Sinéad Baker | Deputy Online Editor
Works to extend 24-hour section of the Berkeley/Lecky/Ussher (BLU) Library up three floors of the Ussher Library are due to start after this June Bank Holiday Weekend, The University Times has learnt.
The 2nd and 3rd floors of the Ussher library will be remodelled in order to be open 24 hours a day, like the bottom floor. This will accommodate students who wish to use the library after the usual closing time, particularly at weekends.
The Ussher library will also be examined by an architect with the aim of maximising space usage and adding more desks, all of which will have lighting and power points. CCTV will also be installed on the 2nd & 3rd floors, and is already installed on the 1st floor.
The project was informed by data of library usage last year in which the entire BLU Library was opened 24/7 for ten weeks and the Hamilton Library also saw extended opening hours during supplemental exams.
The project was agreed last year between the then-Dean of Students, the Vice Provost and last year’s Students’ Union, and arranged with funds procured by the Students’ Union after a case in 2012 in which the Higher Education Authority ruled that Trinity was giving excess allowances to teaching staff. Trinity was fined €1,000,000 towards the government and was ordered to spend €500,000 on additional student services. The library and the Students’ Union have been meeting since July to discuss the project; which was originally planned to begin in January of this year in order to service students studying for their exams, however a lack of sufficient preparation, as well as the absence of a librarian to oversee the project, caused the delays.
Work on the book tower is expected to be complete by July, and work on the reading sections of the tower is scheduled for completion by the next academic year.
