Helen Shenton is Librarian and College Archivist at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. She has held that role at the

Library of Trinity College Dublin The Library of Trinity College Dublin () serves Trinity College, and is the largest library in Ireland. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there ...

since June 2014, the first woman to do so since the University was founded in 1592. Prior to this she was Executive Director of

Harvard Library Harvard Library is the network of libraries and services at Harvard University, a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic librar ...

, a role that saw the amalgamation of services across 73 libraries. Previously, she had 25 years’ experience in the care of renowned collections through positions at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London.

Life and career

Shenton was born in April 1958. Having started her career in conservation after reading English Literature at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, Shenton was the last assistant to the

Arts & Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

bookbinder and influential conservator, Roger Powell OBE, who conserved and rebound the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...

. At the Library of Trinity College Dublin, Shenton has led a new Strategy for the Library, including a year-long public debate around ‘The Library of the Future; the Future of the Library’''.'' Shenton is Programme Sponsor of the Old Library Redevelopment Project and the Virtual Trinity Library programme, both of which are flagship projects for the University’s philanthropic campaign in which Shenton is deeply involved. She co-chaired Trinity’s Task Force on Open Scholarship with the then Dean of Research Professor

Linda Doyle Linda E. Doyle is an Irish academic and educator who is the 45th Provost of Trinity College Dublin, the university's chief officer, having assumed the office in August 2021. An electrical engineer, she has had a long academic career at Trinity ...

; is a member of the Trinity Legacy Review Working Group and is recalibrating the strategic direction of the Library. Shenton represents Trinity on national and international fora, including the League of European Research Libraries (LERU), the Irish University Association Library Group (IUALG) and UK Legal Deposit Librarians. She is a member of the Board of the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

. She has published and presented in international fora and media, most recently in July 2022, a keynote address at the IFLA World Library & Information Congress. She has written and spoken about the transformational shifts influencing the future of libraries in national media, and at TEDxDublin. During her time at Trinity, Shenton has played a leading role in the installation of four new sculptures in the Old Library to honour the scholarship of four trailblazing women. The women represented are the scientist

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal ...

, the folklorist, dramatist and theatre-founder

Augusta Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish dramatist, Folklore, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre a ...

, the mathematician

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-pur ...

and the pioneering women’s rights advocate

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

. The new sculptures, the first to be commissioned in more than a century, are now displayed among the 40 marble sculptures that line Trinity’s historic Long Room, which were hitherto all of men. The artworks represent men throughout history, from

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

to Dean

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

, Sir

William Rowan Hamilton Sir William Rowan Hamilton (4 August 1805 – 2 September 1865) was an Irish astronomer, mathematician, and physicist who made numerous major contributions to abstract algebra, classical mechanics, and optics. His theoretical works and mathema ...

and

Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone (; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a revolutionary exponent of Irish independence and is an iconic figure in Irish republicanism. Convinced that, so long as his fellow Protestantism in ...

. The four women honoured were chosen in 2020 from more than 500 nominations by students, staff, and alumni covering a wide field of ground-breaking individuals who contributed significantly to scholarship and culture across history. Shenton was Chair of the Artist Selection Panel. Previous to her role at Trinity College Dublin, Shenton had 25 years’ experience in the care of renowned collections through positions at the

(BL) and the

in London and was a member of organisations such as the

Digital Preservation Coalition ThDigital Preservation Coalition (DPC)is a UK-based charity that works with global partners to 'a welcoming and inclusive global community, working together to bring about a sustainable future for our digital assets'. Background The origins o ...

, League of European Research Libraries (LIBER) and International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). She has been involved with international world heritage projects such as the virtual re-unification of the earliest New Testament, Codex Sinaiticus, an international peer review of the Lindisfarne Gospels, and extensive involvement with galleries, and exhibitions in Asia and Europe. Shenton has worked both on new buildings (BL Centre for Conservation; BL high-density, robotic, low-oxygen store) and historically significant building projects. An early identifier of the preservation challenges of digital objects, Shenton co-created the Digital Preservation Group at the BL and was project sponsor of the early Digital Library System.

References

External links

The Library of the Future; the Future of the Library

Old Library Redevelopment Project

Virtual Trinity Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenton, Helen 1958 births Living people Irish librarians Irish women librarians