 580 494 468 413 donations and fundraising trading income Income from general donations and being more than offset by increases in legacies decreased from £22k in 2015 to grant funding for special projects, and in £11k in 2016, but this was mainly due to a Grants awarded for defined projects in rental income. Core operating costs were single legacy of £10k received in 2015 pursuit of the Library’s mission, from all further reduced in 2016 through towards the Library’s general funds. sources, increased from £226k in 2015 to continuing attention to cost control and £317k in 2016, and grants towards core the deployment of permanent staff on EXPENDITURE operating costs were boosted from £293k funded projects. The deficit on the defined to £314k by a £25k grant from the Foyle benefit pension scheme increased during Core staff costs represented 44% of the Foundation. It is expected that the 2016, from £230k to £489k, due to actuarial Library’s total costs in 2016, and are Library’s main public funders will continue movements beyond the Library’s control. therefore the largest single area of cost to experience significantly reduced for the Library. Average staff numbers, on budgets for a number of years, and that The Governors continue to monitor all a full-time equivalent basis, increased from grants from these sources towards core revenues and costs, and are working 18 to 20 in 2016, including charity operating costs may continue to fall. Full towards the elimination of the operating bookshop and additional project staff. details of all grant income and awarding deficit. There remains an emphasis on Employment costs have increased from bodies are set out in note 2 to the broadening the income spectrum of the £577k in 2015 to £655k in 2016. A detailed separately published financial statements. Library, in order to compensate for breakdown of all expenditure is set out in current and future reductions in public notes 4 to 8 to the separately published sector funding, and to achieve long-term financial statements. financial sustainability. PENSION SCHEME INCOME The Library operates a defined benefit The Library’s grant income from all pension scheme through NILGOSC and, at sources increased to £634k in 2016 from 31st December 2016, the scheme was in £519k in 2015, and this was mainly due to deficit by £489k. The cost of pension continued success in obtaining funding for contributions and net operating charge special projects, whilst funding available during 2016 was £125k and the Library’s from the public sector towards core contribution rate to the NILGOSC scheme operating costs remained static. The remained at 20% of salary during the year. Library’s total income rose by 22% in 2016, and the proportion of total income obtained from all types of grant funding remained at 56%.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2016

Endowment Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds Funds Funds Funds 2016 2015

£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 Income and endowments from Donations and legacies - 463 317 780 680 Rental income - 255 - 255 146 Investment income -2 -2 1 Income from charitable activities Other trading activities - 88 - 88 96

Total income - 808 317 1,125 923

Expenditure on Rental expenses -2 -2 2 Raising funds - 42 - 42 51 - 44 - 44 53

Expenditure on charitable activities Projects and events --313 313 73 Library operating costs - 780 - 780 826 - 780 313 1,093 899

Total expenditure - 824 313 1,137 952

Net income/(expenditure) - (16) 4 (12) (29) Transfer between funds - (16) 16 - -

Net income/(expenditure) before recognised gains and losses (32) 20 (12) (29)

Actuarial (losses)/gains on defined benefit pension scheme - (220) - (220) 197

Net movement in funds - (252) 20 (232) 168 Fund balance brought forward 261 5,970 144 6,375 6,207 Total funds carried forward 261 5,718 164 6,143 6,375

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2016

2016 2015 £’000 £’000 Fixed assets Tangible assets 3,803 3,844 Investments 2,734 2,734 6,537 6,578 Current assets Stocks 11 12 Debtors 204 76 Cash at bank and in hand 278 261 493 349 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (398) (322) Net current assets 95 27 Net assets excluding pension liability 6,632 6,605 Pension liability (489) (230) Net assets including pension liability 6,143 6,375

Funds Unrestricted funds: - General fund (422) (170) - Revaluation fund 6,140 6,140 5,718 5,970 Restricted funds 164 144 Endowment funds 261 261 Total funds 6,143 6,375

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CORPORATE MEMBERS

The Library is most grateful to the following organisations for their continued support throughout the year:

We are also grateful to Historical Enquiries Team, the Library at Queen’s, MCG Services Ltd, and Ulster Journalists.

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The Linen Hall Library gratefully acknowledges the kind support of the following organisations:

Cover photos (from top l-r): From the Presbyterian Orphan and Children’s Society: Generations of Generosity exhibition. Children taking part in the Creative Writing and Drama Project. Librarian Samantha McCombe welcoming the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, on the occasion of his visit to the Library in October. AR Cover 2016_Layout 1 13/04/2017 12:20 Page 1