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Welcome to all new undergraduate students from the Library of Trinity College Dublin

Dear students,

A very warm welcome to all new undergraduate students starting classes today − we wish you every success in your studies at Trinity. The libraries are open and, in keeping with the Provost’s ‘Return to Campus’ guidelines and public health advice, face coverings and two metre social distancing are currently mandatory. Pre-booking is required to enter the Library with each individual booking being for 1 hour 45 minutes.

From today, we are also introducing extended opening hours to include evening and Saturday openings in the Berkeley, Lecky, Ussher and Hamilton Libraries as well as Saturday opening in the John Stearne Medical Library.

Continue reading “Welcome to all new undergraduate students from the Library of Trinity College Dublin”
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Library opening hours from 7 June

The Berkeley, Lecky and Ussher Libraries, the Hamilton Library, and the John Stearne Medical Library will be closed for the Bank Holiday this coming Monday 7 June.

However, Kinsella Hall (all three floors) and Regent House (postgraduates only) will be available, 08:00 to 22:00, Saturday 5 – Monday 7 June inclusive.

Normal summer hours resume on Tuesday 8 June. See our Opening Hours page for details.

Pre-booking remains essential.

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Revised opening hours from Monday 26 April

The Berkeley Library

From Monday 26 April, our opening hours are expanding to assist with exam, essay and thesis preparation. If you are finished with your books, please return them so that others may use them.

Our Research Collections Reading Room and Map Library are reopening for two days a week, with consultations strictly be appointment. Opening hours details for all our Library buildings are on our Opening Hours page.

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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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Library opening hours from 6 April

Along with the Berkeley and Lecky Libraries, the Hamilton and John Stearne Medical Libraries will be available during specified hours for browsing, borrowing and studying from Tuesday 6 April. Pre-booking remains essential.

See our Opening Hours page for details.

  • The Hamilton Library
  • The Trinity Centre at St James’s Hospital
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Library opening hours for Easter 2021

The Berkeley and Lecky will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Kinsella Hall and the 1937 Reading Room will be available for prebooked study on Good Friday, Easter Saturday, and Easter Monday, from 10:00 until 18:00.

Kinsella Hall and the 1937 Reading Room will be closed on Easter Sunday.

See our Opening Hours page for details of buildings which will be available on 6 April and later.

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Library Response to COVID Level 5

The Provost and Secretary to the College wrote to us yesterday, about the universities being categorised as essential (as identified on the Department of the Taoiseach’s website see Education).

The libraries are essential to the research infrastructures during COVID Level 5, both for access to physical material for researchers and students, and as a safe, calm environment with good connectivity, especially for students.

Continue reading “Library Response to COVID Level 5”
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Berkeley, Lecky, Ussher and Hamilton libraries reopen for essential study: Resumption of activities next steps

Pomodoro Sphere

Today we are opening our doors to the Berkeley, Lecky, Ussher and Hamilton libraries as part of the phased resumption of Library activities. We know how much the libraries mean to all of us at Trinity, and just how much disruption to research, teaching and learning has been caused by COVID-19.

Our reopening is focused on the essential needs of academic staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students who may be sitting reassessments. There is also an expanded range of new services, including ‘Click and Collect’, ‘Scan on Demand’ and a postal delivery service, supporting those working remotely − further details here.

Access for external/visiting readers is not possible at this time but please keep an eye on the Library homepage for updates. The situation may change as we approach the start of teaching term on the 28th September 2020.

The safety of our staff and students is foremost in this process, ensuring a safe working and studying environment. The safety protocols that will be in place for the physical reopening will be as follows:

  • Reading rooms in Berkeley, Lecky, Ussher and Hamilton libraries will open for individual study and self-service borrowing
  • There will be no counter services and no group study activities
  • Social distancing will be in place across all reading rooms (chairs at least 2m apart)
  • There will be a ‘keep right’ policy and readers will be asked not to congregate anywhere in the building
  • The Library will make hand gel and wipes available at key locations throughout the buildings
  • Access to the Berkeley/Lecky/Ussher complex is via the Berkeley Library only (Lecky entrance in the Arts Block is closed)
  • The opening hours in the Berkeley, Lecky, Ussher and Hamilton will be 09:30 – 17:00 (Mon-Fri)
  • The John Stearne Medical Library will reopen on 10th August with limited hours; in the interim, materials held there can be requested via the new services (‘Click & Collect’ etc).

There will be signage to assist you in observing these protocols which are in keeping with HSE guidelines. For those intending to use the Library, I would encourage you to plan your study and research in advance.

The reopening of the physical Library is being phased in keeping with Trinity’s overall health and safety guidelines and the government roadmap. The most recent phase on 29th June, involved the reopening of Kinsella Hall for the essential research needs of postgraduates and early stage researchers. Based on their feedback, we know it was hugely beneficial for those who availed of it. One postgrad wrote ‘I have got more done in the past two hours than I did in the past two months’. We hope that today’s further reopening will help others who need on-site Library study space and services.

Access to all Library reading rooms, including Manuscripts & Archives and Early Printed Books (as well as the Book of Kells exhibition), will resume on August 10th. Please continue to consult the Library’s Academic Continuity Guide on the Library website for regular updates.

I look forward to welcoming you all back in person as our resumption plans progress.

Helen Shenton, Librarian & College Archivist

 

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Reopening of the Physical Library

As part of Trinity College Dublin’s overall plans for the resumption of activities the reopening of the physical Library and services will be phased and gradual. The safety of our staff and students will at all times remain our priority throughout this process.

“When we had to close the library buildings, we kept the Library open online and continued to provide students and staff with our Library services throughout COVID-19, including online services and virtual consultations. I am delighted that the reopening of the physical Library will now begin, starting on a modest scale, from the end of this month, culminating with virtually full access in August (with social distancing and other safety measures in place.) All of this will be complemented by a range of new online services starting on June 29th through to August. The overarching goal is the safe resumption of activity within the Library in a phased manner that enables access whilst protecting the health and safety of our readers and our Library staff.  We very much look forward to opening our doors once again to our readers,” says Librarian and College Archivist, Helen Shenton.

Continue reading “Reopening of the Physical Library”