Library opening hours

BlueCam

Not that I wish to drag up a perennial issue, but this is has become something of a farce. Was talking to a staff member yesterday and apparently the no Sunday opening hours is likely to stay like that until Trinity Term (didn't bother to point out that TT this year starts two weeks before exams, she didn't seem like she cared).

Coupled with the fact that there isn't any sign of a 24-hour room (and no, I find it incredibly distracting studying in a room with a few dozen computers doing their thing around me), and my intention to go for schols, I am very angry to say the least.

SligoBrewer

Can you not study at home? If you find it hard studying with computers around you, how are moving people any less distracting?

BlueCam

SligoBrewer wrote: »

Can you not study at home? If you find it hard studying with computers around you, how are moving people any less distracting?

That's not really the point, is it? I mean if everyone preferred studying at home then we wouldn't have any study areas in college. As it is we have the biggest library in Ireland, with the shortest opening hours of any university in Ireland. Like the gym is open for longer than the library, do you not think there's a slight problem there?

Meeja Ireland

BlueCam wrote: »

That's not really the point, is it? I mean if everyone preferred studying at home then we wouldn't have any study areas in college. As it is we have the biggest library in Ireland, with the shortest opening hours of any university in Ireland. Like the gym is open for longer than the library, do you not think there's a slight problem there?

The fact that the university all but shuts down at the weekend is frustrating, and it makes us feel very provincial. I can't see it changing any time soon, however. The costs of opening the library for longer would be huge.

University librarians are paid extraordinarily well, and adding night or weekend rates to their base salaries would tip it into the stratosphere. I don't see the money being made available.

Jonathan

BlueCam wrote: »

That's not really the point, is it? I mean if everyone preferred studying at home then we wouldn't have any study areas in college. As it is we have the biggest library in Ireland, with the shortest opening hours of any university in Ireland. Like the gym is open for longer than the library, do you not think there's a slight problem there?

Opening the library on a Sunday was tried last year.

Nobody used it.

gamma23

BlueCam wrote: »

and my intention to go for schols

ooooooooo your not really angry then, not yet anyway

Liquorice

SligoBrewer wrote: »

Can you not study at home? If you find it hard studying with computers around you, how are moving people any less distracting?

Ah yeah, but that library's not just for studying, it's for accessing books as well. It gets frustrating during the week if you want to look at something and all the lending copies are out, and the one or two non-lending copies are on someone's desk or hidden somewhere or have migrated to the Lecky from the Ussher.

Mark200

Jonathan wrote: »

Opening the library on a Sunday was tried last year.

Nobody used it.

If I remember correctly, wasn't it only open until 1.30pm?

I used it a good few Sundays, but when it closes that early there's not much of a point travelling in.

Meeja Ireland wrote: »

University librarians are paid extraordinarily well, and adding night or weekend rates to their base salaries would tip it into the stratosphere. I don't see the money being made available.

When the Hamilton opened on Sundays last year there were no library services, they just had one security guard checking peoples Student ID. I think the Hamilton should have much longer opening hours just as study space. It's the smallest library on the campus I think, and all the desks have sockets.

Unshelved

University librarians are paid extraordinarily well, and adding night or weekend rates to their base salaries would tip it into the stratosphere. I don't see the money being made available.

Librarians are not paid extra for working evenings until 10pm and Saturday mornings.

claire h

Jonathan wrote: »

Opening the library on a Sunday was tried last year.

Nobody used it.

Sliiiight exaggeration. It may have been underused, but it was most certainly used.

The problem with studying at home is that it works for courses where you can depend upon a few standard textbooks which you may have purchased yourself or which there are plenty of copies for you to borrow. Or for courses where it's possible to photocopy everything that you might need to read, or where you can access a lot of stuff online.

For many of the humanities subjects, you do need access to the library because you'll need to refer to not one but many different books, the majority of which will not be available to take out on loan, and some of which may be in stacks or even up in Early Printed Books. Studying at home becomes far less viable - you can do it, but you still need to spend a lot of time (and money) in the library chasing various books down and getting things photocopied.

And c'mon, it is slightly shocking when the gym has better opening hours than the library...

... but oh, man, it is only October, and the Schols-crazy is only going to get worse from here on in...

Unshelved

Sliiiight exaggeration. It may have been underused, but it was most certainly used.

Not so slight. The numbers using the Library buildings opened on Sundays were tiny. In the BLU last year the numbers only went over 200 users for the whole day three times. And it was estimated that about one third of those users were ALCID card holders from other Libraries. Students may pay lip service to wanting the Libraries open seven days a week, but the reality is that only a tiny proportion actually use Libraries outside the core hours.

Mark200

Unshelved wrote: »

Not so slight. The numbers using the Library buildings opened on Sundays were tiny. In the BLU last year the numbers only went over 200 users for the whole day three times. And it was estimated that about one third of those users were ALCID card holders from other Libraries. Students may pay lip service to wanting the Libraries open seven days a week, but the reality is that only a tiny proportion actually use Libraries outside the core hours.

Hmm, I wonder if many of those were there just for study space or because they actually needed to use books?

How many seats are in the Hamilton? If only that was opened then the ~130 people in the BLU library to study could use the Hamilton, which is a far smaller library so it'd cost very little to heat and light. Plus it'd only take one employee to look after.

Meeja Ireland

Unshelved wrote: »

Librarians are not paid extra for working evenings until 10pm and Saturday mornings.

But those are the normal working hours. We're talking about Saturday evenings and Sundays.

Unshelved

Quote:
Originally Posted by Unshelved
Librarians are not paid extra for working evenings until 10pm and Saturday mornings.

But those are the normal working hours. We're talking about Saturday evenings and Sundays.

Are they indeed? They don't feel like "normal working hours" when I'm virtually the only person on the train on a Saturday morning. Unless you plan a career in something like the medical professions, do you expect to work those "normal working hours" when you graduate?

Jonathan

Unshelved wrote: »

Not so slight. The numbers using the Library buildings opened on Sundays were tiny. In the BLU last year the numbers only went over 200 users for the whole day three times. And it was estimated that about one third of those users were ALCID card holders from other Libraries. Students may pay lip service to wanting the Libraries open seven days a week, but the reality is that only a tiny proportion actually use Libraries outside the core hours.

In addition to this, the SU were getting people to go in and out multiple times, and even telling people walking around campus on a sunday to pop in and get counted!

Meeja Ireland

Unshelved wrote: »

Are they indeed? They don't feel like "normal working hours" when I'm virtually the only person on the train on a Saturday morning. Unless you plan a career in something like the medical professions, do you expect to work those "normal working hours" when you graduate?

I understand you may be upset about your working conditions, but misquoting me won't help. I said those are "the normal working hours." It was utterly clear that I meant the normal working hours for the library.

I struggle to believe that you genuinely misunderstood that.

Degsy

I worked saturdays and sundays during extended openings and the numbers of people using the library,particularly on sundays is tiny.
Not only that,despite being open from 9.30 on saturdays and 11am on sundays,those we DO get tend to show up twenty minutes before closing time making a whole lot of demands.
The fact is that students will ask for..nay demand longer opening hours but usually fail to take advantage when they're offered.

shay_562

Unshelved wrote: »

Not so slight. The numbers using the Library buildings opened on Sundays were tiny. In the BLU last year the numbers only went over 200 users for the whole day three times. And it was estimated that about one third of those users were ALCID card holders from other Libraries. Students may pay lip service to wanting the Libraries open seven days a week, but the reality is that only a tiny proportion actually use Libraries outside the core hours.

Just throwing it out there, but...is it possible that the 100 or so students who will actually genuinely use the library on Sundays (taking out SU lackies or ALCID people) actually constitute enough of a reason to keep it open? How does that figure compare to the maximum capacity of the library? Or average usage figures on, say, a Tuesday in week 4 of Michelmas term? It just seems wrong (and I say this not to have a go at the librarians or to be some random student reactionary, just as someone who's had to spend far too many years doing weekend study) that the library shuts down completely on one day of the week and has severely reduced opening hours on another. Of all the things college could be providing money for, you'd think the place where we go to learn stuff during the huge amount of hours a week when we don't have lectures would be something of a priority.

Unshelved

Just throwing it out there, but...is it possible that the 100 or so students who will actually genuinely use the library on Sundays (taking out SU lackies or ALCID people) actually constitute enough of a reason to keep it open? How does that figure compare to the maximum capacity of the library? Or average usage figures on, say, a Tuesday in week 4 of Michelmas term? It just seems wrong (and I say this not to have a go at the librarians or to be some random student reactionary, just as someone who's had to spend far too many years doing weekend study) that the library shuts down completely on one day of the week and has severely reduced opening hours on another. Of all the things college could be providing money for, you'd think the place where we go to learn stuff during the huge amount of hours a week when we don't have lectures would be something of a priority.

I take your point, and for the tiny percentage of Students who use the Library on a Sunday, it's a valid one.

However, last year the money for Sunday opening came from the book budget. So the next time there aren't enough LEN copies of a book to go around, remember that the money to buy some extra copies directly benefitted only the 0.1% or so of the Student population who actually accessed the Library on a Sunday.

The Library is working towards a solution to the problem, which would mean that the 24-hour computer room on Level 1 of the Ussher will be extended into the Library space and will include desks to study at - we're still waiting for budgetary approval. Hopefully this would be an adequate compromise for everyone.

aine-maire

Does anybody know if the library is opening tomorrow?
On the website it says it's supposed to be open from 9.30 until 4, but I heard that it's been closing early this week because of the weather...
If anyone's there they could ask nicely

donegalgirl28

How's the library looking for the next few days? Busy?

PurpleFistMixer

Speaking about the Hamilton here...

It was empty-ish on Monday, fairly busy yesterday. I'm guessing it'll peak in busyness in the middle of this week and then die down as more people finish their schol exams.

Jammyc

Does anybody know if the 24hour study room only opens tomorrow when the library closes? Or what time does it open? Thanks!:D

antiselfdual

I think there's a sign up in the library saying "The 24 hour study room will be open from 20:45" (am I the only person who finds this amusing?)

Edit: oh sorry that sign refers to today, I don't know when it's open tomorrow (the point remains that a 24 hour study room having an opening time is a bit odd)

Jammyc

antiselfdual wrote: »

I think there's a sign up in the library saying "The 24 hour study room will be open from 20:45" (am I the only person who finds this amusing?)

Edit: oh sorry that sign refers to today, I don't know when it's open tomorrow (the point remains that a 24 hour study room having an opening time is a bit odd)

Quite the paradox alright!

So 20.45 tonight, so I'm gonna assume that at latest 12.45 tomorrow anyway.

Cheers for the help!:D

donegalgirl28

What time does the library open on Sunday??? I know from 10am but til what time?

EDIT - Is it closed at 1.30pm tomorrow?

Mark200

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

What time does the library open on Sunday??? I know from 10am but til what time?

EDIT - Is it closed at 1.30pm tomorrow?

The opening hours are here:

http://www.tcd.ie/Library/opening-hours/

So 11 - 5 on Sunday apparently, and it should close at 4 tomorrow. Sometimes they change the times, but they'd stick up a sign on the door a few days in advance or something.

donegalgirl28

Cheers! All nighter tonight and straight into library tomorrow to get references. 4,000 words by Monday 12pm?

We'll see!