About

About the Library

The main Library building of NUI Galway is named after James Hardiman, born in 1782, noted antiquarian and author of the standard history of Galway and other works and first Librarian of the College (1849-1855).

Collectively, Library spaces and services are refered to ask the "NUI Galway Library" or just "The Library". The James Hardiman Library is the main Library for the University and is located at the heart of the campus. There is also a separate Medical Library, recently extended and refurbished, in the Clinical Sciences Institute at University College Hospital. The Hardiman Building for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences research, adjoining the James Hardiman Library, opened in 2013. It includes archives, special collections, exhibitions and seminar spaces. The incorporation by NUI Galway of Shannon College of Hotel Management includes its Library.

The Library contains 540,000 printed books, with the total stock being nearer to 700,000 volumes. Read more about our Collections.

Archives and special collections are vital to the academic mission of the University. Areas of focus for archives are literature, theatre, film and the performing arts, and historical and political collections, all including significant Irish-language and regional material. Read more about archives and special collections.

The main Library management system is Alma, supplemented by others including Primo (discovery), CALM (archives), DSpace (institutional repository), Islandora (digital collections), and Talis Aspire (reading list management).