Spotlight on Library Staff Member

Aisling Keane

Aisling Keane - Digital Archivist

Aisling is the Digital Archivist at NUI Galway, and has worked in the James Hardiman Library since 2012.  Before that, she worked in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and in Met Eireann.

Aisling is currently involved in the Abbey Theatre Archive Digitisation project, being a 4-year collaboration between the two institutions, in which NUI Galway is digitising and providing on-campus access to the rich archive of the Abbey Theatre.  The collection pre-dates the theatre’s foundation in 1904, with material from its predecessor, the Irish Literary Theatre included.  Programmes, scripts, set and costume designs, posters, as well as comprehensive financial and administrative records are all included in this archive.  The aim of the digital project is to expedite researchers’ engagement with the archive, meaning a keyword search for a particular production can open up all the records relating to that production at a few clicks of a mouse. 

She is also working on cataloguing the archive of social cartographer and writer Tim Robinson.  A beautiful archive, which includes not only his maps and manuscript material, but also a comprehensive town-lands index, Robinson plots geological, historical, and ecclesiastical monuments throughout Connemara, the Aran Islands, and the Burren.  He also records local lore, stories, and anecdotes, and notes the names of local people who have given him information.  This research process is the foundation of his mapping, and carries on into his writing.  A dedicated exhibition, ‘Interpreting Landscape: Tim Robinson and The West of Ireland’ is currently on display in the foyer of the Hardiman Research Building. 

Aisling is part of the Archives and Special Collections Team which operates its service out of a dedicated reading room on the ground floor of the Hardiman Research Building.  The Archives and Special Collections team are here to help you access our unique archives, rare and antiquarian books, newspapers, and maps, some of which date back to the 15^th century. 

More information on collections and services offered by the Archives and Special Collections service can be found on http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/archives/ and http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/specialcollections/

A recent interview with Aisling discussing her role in the Abbey Theatre Digital Archive Project at NUI Galway can be watched back on the 'Dúiche' programme on TG4 recently:
http://www.tg4.tv/play.php?pid=3990732475001&title=D%C3%BAiche&series=D%C3%BAiche