Designing a library for the 21st century was a new kind of challenge for Trinity College, but the students who use it say the Ussher passes the test, writes Rosita Boland
Trinity College is good at building talked-about libraries. Its oldest and best-known one is the Long Room, which contains many rare volumes, including the internationally famous Book of Kells. Over the last few years, Dubliners will have seen Trinity's newest library, the flagship James Ussher Library, being built more or less under their noses. Adjacent to Nassau Street, the striking-looking new library, which occupies a prominent position in central Dublin's urban landscape, was officially opened yesterday by the President, Mrs McAleese.
Designing a library for the 21st century provided specific technological challenges: many academic periodicals, for example, are now available in online versions. Thus, each of the 750 study spaces has been wired for computer access. Students can either bring in their own laptops and log on, or use the computers provided by the library, which are available at certain workstations.
"Early in the term, the students do a lot of exploring online - and then things settle down," says college librarian Robin Adams, who is unfazed by the possible scenario of the Ussher turning into Ireland's largest Internet café.
"We don't restrict access to books and periodicals, and neither do we restrict access to legal sites on the Internet," he says. "What students do is their business, but most of them do seem to use the computers primarily for genuine research purposes."
The atrium-dominated Ussher is spacious, practical, comfortable and, best of all, infused with natural light. The large well-lit desks are laid out in zigzag herringbone-type patterns instead of the traditional ranked rows of yore, which makes the library instantly look less institutional. The days of designing libraries that made students feel like cloistered moles, scrabbling round to find books in dimly-lit shelves, are gone.
"One whole wall of the Ussher is completely windows. It gives you a more enthusiastic feel about studying," remarks Jennifer Burke, a second-year student of philosophy and politics. "People here longer than me say there used to be a scramble for seats before, but now there is room for everyone."
"Compared to the Berkeley, with its squeaky chairs, each desk in the Ussher is nice and big, there's lots of room and the lighting is good," says Una Mulkerrin, a first-year psychology student.
Brian Hennigan is a business and economics student and Jonathan Grennell is a business studies student, both of them in fourth year. Their textbooks are held in the Lecky Library, but they use the Ussher to access periodicals. "There's a lot more room for everyone now," says Hennigan.
Both agree that Trinity's libraries have their own personalities, and attract particular kinds of students. The Lecky now contains only textbooks for the social sciences, business and commerce; the Berkeley is now effectively a law library.
"In the Lecky, people leave at six, but the Berkeley is more a reclusive sort of place. You'd find people in there until about eight or nine o'clock," marvels Grennell.
"I find myself coming to the Ussher to work, even though my books are in the Hamilton Library," says David Burke, a fourth-year student of theoretical physics. "There is less talk going on there, for some reason. It has good light, big desks, and is easier to work in."
This is Trinity's third new library in four decades, all of which have been opened by the serving presidents of the time. Eamon de Valera opened the Berkeley in 1967 and Patrick Hillery opened the Lecky, in the then-new arts block, in 1974. The newest library takes its name from James Ussher (1581-1656), Trinity's first graduate. He went on to be Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and served in the college both as vice-chancellor and vice-provost. The books from his own personal library are still held in Trinity.
Trinity badly needed a new library. Its student population has doubled in 20 years, and now stands at 15,000. In recent years, there was immense strain on desk space and shelving in both the Lecky and Berkeley libraries, and study spaces were under pressure at all times of the year.
The Ussher, which has been open to students unofficially since last year, has 750 study spaces and capacity for 450,000 volumes. It holds the books required for students of humanities and letters, as well as those for the newly established courses on nursing, and the periodical library used by all students.
The Ussher is also home to Trinity's state-of-the-art conservation department, and its brand-new Glucksman Map Library. Philanthropists Louis and Loretta Glucksman are major donors, hence the tribute of giving the map library their name. It's the largest such library in the country, containing around half a million printed maps (originals are deemed to be manuscripts and are kept elsewhere).
Trinity is unique among Irish universities in having legal deposit claims on one copy of every book and periodical published in Britain, an arrangement of 200 years standing. This provides both a valuable extra resource to the college and pressure on accommodating these volumes (some 100,000 every year, all of which have to be logged and stored). For logistical reasons, most of these titles are kept off-campus, in Trinity's book deposit at Santry, but all can be accessed on request. The legal deposit titles add up to a kilometre of new shelving every year.
"Every week, 2,000 books and magazines arrive in large crates," Adams says. "They come on Fridays and have to be processed efficiently before the next batch."
Trinity does not claim pulp fiction, but "we do claim just about everything else, from the Beano to modern fiction, academic titles and railway timetables".
Railway timetables? "We keep them for research purposes. Say if a crime novelist wanted to check the time of a certain train as part of their plot, they can do it here," Adams explains.
Graduate students have always been able to access Trinity's libraries, and reader's tickets are available to people doing research. But will the general public get an opportunity to see the inside of Dublin's newest library?
"It's something we are currently considering," Adams says. "We do want to provide some kind of access for the public, but just how we do that we haven't worked out yet. It would have to be done sometime in the summer."
He'll just have to be careful that the visitors don't get too comfortable and decide they like it so much they want to come back to check their e-mails every day.