Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 29 January 2015
Public Accounts Committee
Vote 33 - Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Chapter 9 - Accounting for National Gallery of Ireland Expenditure
Financial Statements of the National Library 2012 and 2013
10:00 am
Ms Catherine Fahy:
It is very difficult to sell materials from the library because they are stamped with ownership marks. That renders them virtually unsaleable, which is a significant disincentive to potential thieves. We also have quite strict regulations in our reading rooms. We issue rare materials only under close supervision and in designated areas we have electronic tagging devices on our book collections, which is also a deterrent to potential thieves. It is a problem for libraries worldwide.