To the south of Library Sq is the Old Library, built in a severe style by Thomas Burgh between 1712 and 1732. It is one of five copyright libraries across Ireland and the UK, which means it's entitled to a copy of every book published in these islands – around five million books, of which only a fraction are stored here. You can visit the library as part of a tour of the Long Room , home of the famous Book of Kells.
The remainder of the library's constantly growing collection of books – they need about 1km of additional shelving every year – is stored in facilities throughout the city: students requiring a title fill out a docket and the relevant title is brought to the college within a day.
