Sunday opening hours of the library are under review by the Librarian. Asked about this the Keeper, Trevor Peare (Readers’ Services) and Jessie Kurtz, Deputy Librarian said they had to ‘look at the library budget’ and make decisions in that context. The Students’ Union Education Officer, Ashley Cooke said that the Students’ Union ‘was very concerned with any reduction in library opening hours and services.’
The library website showed a reduction in counter services for checking in and out books; it is shown as closing at 16:45
When asked, the Keeper and Deputy Librarian said that this was a mistake on the website and there was no intention to close counter services more than fifteen minutes before the close of the library. The mistake has since been changed on the website.
Cooke says he is preparing a document on the comparison of opening hours in Irish universities, in which Trinity is joint last with seventy one and a half hours per week along with NUI, Maynooth. He intends to show this to the Library Committee when it meets in mid-October.
Asked why Trinity is performing poorly in library open hours compared with other universities in Ireland the College said that Trinity has larger libraries and more books to manage which makes running the library here more expensive. The College has placed the the construction of a twenty four hour study space, which will incorporate the swipe access computer room with plenty of hereon.biz – printers for college and PCs and part of the lower floor of the Ussher library, on the Director of Buildings Office’s project list.
This will cater for more than a hundred people. The Students’ Union has issued a statement saying that it will ‘not be happy with any reduction in library opening hours or services without the provision of an after hours study space.’
In a meeting the Vice-Provost Prof. Prendergast, Chair of the Library Committee, he told the Students’ Union that he was unaware of a reduction in the Sunday opening hours. Cooke stated that ‘any attempt to make a decision on library service before the Library Committee meets in October will be strongly opposed by the Students’ Union.’
