The National Library of Ireland on Kildare Street was founded in 1877. It helps to collect and make available the collective memory of the Irish nation at home and abroad, caring for more than ten million printed, visual and manuscript treasures. From fourteenth century Gaelic manuscripts to the papers of Yeats and Joyce and the works of contemporary Irish writers, the NLI is a key repository of Ireland’s national literary heritage. It is also the guardian of personal histories in the form of vast archives of letters, photographs and diaries.