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Category: Catalogue

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Mitigating the temporary loss of access to UK Electronic Legal Deposit

Black student typing on a laptop

The disruption of the Library’s access to publications normally available via UK Electronic Legal Deposit is ongoing, following the cyberattack on the British Library at the end of last October. As a UK Legal Deposit Library, the Library of Trinity College Dublin along with the  other legal deposit libraries, the British Library the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford and Cambridge University Library, share the infrastructure for UK electronic legal deposit publications.

This incident has since received wide press coverage, e.g. in the Financial Times and the New Yorker. For up-to-date information on the steps towards recovery, see the British Library’s blog. The Library continues to work with colleagues in the British Library and the other four UK legal deposit libraries to review and ‘build back better’ the access infrastructure for the e-books, e-journals, archived websites, and other digital publications.

Anticipating that it will be months before access is restored, the Library has issued a guide to describe the mitigating actions taken, and to point readers to alternative information resources. An action to highlight is a trial subscription to a large package of more than 230,000 e-books. You will encounter them in search results in Stella Search; they stand out because they include cover images and an access button labelled ‘eBook’. If you want to target them, click on ‘eBooks’ under ‘Format’ in the selection options on the left-hand side; or select ‘eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)’ under ‘Content Provider’ further down.

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Manuscripts catalogue records moving to Stella Search

From 6 October 2023 our Manuscripts and Archives catalogue records will be accessible through our main online Library catalogue, Stella Search. With the addition of these records users will now be able to search across the entirety of our collections through one online platform, Stella Search, whilst also being able to narrow their search parameters to specific collections such as our Manuscripts and Archives catalogue records if they wish. This will help enable more integrated searching with our users more in control of what content they wish to retrieve.

As a result of this move users will no longer access our Manuscripts and Archives Online Catalogue (MARLOC) through the current interface which is being discontinued. All the information previously available through MARLOC will now be available through Stella Search so they will continue to be accessible to users.

However, any embedded links from MARLOC or bookmarks that users have directing them to MARLOC will need to be updated at this page will no longer exist on the internet.

We appreciate this may be a significant change for users so we will be producing guidance on how to search our Manuscripts and Archives catalogue records within Stella.

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Welcome from the Library of Trinity College Dublin

Librarian & College Archivist, Helen Shenton

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
               −Albert Einstein

Dear students and staff,

A very warm welcome to all new students and returning students, academics, researchers, and staff. To our first-year undergraduates who have started classes, we especially wish you every success in your new lives. The Welcome to the Library page has everything needed for you to get started. If you have any queries, Library staff are here to assist you with virtual consultations, skills workshops and a range of services. Please email Library@tcd.ie and a Library staff member will get back to you, or contact your Subject Librarian directly. 

Library Supports & Services

We started the new academic year with in-person student orientation programmes. They included tours of the Library complex for undergraduate, postgraduate, Trinity Access Programme (TAP), Visiting, Erasmus and Neurodiverse Plus programmes. A big thank you to our TAP Ambassadors, S2S Mentors and Disability Ambassadors for their assistance throughout. There will also be Library sensory tours during the semester. 

Sometimes it can be challenging for students to recognise what constitutes good academic practice. In collaboration with Trinity Teaching and Learning, Student Learning Development and the Trinity Inclusive Curriculum our Guide to Academic Integrity has been refreshed, providing study and referencing tips to help students avoid common pitfalls. Look out for ‘citing and referencing’ and ‘avoiding plagiarism’ workshops and clinics taking place during Academic Integrity Week. 

Some Library users can also experience challenges with text. For example, those with a visual impairment, dyslexia or a physical disability. Bookshare Ireland provides Trinity readers access to a global database of over 1.2 million e-books which can be transformed into more accessible formats. 

The staff version of ‘CA7000;Research Integrity and Impact in an Open Scholarship Era’, co-ordinated by the Library’s Research Informatics Unit, will be available to Trinity staff via Blackboard on a voluntary, self-registration basis from September 20th.

A new monthly Ecological Emergency Book Club for staff, led by Dr Clare Kelly will start on October 13th, to engage staff in some of the best readings on the climate and biodiversity crisis, helping to educate, inform and build a community of solidarity. 

From October, the Manuscripts and Archives catalogue records will be accessible through the main online Library catalogue, Stella, meaning all users will now be able to search across the entirety of our collections through this one platform.

This semester’s Library HITS (Helpful Information for Trinity Students/Staff) started last week. If you are new to Trinity or want to refresh your existing skills, please join the programme which is delivered by the Library and Student Learning & Development.

Renaming of the Berkeley Library

Following extensive consultation and evidence-based submissions under the Trinity Legacy Review Working Group, in April the Board decided to dename the Berkeley Library, the brutalist modernist building in the centre of campus. In line with the Board’s decision to dename and explain,the building is temporarily being referred to simply as ‘the Library’ and there is explanatory material in the foyer.

Over the academic year, there will be a consultative process for renaming the building, which will be an opportunity for people to convey views on what the former Berkeley Library should be called and why. All the evidence, submissions, and minutes of the Trinity Legacy Review Working Group are available here and a short film on the issues to date will be available soon.

Library Refurbishment Programmes

We will reach a major milestone in the preparation for the Old Library Redevelopment Project (OLRP) with the completion of construction of the new Interim Research Collections Study Centre in the Ussher Library Basement this semester.

For the duration of the conservation of the Old Library, Research Collections and staff currently in the Old Library, will be housed in the heart of the contemporary Library complex.

The construction works have caused intermittent noise and disruption over the summer and will continue for a while longer. I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

Meanwhile, works to replace the windows in the 1937 Reading Room are scheduled to continue until the end of September. On completion, postgraduates will enjoy a warmer and healthier study environment.

Old Library Redevelopment Project 

The decant of the collections from the Old Library, involving the gargantuan task of transferring 350,000 early printed books (as part of a total 700,000 items) is near completion. Many of you will already have seen the wonderful timelapses of this process. By the end of this month, all the books will be removed from the Old Library, except for the first four bays on either side of the entrance to the Long Room. These will remain in place for visitors while the Old Library remains open until the end of 2025, when the conservation and construction of the building will commence.

Up-to-date information can be found on the Old Library Redevelopment: Update for Readers section of the Library website.

Virtual Trinity Library

Highlights of our astounding Library collections have featured throughout the year in symposia, and physical and online exhibitions thanks to the ambitious Virtual Trinity Library programme and its extensive digitisation of collections made available on Digital Collections.

A highlight this semester will be the Library symposium ‘Many Lives of Medieval Manuscripts’ as part of the Manuscripts for Medieval Studies project, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York taking place on 30th November and 1st December 2023.

The achievements of the international Unlocking the Fagel Collection project were also celebrated with a Library symposium and an exhibition in the Long Room in June.

On the occasion of another Library exhibition in April, marking the 400th anniversary of the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, the First Folio, Trinity alumna and author Anne Enright launched the Trinity Centre for the Book. The new research centre, hosted in the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute, in collaboration with the Library, will co-ordinate and share research on the cultural and social importance of books of all types.

The Book of Kells will be the topic of the Trinity Centre for the Book Research Seminar in this week’s Trinity Arts & Humanities Research Festival on 27th September at 4pm. Afterwards, our librarians will describe some of their favourite items across the Library’s vast collections.  

Finally, last Thursday, we celebrated the donation of the Bollmann Collections of fore-edge paintings with an exhibition in the Long Room.

With warmest good wishes,

Helen Shenton

Librarian & College Archivist

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Ireland’s only copy of the first edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays goes on display in the Library

Image of the Library's First Folio

Paw prints, burn marks and a mysterious code … Ireland’s only copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio has all the hall marks of a book that was much used and much loved. 

The highly-regarded volume is the centrepiece of a new exhibition in the Library of Trinity College Dublin entitled ‘Shakespeare the Irishman’ marking 400 years since the Bard’s complete works were first published. Both a physical exhibition and online version of the Library exhibition were launched last night in the Old Library [Thurs, April 13th] by Trinity alumna and author Anne Enright.  

The first collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays was published in 1623, seven years after his death. Without it, half of his plays would have been lost. Surviving copies of the First Folio are among the most highly-sought after books in the world.  

Trinity’s copy was acquired at the auction of the library of the late academic Arthur Browne after his death in 1805.  Since then the First Folio has been one of the most cherished items in the Library’s collections.  

Head of Research Collections, Laura Shanahan, author, Anne Enright, exhibition curator, Professor Andy Murphy and co-curator & Assistant Librarian, Shane Mawe at the exhibition launch.

Helen Shenton, Librarian & College Archivist, commented: 

“This exhibition is part of the global celebrations of ‘the book that gave us Shakespeare’ – without the publication of the First Folio we would have lost half of Shakespeare’s plays. It is important to Trinity and Ireland because we have the only copy of the First Folio on the island. It is the highlight of the extensive Shakespearean material in our Library collections. It’s fantastic that it can be seen in the exhibition here in the Old Library and in its digitised form through the Virtual Trinity Library.” 

Andy Murphy, Professor of English and curator of the exhibition, commented:  

“This exhibition tells the story of Trinity’s copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, one of the jewels in the crown of the Library’s collection. While in good condition, it’s clear that it was a much beloved and read volume. Evidence of burn marks, drink stains, paw prints, and mysterious symbols, which have yet to be deciphered, tell us that this is a book that has been used and abused, but always cherished.  

“In Ireland, Shakespeare’s plays have always been deeply intertwined with politics. The exhibition explores how his plays were adopted and adapted in Ireland focusing on his centrality to 18th century ascendancy colonial culture; his influence on 19th century Irish nationalists such as Wolfe Tone, James Connolly, and Patrick Pearse and the translation of some of his work into the Irish language in the 20th century.” 

 
Librarian & College Archivist, Helen Shenton, Provost, Dr Linda Doyle, author, Anne Enright and Professor Andy Murphy viewing the exhibits.

As part of global Folio400 celebrations, Trinity’s copy of the First Folio has been digitised in its entirety and is now freely available to the public online via the Virtual Trinity Library.  

The exhibition marks the launch of the Trinity Centre for the Book a new research centre hosted in the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute in collaboration with the Library, which will co-ordinate and share research on the rich cultural and social importance of books of all types.  

Mark Faulkner, Ussher Assistant Professor in Medieval Literature and Director of the Trinity Centre for the Book, commented: 

“As this exhibition demonstrates, Trinity’s Library has an outstanding collection of Shakespearean material; and this excellence is mirrored in its holdings of medieval manuscripts, early printed books and the archives of authors, politicians, thinkers and many others. The new Trinity Centre for the Book will harness these outstanding collections and the university’s significant concentration of experts across its three faculties and the Library to further our understanding of one of society’s most important technologies – the book.” 

Niamh O’Farrell-Tyler, 4th year Student in Drama and Theatre Studies, School of Creative Arts
recites ‘the isle is full of noises’ speech from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as part of the Library exhibition.

More about the Trinity Centre for the Book: 

The Trinity Centre for the Book, hosted in Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute, in collaboration with the Library, aspires to make Trinity a globally recognised centre for the study, understanding and sharing of the book. The centre will capitalise on Trinity’s outstanding Library collections that span thousands of years, from the Egyptian Books of the Dead to the Library’s rapid response collecting initiative ‘Living in  Lockdown’ – a hybrid collection of physical works and born digital submissions. It will also harness the university’s significant concentration of expertise, with more than 150 researchers publishing over 1,000 works on book history over the last ten years. The centre will examine all aspects of the history of the book to broaden our understanding of its rich cultural and social importance. This will include the key role it has played in communicating knowledge and lived experience for millennia, to recent developments in non-alphabetic forms of communication such as emojis and the emergence of AI-driven content generation engines such as ChatGPT. See more here

 More about Trinity’s First Folio: 

The First Folio is one of the most highly-regarded books in the world. Trinity holds the only copy of the book on the island of Ireland. It formerly belonged to Arthur Browne, who was born in New England into a family with strong Irish connections. He studied at Trinity and settled in Dublin. Browne was a distinguished lawyer and an academic at Trinity, where he was both Prof of Law and Prof of Greek. At the time Trinity had its own seat in the Irish parliament and Browne was MP for Trinity from 1783 until parliament was dissolved in 1800. Trinity’s copy of the volume, while in good condition, includes evidence of its having been well used by readers over the decades with evidence of burn marks; drink stains; paw prints; and annotations. The most intriguing aspect of Trinity’s copy is a page that includes a set of inscriptions on one of its blank pages. These are yet to be deciphered, but are most likely shorthand symbols. Trinity purchased the book at the sale of Browne’s books in the wake of his death in 1805 paying £26 11s 6d for the volume.  

  

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Stella Search improvements

Pomodoro Sphere

Stella Search has got even easier to use! Finding books or other items that form part of our Library Catalogue Only collection is now more straightforward, as you can use the new tab Books & More on the Library homepage or in Stella Search itself. In Stella, you can flick between the default All Results, Books & More, or Articles & More, without having to rerun your search.

The Books & More tab searches for our print books, e-books, journals, subject databases, theses, DVDs, printed music… and more. You can now sort by the title or author surname, in alphabetical order, to make it easier to find the one you want. It *doesn’t* search within the millions of articles we have access to through our subscriptions – that’s what the new Articles & More tab in Stella does.

A search for "the Hobbit" within the new Books & More tab in Stella Search.
A search for “the Hobbit” within the new Books & More tab in Stella Search.

Most of these options were always there – but a little hidden, in the “facet” tickboxes at the side of the results. Those are still there. Don’t like the tabs? The default search (All Results) works exactly as it always has, with books and articles together.

Have feedback? Send us an email at library@tcd.ie with the subject “Stella Search tabs”.

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#TCDLibrarySurvey – Improving Your Library Experience

pop art image of Berkeley Library

Last week we launched #TCDLibrarySurvey seeking feedback from staff and students on their experience of using the Library.

Our last survey in 2018 showed a 79% overall satisfaction rate with the Library; 85% of students thought the Library helped them succeed on their course; and 77% said the Library had the right resources for their course.

In that survey, we asked you ‘what one thing could the Library do’ across three key areas. We received some great suggestions and as a result of your feedback, we were able to embed the following services and resources:

To help you find hard copy resources more easily:

  • An interactive 3D mapping tool to navigate Library spaces more effectively, and to visualise the exact location of any open shelf items that you may want to borrow or consult. The mapping application is integrated into Stella Search and more recently, the Library booking system
  • The MyReadingList service, fully embedded in Blackboard enables academics to point students to the availability of material, in real time, in Stella Search. A new digitisation service will allow request of scanned copies of content from Library holdings
  • A scan on demand service to facilitate requests for scanned copies of print materials, especially reference materials and periodicals. The service is free of charge and has been very much welcomed by readers not in a position to visit the physical Library

To help you find digital resources more easily:

  • A virtual bookshelf for journals: the Browzine app allows you to stay on top of research in your discipline. ‘Push notifications’ alert readers to new articles for reading on the go
  • New video guides to get you started with planning your search journey and helping you to find and evaluate information. Bespoke information skills workshops and one to one research consultations with your Subject Librarian to refine your research topic
  • Improved access to e-journals with LEAN Library. By starting your literature search in Google, Google Scholar or PubMed, LEAN Library seamlessly connects you with full text access to articles and PDFs

To improve the Library building and spaces:

  • Sensory Library tours co-delivered with the student Disability Ambassador team have provided a bespoke experience for students with sensory disabilities. Limited to six people, the tours highlight quiet study spaces and resources for those who find Library spaces overwhelming
  • A new informal learning space inside the Lecky Library entrance has been remodelled with bright comfy single-seaters and tables, acoustic baffles and new carpet tiles give the area a strong visual identity
  • An improved Services Hub on the lower level of the Berkeley Library: bespoke study desks were installed to facilitate access to PCs, the tables in the group study rooms were replaced and additional soft furnishings were installed to create informal learning spaces

Thanks to everyone who has so far completed this year’s #TCDLibrarySurvey

We want to continue to learn from your experience of using the Library. By having your say, you are providing us with valuable insights that help shape Library services. We appreciate you taking the time to let us know your thoughts.

As a thank you for taking part, participants will be entered into a prize draw to win AirPods, a Fitbit tracker, Trinity Gift Shop online gift cards, One4all vouchers and T-card top-ups.

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact us at library@tcd.ie

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Virtual Trinity Library − A Major Digitisation Initiative of the Library of Trinity College’s Collections is Launched

Virtual Trinity Library, an ambitious digitisation initiative of the Library of Trinity College Dublin’s most valued collections was launched this week. It will conserve, catalogue, curate, digitise and research these unique collections of national importance, making them accessible to a global audience, from schoolchildren to scholars.

Using the most advanced technology the Library’s new Digital Collections platform will showcase the breadth of these collections, ranging from precious manuscripts to scientific papers. 

The Library of Trinity College Dublin is joining other world libraries that are collectively enabling access to patrimony and cultural heritage.

Continue reading “Virtual Trinity Library − A Major Digitisation Initiative of the Library of Trinity College’s Collections is Launched”
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Your Library, Your Views

Library Pop Art

We’re running a short survey to help us understand your experiences of the Library. As a thank you, we will enter you into a draw to win prizes including Trinity Ball tickets, TCard credit and more.

Your views will help us to better appreciate all of our users’ needs and provide valuable insights to enable us to develop responsive services for the future. The survey will take about fifteen minutes to complete. The closing date is 14 December.

Get started here!

The Library Life Pulse survey is being administered by an independent research agency called Alterline, you can view their GDPR policy online.

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact us at library@tcd.ie.

All personal data collected by the University will be processed according to the College Privacy Notice.

 

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Reader’s Choice: Improving Access to Academic Books with Patron-Driven Acquisition

Update: E-Books Now Live.

Our eagle-eyed readers will have spotted some of the 140,000 (and growing) UK Legal Deposit e-books that we have access to via our Library PCs. Some of the major UK academic publishers have now moved to e-deposit only, such as Taylor & Francis, Routledge and Sage. The Library understands that the access restrictions can be a barrier to research, and so we are inviting TCD staff and students to select, when needed, an additional copy for our collection. Integrated with our catalogue are thousands of records for available titles which can be selected; half are print books and half are e-books. Print books can be ordered with a lead time of approximately three weeks, and on arrival the book will be reserved for you. E-books are available immediately and wherever you are working by using your Trinity login.

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Electronic Thesis Submission Now Live

Great news! Trinity’s much-anticipated electronic thesis (ethesis) submission system is now fully functioning and accepting thesis uploads from research students directly following their thesis examination process.

All newly-awarded TCD research theses will be available electronically via TARA and the Library catalogue – and, with very few exceptions, their full text will be freely and openly accessible to anyone searching the Web.

The processes around the deposit of research theses in Trinity have been automated and improved. Now that the ethesis is the agreed master copy of the thesis, once notification of its deposit is received by Academic Registry, the student’s name is immediately sent to Board and Council for approval for conferring. No more hanging around waiting, thus benefitting international students in particular.

Of course, the thesis still has to be printed as, for the time being at least, College and the Library requires the student to supply two hardbound copies. This process has also been automated. Now, at the press of a button, a student sends the ethesis to the Thesis Centre or the printer of their choice for printing. And the student no longer has to trek up to Academic Registry to hand in their hardbound copies! The Thesis Centre is delivering them directly to Academic Registry as a free, optional service.

A steady flow of ethesis deposits are expected throughout the summer, with a massive intake expected in September. For information on submitting a thesis electronically, including a demo video and step-by-step instructions, visit our Submitting Theses page.

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PhilPapers – online from the Library

A new addition to the Library’s online resources for Philosophy is PhilPapers: Philosophical Research Online.

PhilPapers is a comprehensive index of philosophy books and articles. PhilPapers offers features such as real-time indexing of pre-prints, fine-grained classification by topic, email alerts, reading lists, advanced search functionality, and discussion forums.

You can find this resource on the New Resources page, or on the A-Z of the Databases and E-Books section of the Library website. At the Library Website, you can also search by title in Stella, the Library discovery system.

Please remember to use the link on the Library record for PhilPapers to access the resource off campus.

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Orbis Europe – online from the Library

Orbis Europe

Orbis Europe is a Bureau Van Dijk (BvD) product added to the collection of the Library’s online resources earlier this year.

Orbis Europe is a subset of BvD’s global ‘Orbis’ tool. It holds information on public and private banks, insurance and industrial companies across 48 European countries. It contains over 85 million companies on the system and is updated weekly. It is replacing Amadeus, an abbreviated European database, in TCD Library’s collection of subscription databases.

You can find this resource on the New Resources page, or on the A-Z of the Databases and E-Books section of the Library website. At the Library Website, you can also search by title in Stella, the Library discovery system.

Please remember to use the link on the Library record for Orbis Europe to access the resource off campus.

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StareDecisis – online from the Library

StareDecisis: law reports at your fingertips

TCD Library has taken out a subscription to StareDecisis.

STARE DECISIS: The legal principle by which courts are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions. [StareDecisis site]

StareDecisis, also known as, Stare Decisis Hibernia, provides up-to-date law reports for all the superior courts in the Republic of Ireland, since 2011.

It includes updates on all recently published judgments of the Irish superior courts (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and previously the Court of Criminal Appeal).

In StareDecisis, you can search cases by Keyword, Subject Matter, Court, or Judge, separately or in any combination

All judgment summaries are written by practising barristers specialising in specific areas.

All judgments are reported within 7 days. Updates normally appear within 5 days of being posted on the Courts Services web site.

You can find this resource on the New Resources page, or on the A-Z of the Databases and E-Books section of the Library website. At the Library Website, you can also search by title in Stella, the Library discovery system.

Please remember to use the link on the Library record for StareDecisis to access the resource off campus.

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Chicago Defender (1910-1975) – online from the Library

The Chicago Defender (1910-1975).

Chicago Defender, Front page, Weds., Dec 24th 1969.
Front page, Weds., Dec 24th 1969.

Thanks to the generosity of the School of Histories & Humanities, Trinity College, the Library is now providing access to the newspaper archive of the African-American newspaper, The Chicago Defender, available on the ProQuest platform: ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender (1909-1975).

THE CHICAGO DEFENDER has been a leading voice of the black community well beyond the Windy City, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside Chicago. The newspaper was a proponent of The Great Migration, the move of over 1.5 million African-Americans from the segregated South to the industrial North from 1915 to 1925. It reported on the Red Summer race riots of 1919, and editorialized for anti-lynching legislation and the integration of blacks into the U.S. military. This newspaper also supported the aviation career of Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot, and promoted the writing of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks, poet laureate of Illinois. (ProQuest website)

Find the Chicago Defender on the A – Z (Databases by Title) on our Library Databases and E-Books page, (or search Stella directly, using the newspaper’s title) and access the database via the link on the catalogue record.