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Minister Madigan launches new online access to Chester Beatty Library collections

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, TD, today (5 December) launched a new website (https://chesterbeatty.ie) which will give online access to Chester Beatty Library’s world-renowned collections.

The expanded site includes extensive information on exhibitions and public programmes and a new searchable database of high-resolution digital images from the museum’s collection.  Online digitised artworks and manuscripts means anyone, anywhere can see the Chester Beatty’s masterpieces, some thousands of years old, face-to-face in high-resolution.

The new website launches with almost 2000 objects from the Chester Beatty’s collections digitised – the project is ongoing and more images will be added on a daily basis. These images, which include scholarly catalogue records, are now available online for students, scholars, researchers and the general public. Images can be downloaded from the website for non-commercial use, free of charge.  The new website and online repository will bring considerable benefits for researchers and educators.

Minister Madigan said: “The Chester Beatty Library, like many libraries and museums the world over cannot exhibit its entire collection at any one time.  Digitisation provides a means for greater access to whole collections, not just those currently on display. This is an enormous benefit to both the scholar and the school child alike.”