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Research at The National Library of Wales
Supporting research is part of the core mission of The National Library of Wales and the work of ‘Empowering learning and research’ is a strategic objective in our Strategic Plan for 2021-2026 ‘A Library for Wales and the World’.
Learning and research therefore is seen as playing a key role in enabling us to achieve our vision of “delivering change for the better for everyone in Wales”.
Research is for Everyone
We believe that everyone should be able to engage in research and anyone can enjoy free access to the largest research collection in Wales online as well as via our sites in Aberystwyth, Haverfordwest and Cardiff. Our services empower individuals, organisations, communities and groups to:
- discover local and family history
- engage in creative practice
- support their business
- produce high-quality academic research outputs
- deliver community, national and international projects
Collaborative Academic Research
The Library has a long track record of collaborating with academic and research organisations. This often involves collaboration in the form of funded research projects or co-supervision of postgraduate students.
Take a look at our current advertisements for PhDs.
Get in touch with us about an idea for a project (these should take into account the our Research Priorities below).
Research Priorities
As the potential for academic collaboration is so vast, we have identified research priorities that will provide focus to our collaborative work as we deliver our strategic plan to 2026 and beyond. Projects that can demonstrate impact in these areas will be prioritised:
- Interpreting and re-interpreting collections - Collaboration with researchers and experts who are able to engage extensively with the collections to enable interpretation and re-interpretation. We particularly welcome collaborations and projects that relate to equality and diversity.
- Investigating the use, impact and future development of digital collections (including the use of digital in physical spaces); the development of national and community collections and the application of new technologies to the analysis and understanding of collections both in digital and physical form.
- Methodologies and professional practice relating to libraries, archives and manuscripts, maps, art conservation, photographs, sound and audio-visual content including physical conservation and digital preservation.