News & Events - Library Guides at Trinity College Dublin

Following the recent re-location of Research Collections to the Interim Research Collections Study Centre in the basement of the Ussher Library we are delighted to extend our opening hours during term-time. We now offer late opening on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The new opening hours during term are:

Monday 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 10am – 8pm

Wednesday 10am – 8pm

Thursday 10am – 4pm

Friday 10am – 4pm

Saturday 10am – 1pm

PLEASE NOTE there will be two exceptions to the above in the following two weeks. The Reading Room will close at 4pm on Wednesday, September 11th and Tuesday September, 17th September. With the exclusion of these dates, the above new opening hours will apply for the rest of the academic year

Recent Posts

Trinity renames the Library (former Berkeley Library) after poet Eavan Boland

Trinity College Dublin is renaming the Library (former Berkeley Library) after the acclaimed Irish poet Eavan Boland. This decision was made by the University Board today [9 October 2024] after a period of research, analysis and public consultation overseen by the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group (TLRWG).Eavan Boland receiving an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin with the former University Chancellor, Mary RobinsonThe Eavan Boland Library will be the first building on Trinity’s campus to be named after a woman.Eavan Boland was one of the foremost women in Irish literature, publishing many collections of poetry, a memoir Object Lessons (1995), as well as teaching and lecturing in Ireland and in the US.It had been decided in April 2023 that the continued use of George Berkeley’s name on its main Library was inconsistent with the University’s core values of human dignity, freedom, inclusivity, and equality. Since then, its largest Library has been known simply as ‘The Library’.In September 2024, after a process of deliberation including consideration of the 855 public submissions, the TLRWG identified several options for the renaming of the Library, with their preferred recommendation being The Eavan Boland Library.A paper by TLRWG member Catriona Crowe noted that Boland’s “great achievement was to move women from the object (muse, dream, symbol) of poetry to the subject who was writing the poem”. Her name, she wrote, “would bring a magnificent poetic, scholarly and feminist reputation to a building dedicated to the humanities”.Provost Dr Linda Doyle said:It is a fitting recognition of Eavan Boland’s poetic genius that our main Library, used by so many students and staff, will now carry her name.Eavan’s poetry is well known across the generations, and her outstanding artistic contribution to highlighting the role of women in Irish society is widely appreciated. I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated in the process that has led us to today’s decision. It was marked by broad consultation and very thoughtful conversations.Professor Eoin O Sullivan, Senior Dean and Chair of the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group, said:We arrived at this point because of the hard work and conviction of many people in Trinity’s community, not least the students who not only called for a change in the Library’s name, but who worked with us to achieve that change. We are grateful for the 855 submissions from within Trinity and outside which animated our deliberations and reflections on the matter.Librarian and College Archivist at Trinity College Dublin, Helen Shenton said:Libraries are both fundamental constants in the university and simultaneously constantly in flux. Technological advances, societal changes and cultural evolutions shape the Library for each generation. As a 21st century Library, the name change to this unique library building prioritises the current generation of students’ experience of a welcoming and supportive Library space.Under its new name, it will provide an inclusive and inspirational space for generations of students to come, bolstered now by Eavan Boland’s scholarly and feminist reputation.At a debate on the new name in February 2024 hosted by the University Historical Society with the support of the TLRWG, five guest speakers and five students spoke in favour of ten names selected by the society based on popular suggestions received. The names included Eavan Boland, Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Paul Koralek (the architect of the Library building), Oscar Wilde and Wolfe Tone. Trinity History student Méabh Scahill called Boland “a seminal poet in the Irish literary tradition, whose work carved out a space for women within that tradition.”About Eavan BolandBorn in Dublin in 1944, Boland spent some early years in London and New York, returning to Ireland to attend secondary school in Killiney and later university at Trinity College Dublin. She died in 2020.Her many awards include a Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry and an American Ireland Fund Literary Award. She taught at Trinity, University College Dublin, Bowdoin College, and at Stanford University since 1996, where she was the Bella Mabury and Eloise Mabury Knapp Professor in the Humanities and Melvin and Bill Lane Professor of English and director of the creative writing programme. About the Library − de-naming and renamingOpened in 1967, Trinity’s largest library was named in 1978 after George Berkeley. Until then it was known as the ‘New Library.’ Berkeley published some of his most important philosophical works while at Trinity in the 1700s. He bought slaves – named Philip, Anthony, Edward, and Agnes Berkeley – to work on his Rhode Island estate in 1730-31 and sought to advance ideology in support of slavery.In August 2022, the Trinity College Dublin Students Union announced that it would be referring to the Library as the ‘X’ Library in all future communications, until Trinity provided a renaming plan. About the TLRWGThe Trinity Legacies Review Working Group was established by the Provost in October 2022. Its first act was to commission an evidence-based review on Bishop George Berkeley. In 2022 it opened a public call for submissions on the matter.In 2023 it reached a consensus that the Library be de-named and re-named. The Board considered and approved a memorandum by the Provost on this matter in April 2023. Trinity will continue to hold George Berkeley’s philosophical works in the Library collections and continue to teach and to research his works. The broad guidance that the TLRWG gave regarding submissions for a new name included that names had to have a direct connection to Trinity and that names of living persons would not be considered.In total, 855 submissions were received on renaming the Library. For more on the process, see here....

Reopening of Kinsella Hall & 1937 Reading Room – Sat 5 Oct, 2024. The Hamilton Library also remains open as 24/7 study facility

Last updated 22:30, Saturday 5 October 2024Following essential electrical works carried out by Estates and Facilities on Saturday, the Library’s 24/7 study facilities, Kinsella Hall in the Library Complex and the 1937 Postgraduate Reading Room, have now reopened as of this evening, Saturday 5 October.The Hamilton Library will also continue to remain open on a 24/7 basis overnight and during Sunday 6 October.Normal hours for all libraries will resume from Monday 7 October....

Welcome from the Library of Trinity College Dublin

Dear students and staff,A very warm welcome to the new academic year, especially to our first-year undergraduates. Below is an update from the Library which I hope you will find useful:Library Supports & ServicesEvery student has access to a dedicated librarian who is available to support you throughout your academic journey at Trinity. If you haven’t already met your Subject Librarian during orientation, you may meet them at a Library class or workshop.Library staff are here to assist you with your queries, providing skills workshops, virtual consultations, and a range of other services. Ask any member of the helpful Library team at Library counters, drop an email to your Subject Librarian or email library@tcd.ie. A new live chat service called LibChat is being launched this week for real time online support. Available via the Library website from 10:00-16:00, Monday to Friday, LibChat works hand-in-hand with our existing FAQ page. The Welcome to the Library page is an especially helpful resource for new students. In collaboration with the Students’ Union and Student Learning Development, we have created a space for discussion and awareness raising about Generative AI with and for students. Find out more about our ‘Demystifying Gen AI’ and ‘Applying Gen AI’ workshops on the Library Training Sessions web page. We also look forward to our new Climate and Nature Book Club for students co-led with Professor Clare Kelly (School of Psychology) where we will discuss selected books on the ecological crisis.Library Refurbishment ProgrammeYour invaluable feedback from the Library survey and design thinking workshops informed a range of innovative changes and space refurbishment in the Library including: The launch of Library 360 virtual tours of the Library Complex, the Hamilton Library and the John Stearne Medical Library will improve wayfinding and navigation within Library spaces. The Assistive Technology Information Centre on the ground floor of the Ussher Library has been refurbished to make it a study space sanctuary for students with sensory needs. With the support of colleagues in the Disability Service and in Estates & Facilities, two new low-distraction study rooms have been created with soft furnishings and improved acoustics. There are also plans to introduce plants and moss walls. In addition, two new enclosed sensory pods have been installed on the lower ground floor of the Library (formerly the Berkeley Library) and more low-distraction cubicles have been constructed on the upper level of the Lecky Library. Old Library Redevelopment ProjectThe new Research Collections Study Centre in the Atrium of the Ussher Library is now home to a Joint Research Collections Reading Room for Early Printed Books, Special Collections and Manuscripts & Archives). This is another milestone in preparation of the conservation and redevelopment project which saw the conclusion of the Decant of Research Collections from the Old Library last year. The Glucksman Map Library Reading Room has also reopened there. Following Board approval in June, the Preliminary Design Brief has been published for the new tender for an integrated design team for the Old Library Redevelopment Project and the tender evaluation process will progress through the autumn.A reminder also that Trinity staff and students can continue to visit the Old Library and the new ‘Book of Kells Experience’ in New Square for free through this link (by using Student/Staff ID number in the promo code box). This is a unique time to visit because you will see the ‘bone structure’ of the Long Room and Luke Jerram’s Gaia installation, and the original Book of Kells − all in the Old Library − and also, the immersive ‘Book of Kells experience’. Virtual Trinity LibraryThe Library is currently hosting an exhibition in the Long Room, to celebrate the work and legacies of Elizabeth and Susan (Lily) Yeats and founders of Cuala Industries, ‘The Yeats Sisters & Irish Design: Making Identities & Legacies’. In partnership with the Department of History of Art & Architecture and the Department of Foreign Affairs, a touring version of the exhibition will be shown internationally through Ireland’s global network of embassies and consulates introducing new audiences to Irish design heritage. Renaming of the former Berkeley LibraryThe renaming of the former Berkeley Library will be finalised in the next academic year. This follows the extensive consultative process for its renaming which was led by the Trinity Legacy Review Working Group among staff, students, and the wider public last year. New Research and Innovation Laidlaw Library at Trinity East The first ‘digital first and foremost’ Research & Innovation Library is planned as an anchor to the growing campus at Trinity East. Embracing the principle of ‘radical refurbishment’ in the light of the climate crisis, this will be an exciting addition to the whole of the Library system across Trinity’s sites. The procurement for the design team is currently underway, for an anticipated completion in Q4 2027. British Library cyber-attack and access to UK electronic legal deposit material The British Library (BL) recently published a further blog giving an update on the process of restoring its services following last October’s major cyber-attack. The BL continues to work with our Library and the four other UK legal deposit libraries to restore access to UK electronic legal deposit materials that were deposited prior to the cyber-attack. We expect this material to be available to the Trinity community in the new academic year, with more specific dates to follow. Ebook SOS campaignEquity of access to information and knowledge is at the heart of the Library’s mission, but there are challenges in achieving this. Academic publishing practices are making ebooks that support learning and assessment, unaffordable, unsustainable, and inaccessible to the Trinity community. Through the work of the Ebook SOS campaign, we are continuing to work nationally and internationally with colleagues across the Library sector to raise awareness as in this RTE piece about these unsustainable practices. With warmest good wishes for the forthcoming term.Helen Shenton...

Launch of new Library Services and Space Refurbishment

Students’ invaluable feedback from the Library survey and design workshops has informed a range of innovative service changes and space refurbishments in the Library this year. Library Complex 360 virtual tourThe new Library 360 virtual tours of the Library Complex, the Hamilton Library and the John Stearne Medical Library will improve wayfinding and navigation within Library spaces. The virtual tours provide a very intuitive visual impression of the reading rooms with useful information about reading room spaces, services and collections. They also allow readers to explore various routes in and around Library buildings, with a special emphasis on accessible options. We are also launching a new live chat service this week called LibChat, for real time online support from Library staff. The service will be available via the Library website from 10:00-16:00, Monday to Friday, and will work hand-in-hand with our existing FAQ page. The Assistive Technology Information Centre (ATIC) on the ground floor of the Ussher Library has been refurbished to create a study space sanctuary for students with sensory needs. With the support of colleagues in the Disability Service and in Estates & Facilities, two new low-distraction study rooms are available with soft furnishings and improved acoustics. There are also plans to introduce plants and moss walls throughout the space.Refurbished ATIC spaceTwo new enclosed sensory pods (see image at top of page) have also been installed on the lower ground floor of the Library (formerly the Berkeley Library) and additional low-distraction cubicles have been constructed on the upper level of the Lecky Library. Please try them out and let us know what you think!...

Extended Reading Room Opening Hours in Research Collections

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