Trinity Library have announced the launch of a new laptop loaning service that will allow students to borrow laptops for private use within the library.
The service allows students to borrow one of 24 Microsoft Office-equipped laptops from the lower ground floor of the Berkeley library. The laptops can then be used for up to three hours within the Berkeley, Ussher and Lecky libraries.
This new service will benefit the many students who regularly use the library’s desktop computers. The high demand for these computers, coupled with their limited supply often made it difficult for students to access the internet on campus without bringing their own laptops. It is hoped that the introduction of these 24 new computers will resolve these issues.
The news was announced in an email to students from the Librarian and College Archivist, Helen Shenton. The email, which welcomed students to the new term, also featured a summary of important updates about the library.
The email described the benefits of the new Browzine service, an app which allows students to read journal articles on their mobiles, tablets and computers. It also brought students’ attention to the implementation of UK e-legal deposit legislation which makes material from certain publishers solely available on library computers. Access points to e-legal deposit books have recently been installed in Kinsella Hall, and the Manuscripts and Archives and Early Printed Books reading rooms, with an access point in the 1937 Postgraduate Reading Room currently being installed.
The library have also been running a programme since July called “Reader’s Choice” as part of the new UK legislation. The initiative allows readers to recommend print and digital books that the library should purchase. Shenton commented on the success of the programme saying that it “is proving popular for both print and digital, with 200 print books and over 300 e-books purchased on the basis of reader recommendations”.
Shenton celebrated other recent library successes, including last year’s celebration of 50 years since the opening of the Berkeley library, a year long programme of events that saw musical, spoken-word and theatrical events take place in the library.
Looking to 2018, the email described upcoming events in the library from exhibitions celebrating the 100th anniversary of female suffrage in Ireland to ambitious digital reconstruction and virtual reality installations. Shenton also welcomed the new Head of Research Collections, Laura Shanahan, the former Head of Collection Development and Access at the Edinburgh University Library.
