Lighting in the Library

"I'm just wondering if it's necessary to have all of the lights on everywhere all of the time? At this time of year especially it doesn't seem like it is, could probably save lots of electricity/money by switching them off on days when the sun is shining through the window" - Alec, 1st yr Veterinary Medicine

Thank you for your feedback. It would not be possible with a building this size to constantly go around turning lights on and off depending on the sunshine. Whilst the perimeter of the building does get daylight a lot of the interiors of the building are pitch black without lighting. We do have special energy efficient lights in this building which have very low energy use. UCD works very hard to save energy and also to keep electricity costs down. The library has reduced the energy bill considerably over the last few years with various initiatives. This includes the new escalators which again are low energy.
On the other side of the equation students use the library building as a charging station for all kinds of devices such as phones and laptops and this cost comes directly out of library budget. We have considered using sensor lights for areas of the library that have low usage such as the book stacks particularly in our evenings and weekends and this is under discussion. We also have to be aware of disabled people in particular those with reduced vision and light can also be a factor for them.  - Monica Glynn, Library Facilities Team.

Heating in the Library

It's far too hot at the moment in the main Library even with the windows open. It's May so why can't the heating be turned off???

Our heating system is in the process of a major overhaul. This project has been going on for several months and will hopefully, be completed in the next few months. Unfortunately the work is creating some extremes of temperature in some areas of the building.

We apologises for this problem and are working with our colleagues in Buildings and Services to resolve it. Hopefully in a few months we will all feel the benefit of the newly updated system.

Recycling Facilities

There should be somewhere a recycle place for empty water bottles in the library, perhaps near the water fountain or on the entrance on each floor?

That's an excellent suggestion and is something that we'll definitely look into getting. Many thanks for sharing your idea.

Unattended Desks in the Library

It's hard enough to get a desk sometimes - especially during exams - without people leaving their coats, bags etc on their desk and then leaving the library to go to class, lunch or whatever.

Library policy is that any place left unattended for longer than thirty minutes may be cleared by Library staff for use by another reader. Library attendants do keep an eye on empty desks but please let us know if you feel a desk has been unattended for longer than 30 minutes.

Short Loan Books

Two days is not enough for some books in the short loan section. Some of these books have more than 1,000 pages and it's impossible to study them in two days. We should at least have the option of renewing them for another few days

Books are put in the Short Loan Collection as they are in very high demand. Loaning them out for 48 hours gives all students a fair opportunity to use the books. Allowing students to renew these would only restrict their circulation further.