Loan of Materials from NLI
Interior of the National Museum, Dublin (L_ROY_03012)
The National Library of Ireland may lend objects from its collections for temporary exhibitions in Ireland and overseas.
To request a loan of materials
To enquire about our formal loan application procedure please email loans@nli.ie.
Formal applications must be submitted at least six months in advance of the opening date of the exhibition.
Formal applications will be acknowledged within three weeks.
Before you submit your application, we recommend you carry out preliminary research by exploring our Collections pages and by visiting our online catalogue, which provides information on the NLI’s collections.
Conditions of Loan
Approval of loan requests is contingent on the borrowing institution satisfying the NLI requirements in security, environmental conditions and on the availability, condition and rarity of the object.
Loaning and exhibiting objects poses a risk of potential damage. Some objects therefore are not subject to loan under the following circumstances:
- Items that are very fragile.
- Items that are light sensitive (where the intensity, duration and exposure will affect long-term preservation).
- For short-term events.
Where it is not possible to loan original items, we may be in a position to provide surrogates, or digital reproductions, which can be obtained from our Copying Services. Please feel free to contact us at loans@nli.ie.