In an important development for scholars and Joyce-enthusiasts everywhere, the Irish National Library has recently made many of its rare James Joyce manuscripts available online. Previously, Joyce’s manuscripts were closely guarded, with use heavily restricted (or made very expensive) by Joyce’s grandson, but as you may know, on January 1st of this year, many of his works moved into the public domain. The manuscripts now available on the Irish National Library’s website include corrected page proofs of Finnegan’s Wake, early notes and drafts for Ulysses and beyond, and one of Joyce’s all-purpose notebooks, full of reading lists, musings, accountings, and passages from his favorite books and poems. All the material is currently available in PDF format only, but the library has promised that higher resolution images are forthcoming — on Bloomsday, of course. [via Jacket Copy]