Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search

EVENTS

Over the course of 2017, the Library will be celebrating Berkeley50 with a number of eclectic events:

February

Launch event, in the Berkeley Library

Ellen Rowley, architectural and cultural historian, will begin a series of architectural events with a talk on the origins and impact of the Berkeley Library. A screening will also take place of the wonderful Building for Books film produced in 1958. Unusually, this event will take place while the Library is open, allowing attendees to see the building in full operation.

March

Public Lecture: “Handcrafted Brutalism: The story of the Berkeley Library’s making in context”

Following the launch event, Ellen Rowley will reprise her talk on the origins and impact of the Berkeley Library for a wider audience, followed by a screening of Building for Books, the film produced in 1958 as part of a fundraising campaign for the new library.

The event is free, but booking in advance is essential.

Wikipedia workshop facilitated by Wikimedia Community Ireland

This workshop will explore the anatomy of the Wikipedia article and allow participants to develop the skills to edit and cite content effectively. Participants will also have the opportunity to contribute to the world’s largest online repository of knowledge through the creation of high-quality content about the Berkeley Library and other important cultural institutions.

Department of Philosophy lecture on Bishop George Berkeley

Kenneth Pearce, Ussher Assistant Professor in the Trinity College Dublin Philosophy Department, will deliver an engaging lecture on the life and ideas of one of Trinity’s most illustrious alumni whose philosophical output places him in the great Western canon.

April

Friends of the Library lecture: “Not just a building – not just a library”

Trevor Peare, former Keeper of Readers’ Services in the Library of Trinity College and long-standing champion of the Berkeley Library, offers an intimate portrayal of the building and its inner workings, life and magic.

May

Moog50: A collaboration with the Trinity College Department of Music

The Moog Synthesizer went into commercial production in 1967 quickly establishing itself as the archetype for synthesised sound. Using the raw concrete textures of the Berkeley Library as a backdrop, this event will explore 1960s inspired sonic and visual vistas through the use of analogue synthesizer performance techniques.

August

Samuel Beckett exhibition

In 1960 Samuel Beckett donated the proceeds of a tour of his play Krapp’s Last Tape to the Berkeley Library fundraising appeal. In August 2017, the Long Room will host a small exhibition of items from the Library’s Beckett collection to coincide with the annual Samuel Beckett Summer School. This display will highlight Beckett’s generosity to the Library and will include Krapp’s Last Tape materials.

October

From Box to Anti-Box: the Berkeley Library at 50

An exhibition at the Irish Architectural Archive curated by Donal Hickey.
Architecture Gallery of the Irish Architectural Archive.
Thursday 12 October 2017 to Friday 5 January 2018.

A Conversation with Paul Koralek

 

Open House 2017 tours of the building

The Berkeley Library will open to the public, offering a unique opportunity to explore its beautiful concrete textures and forms up close.

November

Beyond the Berkeley: Ireland and the Sixties

Carole Holohan, Department of History
Trinity Long Room Hub

December

Berkeley100

An event to imagine what the future might hold for the Berkeley Library and academic libraries more generally.

And much more besides…

Main image: Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections.