Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search

#33 Business as Usual

After the Berkeley opened in ’67, it swiftly became part of student life. College was much less crowded, not the huge tourist attraction it is now and with less than a quarter of the students we currently serve, but that figure was increasing and hence Koralek’s original design had been adapted to provide some temporary relief.

…it became clear that College numbers would soon exceed the limit envisaged when the new building was first planned. Accordingly, increased space was provided for readers, and 7000 square feet of the basement storage space was adapted temporarily to provide additional lecture and seminar rooms. Provision was also made for an Exhibition Hall which, thanks to the efforts of George Dawson, was financed totally by benefactions, chiefly from the Gulbenkian Foundation, but also from Lady Mayer, the Chester Beatty Trust, and Dawson himself.
J.V. Luce, Trinity College Dublin: The First 400 Years.

The Library was a striking feature on campus – which just as it had less students, also had far fewer buildings in this area – no Arts Building, no Trinity Long Room Hub. Then as now, it provided a suitable backdrop for photos. The two images below were taken in September 1967, with Henry Moore’s King and Queen performing much the same function as a visual focus as Pomodoro’s Sphere has since the 80s. The photos were taken by Irene Kingston, who “came up” to Trinity in October 1966 to read English. The ladies in the images all hailed from the North and were in the midst of their Junior Freshman exams before the new term started.

You’ll note no nameplate on the Library’s wall; as Irene let us know, “We always called it the “new library” never the Berkeley!” and of course it *wasn’t* the Berkeley at this time.

Once opened, it was business as usual – and students began making their feelings known – as evidenced by a feature in Trinity News, 25 April 1968. The full run of said publication from 1953 to 1970 has been digitised and is available at www.trinitynewsarchive.ie.  What were the complaints? Too few seats, missing books, and opening hours too short – the same complaints that have been given by users of libraries since time immemorial and continue to be complaints heard by librarians everywhere – the opening hours concern is always a very popular campaign issue in student politics. Plus ça change! That said, the Trinity News piece is actually largely complementary about the Library, praising the light and, er, toilet facilities. We’ve already mentioned the loos in #13 Making an Entrance.  It’s the little things that matter sometimes.

Main image supplied by Paul Koralek.