www.linenhall.com Took a wee break from the intensity of #wesconf18 to visit the 230-yr-old #LinenhallLibrary - highly recommended if you want some peace & access to a feast of Northern Irish culture & polical history. @thelinenhall Alice Rose @DrAliceCorble The Linen Hall Library gratefully acknowledges the kind support of the following organisations: Cover Photos (from top): LHL Director Julie Andrews. Acclaimed journalist Kate Adie OBE launches new Divided Society digital archive. From Belfast PerspectivesExhibition by Kevin Hamilton Contents We connue to share photos of libraries around the world visited by WPL staffers. This week it's the grand-looking entrance to the @thelinenhall in #Belfast #NorthernIreland The library, one of the oldest in the United Kingdom, was established 1788. #traveltuesday #librarylove Waterloo Library @WaterlooLibrary President’s Foreword 01 Director’s Report 01 Librarian’s Report 03 Governors 04 Staff & Volunteers 05 2018 Report 06 Facts & Figures 12 Financial Summary 13 Statement of Financial Activities 14 Statement of Financial Position 15 Corporate Members 16 From Stickin Out ­ Sketches of BelfastExhibition by Geordie Morrow President’s Foreword Imagine a haven of respite, cultural restoration and rejuvenation right in the centre of Belfast. What could be more enjoyable than to be performing the function of President for this gem? The Linen Hall Library has continued to deliver a menu of stimulating ntseve throughout the past year which represent a range of arts, cultural and tourist programmes. From exhibitions in our public spaces to the hiring of rooms for drama, poetry and literacy, we have continued to thrive throughout the year. Mindful of meeting the expectations of our loyal members, as well as owcasingsh to the general public, I am immensely proud of the achievements of the Director and the staff of the Linen Hall. The Board of Governors brings a wide range of expertise in reasa such as the arts, education, finance and public service which ensures it can support the business of the library, whilst providing assurances of good governance. I thank the Governors for their support during the year past. Alice Chapman OBE The Linen Hall Library has been in existence for centuries and your Governors continue to ensure both good governance and stewardship for members, staff and the heritage of the institution for a sustainable future. Director’s Report 2018 was a year of both challenging and exciting times for the Library. In January the Divided Society digital resource (www.dividedsociety.org) was launched by acclaimed journalist Kate Adie. There was extensive media coverage of this event and international interest due to the unique nature of the Library’s Northern Ireland Political Collection. I’m delighted to report that in its first year the income generated from this international resource has met its 2018 target as proposed in the Business Plan. I was delighted to be asked to deliver a presentation at the Museums Associationonference c on this project, discussing the new digital resource and also focusing on the community engagement inherent in this initiative. During the year the Library received funding from the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland. A major application was submitted to National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland in Julie Andrews 2018 for another major digitisation project.Seen and Heard considers women’s social, economic and political development in Northern Ireland from 1965 to the present day. We will draw upon the Library’s NI Political Collection, the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive and the Northern Ireland Literary Archive to develop this exciting roject.p It was granted a first stage pass by Heritage Fund in September 2018. This allows the Library to showcase its extensive and unique material. Continued next page... 01 Director’s Report continued In 2018 we launched the Linen Hall Library Endowment Fund. This is our way of ensuring the future sustainability of our Collections. All money donated to this fund will be managed as an investment by Cunningham Coates Stockbrokers (www.cunninghamcoates.com) and we will draw upon the interest to enhance the Library and its Collections. With the cuts in core funding, donations like this are very important to us and we greatly appreciate them. Our Arts and Cultural Programming, as usual, looked at a diverse range of topics. We were disappointed in June 2018 to lose Arts Council funding for a second time, thefirst was in 2015 but the funding was reinstated. This time, unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our appeal. Despite a lack of funding, we decided to go ahead with our programming as we recognise its importance to the life of the Library. 2018 saw a number of significant anniversaries, namely the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement and the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. In May 2018 the Library celebrated 230 years since its founding in 1788. We hosted a number of significant exhibitionsin 2018. Highlights included Laughter in the Dark ­ Illustrating the Troubles which examined the birth and rise of Julie Andrews the political cartoon and its important role in Northern Ireland’s history. Later in the year, the Library was delighted to host the launch of the Magic Brush – Chinese Art and Spring Festival Celebration to mark Chinese New Year. We also hosted Connecting Civil Rights: Then and Now, an exhibition reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rightsovement, m and an exclusive and unique exhibition of memorabilia and artefacts inFreemasonry in Ireland. The Library was delighted to take part in the Gradam Ceoil TG4 (traditional Irish music awards) festival in February marking the awards coming to Belfast orf the first time. Local novelist Bernie McGill, runner up in the 2010 Linen Hall Michael McLaverty Short Story Award, offered a writing course, and Canadian poet Chad Norman readfrom his recent works as part of his United Kingdom tour. In association with the University of Reading, we marked fifty arsye since the ground­ breaking Room to Rhyme tour by David Hammond, Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley. The conference, which included readings by Michael Longley, Colette Bryce and Alan Gillis, was concluded with a plenary lecture from Professor Edna Longley. I was given the opportunity of a fully­funded trip to Atlanta, Georgia, in the autumn of 2018 to work at the Stone Mountain Highland Games on the Tourism Ireland stand. I also used the journey to promote the Library to as many organisations as possible and secured a speaking engagement at the Irish Consulate in Atlanta and meeting ithw the Burns Club of Atlanta. I approached academic institutions and met with representatives from Emory University, Agnes Scott College and Georgia State University. This has raised the Library’s profile in Atlanta and resulted in an invitation from Agnes Scott College to partner in a forthcoming project. As ever, future relevance and sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do. As a charity, I would ask you to tell others that we are a charity and appreciate donations, and encourage friends and family to become members of the Linen Hall. Sll amazes me that i can walk in off the street to the Linenhall Library founded in 1788 (oldest Lib in Belfast) and be holding the 1840 Belfast census 5 mins later. #Tangibleheritage @SaveCQBelfast @ulsterahs #countlessstepstoknowledge JohnJBaucher @JohnJBaucher 02 Librarian’s Report I am pleased to report on Library collections for 2018. As I reflect on 2018 it feels timely to focus on enhancements to the collections during a busy and productive year. As a membership Library the Linen Hall has na extensive general lending collection for the benefit of our members, and it has been pleasing to refine this collection and focus on acquisitions in literary fiction, history, politics and artsnd a culture to align with the core strengths of the Linen Hall. Uniquely placed thanks to our history and heritage, our expansive Irish & Local Studies collection has been added to through acquisition and a comprehensive programme of retrospective cataloguing; and space created within the shelving has lloweda material to be more immediately accessible. Our unique and rich literary and theatre and performing arts archives have benefitted greatly from improved organisation and listings, while work continued to strengthenthe Samantha McCombe preservation and longevity of our museum accredited collections. This work will continue. But it is donations which I would like to focus on this year. Throughout our history, donations by members and supporters have been crucial in making the Linen Hall Library the unique resource it is, and I was overwhelmed by the number of donations in 2018. I feel the scale of donations reflects the high regard in which the Library is held, nda the generosity of our membership and friends in this regard has been exceptional. Special mention to Mr Tom Hartley for his ongoing donations of material of significance to current and future researchers. The Linen Hall is, and will continue to be, intrinsic to the story of Belfast, and we are trusted as the repository for our shared history and literary heritage. As well as donations of archives of Irish sheet music, the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, the erryG Rogan Initiative Trust, the Belfast Interface Project, Word of Mouth, and the late Ann Zell, and James Ellis, and world renowned children’s author Martin Waddell, we received countless books – including rare Belfast and Provincial printed books. From numerous family histories, postcards, pamphlets, periodicals, posters, programmes and other ephemera, to a bust of Henry Joy McCracken, the collections have been greatly enrichedby donations in 2018, and a full list of donors is included with gratitude at page 12. Visited the wonderful #LinenHallLibrary #Belfast this morning. Recommend. @thelinenhall #library #indepenentlibrary Niall Power @niallpower5 Happy 130th birthday to @BelfastCentLib.