THE NATIONAL Library is seeking a partner to digitise its collection of genealogical and other material in a move that may mean the state institution puts its collections behind an online paywall.

The library has sought expressions of interest from potential commercial partners as well as the not-for-profit sector. A link-up with a commercial entity would almost certainly involve charging for online access to records, particularly genealogical records.

“We are open-minded as to who we partner with. It could be a philanthropic donor, an academic institution or a commercial business; it could be Irish or international. The core issue for us is that the partner must have the resources, funding and people and we bring the collection,” said Fiona Ross, director of the library.

The decisions follow an assessment prepared for the board of the library – chaired by businessman and broadcaster David Harvey – which concluded that it does not have the resources required to digitise its collection. The study concluded the library does not even have the resources to estimate the costs of digitising the collection, which is expected to run to millions of euro.

A number of international collaborations were studied by the library, including the British Library arrangement with online publisher Brightsolid to make its newspaper archive available online. Under the British Library model, access to digital material is free at the library sites, but online searches from outside are paid for.

The Library and Archives of Canada has a similar commercial relationship with Generations Network – a US genealogical research business. The National Library of the Netherlands arrangement with Google to digitise more than 160,000 out of copyright books was also examined.

The areas identified by the National Library as offering the greatest potential for a joint venture are parish records, directories and the register of elections. It has also earmarked journals, newspapers and its photographic archive. Expressions of interest will be sought to digitise all or part of the collection and different models may be used.

Commercial concessions or joint ventures fall within the mandate of the National Library, according to Ms Ross.

“Under the 1997 Act [our job] is to collect, preserve and make accessible our incredible collections. Digitisation allows you to do two of these very well: preserve by making a digital copy and make accessible by providing online access,” said Ms Ross.

“We have placed almost all our efforts in the past two years on building the infrastructure of the 21st century library, and online access to collections is the very cornerstone of that activity.”

A formal request for expressions of interest will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union this week, she added.

“There is huge global interest in our collections and digitisation is the best way to service and support this interest.”

The library became an autonomous cultural institution in 2005, but its independent status is being reviewed as part of a wider review of State bodies.