The National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) was formally established in 1997 with the aim of documenting 20th and 21st century Irish art and design and providing public access to the collection to enhance knowledge and facilitate research.  The Library is designed to foster interest in Irish visual culture and promote Irish art and design across a broad range of constituencies. 

NIVAL is a unique research facility wherein every aspect of the visual arts in Ireland from 1900 to the present day has been documented.  The library holds monographs, art and design journals, exhibition catalogues, price lists, brochures, press releases and newspaper reviews.  Artist's papers, institutional records, scholarly research papers and material culture collections are also held. Much of the material, amassed over the last thirty years, is unavailable elsewhere.  

NIVAL serves a wide range of researchers including authors of books and articles, creative practitioners, curators, scholars and students, as well as the general public interested in current, historical or biographical information on the visual arts in Ireland.  NIVAL aims to benefit artists by providing a secure and permanent place for the deposit of visual and textual information related to their work.