Chester Beatty Library
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Report of the Trustees CHESTER BE ATTY LIBRARY R p e o r t Contents o f t h Trustees of the Library 3 e T Director’s Report 4 r u s t e e Strategic Priority 1: s To safeguard, manage and develop the Collection 7 C H Strategic Priority 2: E S To enhance access to the Collections for a wide range of audiences 20 T E Strategic Priority 3: R To maintain and improve the physical facilities of the Library 32 B E Strategic Priority 4: A To generate income to support the Mission and Strategy of the Library T T and to continue to manage our finances efficiently and with integrity 34 Y L Strategic Priority 5: I B To attract, retain and develop staff and maintain their high level R of commitment to the mission and work of the Library 36 A R Strategic Priority 6: Y To promote intercultural dialogue and learning 40 Strategic Priority 7: To enhance Ireland’s positioning and reputation in the international arena 44 Strategic Priority 8: To develop a systematic approach to marketing the Library 45 Staff List 48 Statement of Financial Activities 53 Balance Sheet 54 Notes to the Financial Statement 55 R p e o r Trustees of the Library t o f The Library is a public self-governing charitable trust. t Registered Charity No. CHY 5879. h e T Established under the terms of the will of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, which was granted probate r u s in 1969, the collection is vested in the Trustees who own and operate the Library. t e e The Board of Trustees consists of a maximum of twelve members, one each of whom is s C appointed by the President and Taoiseach and three by the Minister for Arts, Heritage & the H Gaeltacht. The Director of the National Library serves as a Trustee ex officio. All other Trustees E S are co-opted. The Trustees elect the Chair. Since 1997 the Trustees of the Library are appointed T E or co-opted to serve five-year terms and may serve a maximum of two consecutive five year R terms. B E A Trustees do not receive any remuneration, aside from modest receipted expenses incurred, while T carrying out their duties. All expenses are paid in accordance with the guidelines and rules set down T Y by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. L I B THE TRUSTEES OF THE LIBRARY ARE CURRENTLY: R A Dr T. P. Hardiman (appointed 1991, elected Chairman 1998) R Y Sir Marc Cochrane (appointed 1988) Dr Dermot Desmond (appointed 1991) Dr Patricia Donlon (appointed 2011) Ministerial appointee Dr Declan Downey (appointed 2012) Ministerial appointee Mrs Joan Duff (appointed 1983, retired December 2013) Ms Catherine Fahy (appointed March 2014; ex officio ) Professor Brian McGing (appointed September 2013) Taoiseach’s appointee Mr Eamonn Ceannt (appointed December 2013) Ministerial appointee Professor Kathleen James-Chakraborty (appointed 2010) Professor Roger Stalley (appointed 1993) Presidential appointee 3 R p e o r Director’s Report t o f t Chester Beatty’s collections lie at the heart of all we do here in the Chester Beatty Library. h e When Beatty came to Ireland, he immediately set about building his own dedicated library T r where the treasures he had assembled over a lifetime could be accessed, first by academics and u s friends and, later, by the public. His commitment to shared knowledge and accessibility t e e continues to inform the Library’s mission and strategy today. s C Visitor numbers to the Library increased to over 300,000 in 2014; moreover, their comments H E and reviews indicate an overwhelmingly high rate of visitor satisfaction. Their positive S T feedback is a source of pride for staff – front of house, and behind the scenes – who work E diligently to present and interpret Chester Beatty’s collections for our many different R B audiences. The high visitor satisfaction rates also encourage us in reaching out to potential new E visitors both at home and internationally. A T T The rise in visitor numbers may also reflect the wide appeal of ‘Chester Beatty’s A to Z’, our Y temporary exhibition of 2014. The simple and familiar format of the alphabet allowed us to tell L I a number of unfamiliar and sometimes complex stories using works from the permanent B R collections. It also offered an opportunity to explore related themes across the different A R collections: Western, Islamic and East Asian. Y This dialogue between collections or between cultures is very important to the Chester Beatty and is carried through our intercultural learning programmes. Indeed, it comprises a very special part of our contribution to cultural life in Ireland, and internationally. The seminar, Museums as Places for Intercultural Dialogue and Learning , organised by the Library’s Education Department, represented a milestone in museum education in Ireland by addressing the role of museums in negotiating national identity. As Director of the Chester Beatty, I had the honour of taking over the Chair of the Asia Europe Museum Association in October. The activities of this strong network, which grew out of the Asia Europe Meetings, are a good example of the potential of museums to contribute to wider 4 R p e o aspirations. By focussing on world heritage, museums like the Chester Beatty can directly r t impact intercultural understanding at a global level. o f t h Funding and staffing issues continue to challenge the Library in its operations and future e plans. We acknowledge the grant-in-aid from the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, T r together with the support of our colleagues within the Department. I also want to thank the u s t many foundations, corporate and private donors who continue to support our work, and share e e in our passion for the institution. The Office of Public Works has continued its valuable and s C practical support of our services and building. H E S Among the highlights of the year was being awarded full accreditation by the Heritage T Council’s Museum Standards Programme for Ireland, a significant achievement for the Library; E R the 2014 annual lecture by Dr Tarif Khalidi on Ireland and the Irish in Medieval and B Contemporary Arab texts ; and not forgetting the memorable visit of Omar Sharif at the Library’s E A screening of Lawrence of Arabia as part of the first Dublin Arabic Film Festival. T T Y Finally, on behalf of the Trustees and all staff of the Library, I wish to express our deep L appreciation to Mrs Joan Duff who retired from the Board of Trustees after thirty years. I B R A R Fionnuala Croke Y Director 5 R eport of the Trustees CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY 6 R p e o r t STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1 : o f To safeguard, manage and develop the Collection t h e T r u s t e e COLLECTION MATTERS s C Heritage Council’s Museums Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) H E The Library was awarded full accreditation at the Heritage Council’s Accreditation award S T Ceremony held at the Royal College of Physicians, Dublin on 2 July. This has been a hugely E R positive achievement and a celebration to thank all staff for their part in the process was held B at the Library that evening. E A T The following excerpt from the external assessor’s report was read out at the presentation: T Y “The application submitted for Full Accreditation was an accurate reflection of the exceptionally L high standard of operation of this museum and throughout the site visit we were impressed with the I B professional approach adopted. Chester Beatty Library is clearly motivated by its desire to expand R A and improve its service to the public by making the collections available in the most appropriate R way. In establishing a clear strategy for the care and use of the collections the museum maintains a Y very high standing as an internationally important collection”. All policies across the Library are reviewed on an annual basis by the Collections Management Team to ensure maintenance of accreditation. Preservation of the Collections With activities focused on the preparation of objects for loan and the rotation of the permanent and temporary exhibition galleries a total of 480 items from across the collections were conserved, including over 120 objects for the Chester Beatty’s A to Z temporary exhibition. Conservation projects also continued on the Persian and Indian miniature and the Western print collections. 7 R p e o Condition survey of the Collections r t o f Condition surveys for key elements of the collections were carried out: these focused on t Japanese lacquer, Burmese and non-Mughal Indian manuscripts, Chinese textiles and the h e Hebrew manuscript collection. In all, over 350 objects were examined. T r u s t Conservation support staff e e The conservation internship programme continued, thanks to the generous support of the s C Heritage Council and the Library’s Contributing Members. Two internships were completed by H E Josefin Bergmark-Jiménez (twelve months) and Elisabeth Randell (nine months), while Puneeta S T Sharma started her twelve month internship in November. Student Bevan O’Daly undertook a E conservation work placement (10 –14 November) and assisted with the condition survey of the R B Chinese textile collection. E A T Emergency Response Plan (ERP) T Y As part of the Library’s sustained focus on the Emergency Response Plan, staff training L I workshops were held at the Library on Integrated Pest Management provided by Dr Martyn B R Linnie, Trinity College Dublin (29 October) and Manual Handling provided by OPW Health & A Safety Services (18 November).