Merry Christmas!

All the Library staff wish our users a very happy Christmas and a jolly New Year.

See you in 2010!

When is a Short Loan a Long Loan?

At Christmas!

From tomorrow morning (Thursday, December 16) all of our 24 hour loans (including DVDs) will be issued until Monday, January 4th.

Jan/Dec Opening Hours

The Library is closed for the Christmas break from Tuesday, December 22 until Sunday, January 3 inclusive.

We re-open on Monday, January 4 at 9am for full term-time hours (9am-10pm, Mon-Thurs). On Friday and Saturday of that week we are open for longer than normal:

Fri, Jan 8 : 9am - 10pm
Sat, Jan 9 : 10am - 5pm

For our monthly opening hours see our website.

Get Your Safety PIN!

Books issued to students at the moment are due back on the first week in January.

If you want to give yourself a bit of breathing space please remember you can renew your books by accessing the Catalogue link on our Library website and doing the following:

• Click on 'My Account'
  
• Enter Your Student Number and Library PIN
  
• Highlight the titles you want renewed
  
• Click 'renew' and then 'confirm'
  

If you don't know it ask a member of Library staff for it when you're next in.

Simple as that! Well, almost. You'll be blocked from renewing if you have any overdue books or fines on your record, so just make sure your record is clear before you leave!

New Trial Database

We have a trial access to the online version of the recently published Dictionary of Irish Biography.

This definitive reference work is the product of a collaborative project between Cambridge University Press and the Royal Irish Academy, involving 700 contributors and spanning 9,000 lives.

The trial for the online version lasts until December 30 and can be accessed by clicking the links above or from the Trial Databases page on our website.

Library Closed Dec 8

The Library closes on Tuesday, December 8th for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We reopen on Wednesday, December 9th at 9am.

Northern Ireland 1921-72 Online

We have obtained trial access for the electronic version of the Northern Ireland Cabinet Papers 1921-72. The access runs until December 19th.

The resource is a full-text, fully-indexed electronic record of every debate and meeting of the Northern Ireland Government (CAB/4) 1921-72. It allows an incredibly detailed view of the day-to-day workings of the Stormont Cabinet during this turbulent era.

It is accessed from the links above or from the trial databases section of our website.

When you're in, just click on the 'start searching' link in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to access the search screen.

Library Book Sale

The Library is holding a book sale next Wednesday and Thursday, 25th and 26th of November. It will be held outside the Library entrance, from 10am to 5pm each day.

All books will be sold for €2 each, so why not pop up next week and you might find a bargain or three!

IMPAC longlist

The longlist for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was announced this week. The nominations are voted for by selected libraries throughout the world and it is the world's most valuable literary prize for a single work of fiction.

This years longlist includes Irish nominations for The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry and Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. The shortlist is not announced until April 4th, so you've plenty of time to get cracking!

See the full longlist here.

SerialsSolutions Downtime

The SerialsSolutions journals resource will be unavailable from 5pm to 11pm on Saturday, October 24.

SerialsSolutions pulls all journals held across all of our (as well as DCU and Mater Dei's) online databases and organises them into a handy A-Z so you can quickly find if a particular journal is available online, along with archive details and a direct link to it.

A New Source(s) For Researchers

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) have launched a beta version of Sources, their new database for researchers on any aspects of Irish history, culture and politics.

The database enables searching of:

• All NLI manuscripts catalogued up to the 1980s
• Irish manuscripts in other libraries from the 1940s and 1970s
• Content from over 150 journals up to 1969

It contains over 180,000 catalogue records for Irish manuscripts and articles. The records provide excellent bibliographic detail and info on how to access the item in the NLI or elsewhere. The records are fully indexed, allowing the user to search and navigate by subject also.

It's still in development, so there will be changes and additions over the next few weeks. In time it will include links to all the pdf NLI manuscript collection lists (such as the Redmond Papers, Sheehy-Skeffington Collection etc.) embedded within the records.

The official launch is due in November, but why not have peek at this beta version?

Missed Your Library Tour?

Any new students who did not attend or sign up for a Library Tour & Induction but feel they need to be shown the ropes should email the Information Desk at info.library@spd.dcu.ie (or just ask for Ben or Ronan at the Information Desk). We'll get back to you with a suitable time in the coming weeks.

Bank Holiday

The Library will be closed on Monday, October 26 for the Bank Holiday. See our full October opening hours here.

Exam Papers Archive Updated

Exam papers for the 2008-09 academic year are now available (along with previous years) for students to read or print on the Exam Papers section on our website.

Maths Week Exhibition

To celebrate Maths Week 2009 (Oct 10-17) we are displaying a selection of posters, articles and books at the entrance to the main Library focusing on the fascinating science of fractals and fractal images.

Come up, have a look and find out everthing you need to know about the Dragon Curve (right), the Sierpinski Sieve and the Koch snowflake!

Maurice O'Reilly, Head of Mathematics Department has lots of links on his Maths Week webpage here and has written his own article explaining the ideas behind Koch's snowflake.

Our thanks to Maurice for his help in selecting and supplying the items for the exhibition.

Catalogue Maintenance Oct 12

The Library Catalogue will be unavailable on Monday, October 12 from 2pm approx. to allow for essential maintenance.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Update: The Catalogue is now available again

Students - You've Got (Library) Mail

New to the Library in 2009/10 : all students now have updates about any reservations they may have placed or any overdue books on their record sent straight to their College email account.

You can of course also check your full Library account details, as well as renew or reserve books from off-campus through the 'My Account' function on our Catalogue.
Simply enter your borrower number (i.e. your St. Pat's student number) and your 4-digit Library PIN (which you can obtain at the Library Issue Desk) and Bob's your Uncle.

Foilseacháin An Gúm

Tá cnúasacht, beagnach iomlán, sa Leabharlann de na haistriúcháin a deineadh sa Ghúm ó na daicheadaí i leith.

I measc na leabhar seo tá claisicí, mar shampla Árda Wuthering (Emily Bronte) aistrithe ón mBéarla ag Seán ó Cíosáin; Ise (H.Rider Haggard) aistrithe ag Níall Ó Domhnaill; Mná Beaga (L.M. Alcott) aistrithe ag Nioclás Tóibín; Ivanhoe (Sir Walter Scott) aistrithe ag Seosamh Mac Grianna agus Filéad na Banríoghaine (Canon Sheehan) aistrithe ag Séamus Mac Gríanna nó "Máire".

Bhí taispeántas de na háistriúcháin seo sa Leabharlann i mbliana mar chuid de chúrsa a bhí ag micléinn sa 3ú bliain acadúil, cúrsa roghnach faoí stiúir Gearóidín Laighléis.

Inter-Library Loans - Three for Free!

Postgraduate students and staff of the College may be interested to know that they are entitled to three Inter-Library loans each academic year without any charge.

If there's a journal or book (or anything else within reason...) that you need for your research but can't find on our shelves, you may ask us to request it from another library on your behalf.

To do so, simply print and fill our ILL request form, sign it and hand it in at the Library Information desk. Unfortunately forms cannot be submitted online as we require a signature. Printed forms can also be obtained in the Library.

For more information check out the ILL section of our website.

New Library Guides

Hot off the press 2009/10 Library Guides are now available to collect from beside the Information Desk.

They've got all the ins and outs and dos and don'ts of the Library in a couple of pages, whether you're a nervous fresher or just a forgetful postgrad.

And this year's guide is in a new A5 size so it'll fit snugly in your schoolbag, handbag or manbag. What more do you want?

Calling All First Years...

A big Library fáilte roimh to all of our new first years and international students.

We have Library Induction Tours available for all newly registered students. These take less than 30 minutes and are a quick way of finding out all you need to know (for now!) to get the most out of the Library.

B.Ed.'s will be assigned a group and time so just need to turn up in their pre-appointed group. B.A.'s and international students can sign in whatever time suits best at the Library Information Desk.

If you're not sure where to sign in, or have a question about anything in the Library, just ask a member of Library Staff - we don't bite...

Attention Journal-Users!

Those of you who consult any print journals in the Library this year will notice a yellow bookmark attached to the cover.

We ask that any time you consult a title from our journal shelves (old or new!), you do the following:

• tick & date the bookmark in the boxes provided (see picture)
  
• ...and that's it!

This is to help us gauge usage rates of our various titles, to ensure that you, our users get the most out of our journals collection.

So tick and date the yellow bookmarks and help us keep a journal of our journals!

ISBN Service

The Library now offers an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) service to staff or researchers who have titles due to be published by the College.

You can see more information and print off an application form from our website here. Alternatively you may contact Ben or Ronan at our Information Desk at 8842170 or info.library@spd.dcu.ie.

Term Opening Hours

We resume our full opening hours from next Monday, September 28. We are now offering full issue desk services from 9:00am each weekday morning. Click here to see our September opening times.

SerialsSolutions : Now Even Better!

If you're a regular journal-user you should be aware of SerialsSolutions, a brilliant tool which allows you to find whether any particular journal is available to us by cross-searching all of our online databases in a matter of seconds.

Over the summer our entire print journals collection has been indexed and added to this resource. This means that as well as providing you with a choice of links to the e-journal of any particular title, SerialsSolutions will now alert you if we hold the print version, as well a direct link to our Catalogue record giving our full holdings information.


SerialsSolutions can also be accessed via the link at the top of our Journals A-Z listing on our website.

So if you've a journal reference, simply enter your title into the title search and let SerialsSolutions do your dirty work for you!

Catalogue Access Restored

The Library Catalogue is now available again.

Catalogue Unavailable Sept 16

To allow for an essential server upgrade, the Library Catalogue will be unavailable next Wednesday, September 16.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

NCE Access Restored

The New Catholic Encyclopedia online is now available again from our website. Once you are in the Gale Cengage site simpy click on 'Religion' to see the direct link to this e-book.

Update: The link has now been changed to go directly to the NCE Index page

New Catholic Encyclopedia

Our e-book version of New Catholic Encyclopedia is temporarily inaccessible due to some changes being made by our providers Gale Cengage. We will update here when as soon as service is resumed.

Good News for Genealogists!

Those teaching or studying Geography and History in the College, (as well as any amateur genealogists among us) may be interested to know that the complete 1911 Census is now available and fully searchable online at the National Archives of Ireland website.

The 1911 Census is one of only two censuses for which complete household record forms exist. The other is 1901 which the National Archives are currently digitising and which, when complete, will be made available in the same way.

The Census can be searched or browsed by townland/street and also by names of families or individuals. The records link directly to high quality images of the original forms and contextual material.

In the Library we also hold microfiche records of the following censuses: 1813, 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911. These are all held behind the Issue Desk and can be viewed and printed from on our Microform Reader/Printers.

For more information on any of this material please ask at our Information Desk.

Slán agus Beannacht...

Today sees Evan Salholm retire as College Librarian, a position he has held since he joined Coláiste Phádraig in 1980. We'll miss Evan greatly as our Librarian but are sure to keep him as our friend, and we thank him for his huge contribution to the progress of the Library and the College over 30 years.

There isn't enough space here (i.e. on the Internet) to begin to describe Evan and his weird and wonderful ways so we will simply wish him and his wife Penny all the very best in their retirement.

Evan is pictured here with illustrator P.J. Lynch at a Library event last year.

Ádh Mór!

The staff of the Library wish all our students taking exams at present the very best of luck. Please ask us for help if you're having trouble with anything in the Library - that's what we're here for!

Online Journals

We've added two e-journals to the A-Z listings on our website, Cognitive Neuropsychology and Structural Equation Modelling. Both titles are accessed through Informaworld which is available to us through the IReL initiative.

Don't forget, if there is a journal you are looking for which isn't on our shelves, please check SerialsSolutions to see if it is available online through one of our databases.

Bank Holiday

The Library will be closed on Monday, August 2nd for the bank holiday. We re-open at 10am on Tuesday, August 3rd.

We've Got Mail

In line with the Green College initiative in St. Patrick's, we're pleased to say our notifications for reservations and overdues are now sent to students by email.

If you've reserved an item that's out on loan you'll get an email to your College email account to let you know when it is ready for collection at the Issue Desk. Similarly if you have overdue books on your account you will get an email reminder to return the item and clear your account.

So check your St. Pat's email to get good news or bad from your College Library!

Summer Reading!

Don’t forget to drop by the library for your summer reads. We have the complete shortlists for recent Booker and Impac prizes; both A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz have impressed staff-members. Or get something set where you’re headed – perhaps The New York Trilogy or even, if you're so inclined, Down and Out in Paris and London… And there is always that long-meant-to-get-to classic – Dickens, Tolstoy, Woolf…

New Music Journal

We've another new music journal title this month, Ethnomusicology Forum, the journal of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology. You can find the latest issue on our journal shelves now and it is also available online in full-text format going back to 1997.

The online version can be accessed from the journals section of our website, along with all the others!

Help Keep our Website Linked-up!

Our website has a huge number of external links to online journals and databases. Occasionally some of these resources find a new hosting site and our old link may become a dead-end.

If you have any problems with any of the links on our site please let us know by emailing info.library@spd.dcu.ie. That way we'll root out any cul-de-sacs asap and help you on your way!

ISBNs Are Us!

College-issued ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) are now available from the Library for any staff or reseachers with forthcoming publications. This only applies to books published by the College, not by other publishers.

We will have more information on our website soon but if you wish to find out more about this service you can contact our Ben or Ronan at our Information Desk at 8842170 or info.library@spd.dcu.ie.

New Journal Titles

We have a couple of new additions to our journal shelves this month, SLD Experience and Music Education Research. The former is not currently available in electronic format but Music Education Research can be accessed and searched as far back as 1999 from the journals page on our website, with all articles available in full-text.

One other change - one of our current subscriptions, Journal of In-Service Education has changed title and is now called Professional Development in Education and is shelved accordingly.

Apocalypse and Utopia

The 2009 Irish Seminar, a series of lectures for scholars of Irish Studies is currently underway at the Keough Naughton Notre Dame Centre in Merrion Square and runs to July 3rd.

While most of the lectures are limited to students participating in the Seminar, each week contains one lecture open to the public held in the National Gallery of Ireland on Thursday at 7pm.

This year's theme is Apocalypse and Utopia and deals with:

"complex histories, present disturbances, and imagined futures...the rhetorics of progress and catastrophe, apocalypse and utopia, millenarianism and anti-millenarianism, in Irish culture from the early modern period to the twenty-first century."

The lectures open to the public are:

Elizabeth Butler Cullingford - Catholicism in Crisis: Representing the Abuse Scandals in Ireland and Irish-America (June 18)

Declan Kiberd - After Ireland: The Death of a National Literature? (June 25)

Paul Bové - Misprisions of Utopia—Messianism, Apocalypse, and Allegory (July 2)

IMPAC Award Winner Announced

Boston-born writer Michael Thomas has won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his debut novel Man Gone Down.

The story is narrated by an unnamed young black father of three in an inter-racial marraige in Boston. We meet him on the eve of his thirty-fifth birthday, broke and living in the bedroom of a friend’s six-year-old child. He has four days to come up with the money necessary to keep his family together.

The judges said of the book that "tuned urgently to the way we live now, [it] is a novel brilliant in its scope and energy, and deeply moving in its human warmth."

The prize is the richest literary award in the world. Its nomination process is unique as nominations are made by selected libraries in capital and major cities throughout the world. For more information on the award and a list of the nominees visit http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/index.htm.

Yeats Events

"Dance there upon the shore
What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?"

This month sees the 70th anniversary of the death of W.B. Yeats. To mark the occasion the National Library of Ireland are presenting Summer's Wreath '09, a series of events throughout June celebrating his life and works.

All the events are free to attend (though it's advised to book early) and those involved in the readings, lectures and performances include Bob Geldof, Neil Jordan, Edna O'Brien and Roy Foster.

For a full listing of events click here. Their website also contains a wonderful online version of their acclaimed Yeats exhibition which is well worth a look - click here to see it.

Can You Believe What You Read?

Valerie Kendlin and Ursula Byrne from UCD Library had an interesting opinion piece published last month in the Irish Times.

The title of the article is ‘Verification vanishing as data goes electronic’ and it discusses various issues for both Libraries and researchers relating to the use of the web as a source of information.

It is a follow up to a previous article written by a UCD student of sociology on May 7th about Wikipedia and the Internet.

Congratulations!

Well done to all our students who have completed their Summer exams. We wish you the very best of luck for your results!

Summer Hours

Next week will be our last week of term-time hours, with Thursday June 4th being our last day of opening until 10pm.

The following week we revert to our vacation hours of Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm (closed from 1pm - 2pm for lunch).

A Little Less Conversation...

Please show consideration for your fellow students during exam time by staying quiet while in the Library and keeping your mobile turned off.

Ádh Mór!

The staff of the Library wish all our students taking exams over the next couple of weeks the very best of luck. Please ask us for help if you're having trouble with anything in the Library - that's what we're here for!

New DVDs!

Our DVD Collection has some great new additions including RTE's acclaimed Beckett on Film. Other recently added titles are:

• Alexander Nevsky
• Alistair Cooke
• The Battleship Potemkin
• La Boheme
• British Isles: A Natural History
• Brokeback Mountain
• Croí na Múinteoireachta
  
• The Glass Menagerie
• Un heros tres discret
• Information Age
• Inside I'm Dancing
• Ivan the Terrible
• Lancombe Lucien
• Living Rock
• Lords of Downtown
• The Nazis
• Nicholas & Alexandra
• No direction Home: Bob Dylan
• No logo: brands, globalization, resistance
• October 1917
• The Oscar Wilde Collection
• Pavee Lackeen
• Raging Planet
  
• Romeo & Juliet
  
• Salome: A selfmade hero
• Tosca
  
• Tristan & Isolde

For a full list of all our titles check here.

Opening Hours

During study week from Monday to Thursday the Library is open for normal term-time hours (9am-10pm).

On Friday and Saturday we open for longer than normal until 8:30pm and 5:00pm respectively, as we also do for the following week. See our extended opening hours here.

Book of the Month

Our choice among the new additions to our shelves this month is An Atlas for Celtic Studies by John T. Koch, a ground-breaking publication on the Celts in Europe.

The book contains 64 large-format pages of maps of Europe (including impressive coverage of Ireland) with thousands of Celtic placenames, inscriptions and other mappable linguistic evidence. The maps are accompanied by scholarship on the archaeology and placenames of the different regions including explanatory text, theoretical discussion, map details, bibliography, and index.

It is an attempt to move away from the usual presentation of the Celts in narrative form and to allow space for individual interpretations of linguistic and cultural sources.

An essential work for anyone studying the Celts, and a fascinating read for all, it can be found in our Main Lending Collection at 936.4/KOC.

Are You Bagging it Yet?

Our St. Pat's Library bags are flying out the door since they went on sale last week. If you haven't got one yet they're for sale in the Library for €2 each. Stay hip and get one now!

Lost Your Marbles?

Every year many items, from USB keys to items of clothing are left behind or misplaced in and around the Library.

Anything that we find or that is handed in to us is held in our Lost Property, so if you think the last place you saw your lucky gloves was in or around the Library please ask at the Issue Desk in case we have them.

24 Hr Loans

From tomorrow evening, Thursday, May 14th all items from our 24-hour loan section (including DVDs) will be issued until after students return from study leave on Monday, May 25th.

Quiet Please...

In the lead-up to the summer exams we ask all staff and students to make a special effort to refrain from talking while in the Library.

This is not for the benefit of Library staff but rather to show respect for your fellow Library users during this busy time.

Bí Cúramach!

We ask all our users to be vigilant while in the Library and not to leave your belongings unattended, in particular valuable items such as laptops.

Extra Opening Hours

The Library will be opening later than usual on the following days to facilitate students during exams:

Friday, May 22 ------ 9:00am - 8:30pm
Saturday, May 23 -- 10:00am - 5:00pm
Friday, May 29 ------ 9:00am - 8:30pm
Saturday, May 30 -- 10:00am - 5:00pm

Photographic Exhibition

At the entrance to the Library we are currently displaying a selection of photographs from Irish Life and Lore, compiled by Maurice & Jane O'Keeffe who since 1990 have been recording and documenting local Irish history.

To find out more about Irish Life and Lore visit their website.

Get in Tune with Naxos!

The Library now offers full access to Naxos Music Library.

This resource streams over 350,000 tracks, all fully indexed and searchable by composer, artist, period, year of composition, instrument or genre.

Staff can also avail of the instuctor login which allows you to create and edit playlists for students.
For more information on this facility contact the Library.

Bop to it!

Bag it UP!!!

We have gorgeous new eco-friendly bags on sale for €2 in the Library, each displaying the College logo and a choice of slogans:

• I survived Teaching Practice!
• Dar an Leabhar!
• Libraries are for Life, not just for Exams!

Get them while they last!

PJ Lynch Event

Our UNESCO World Book Day event was held last night in E208, where illustrator PJ Lynch gave a wonderfully illuminating talk on his craft and a fascinating insight into the life of an artist.

While displaying a selection of his work ranging from his days as a student artist through to his various commissioned works and children's publications, PJ explained how his paintings evolve and progress from early drafts through to the final work.

He detailed the research he undertakes for book illustrations and spoke at length about his work on his most recent publication Lincoln and his Boys and the various aspects of Lincoln's life that informed his paintings. At the end he took questions from the floor before coming up to the Library along with the other attendees for a small reception and some book signing!

Our huge thanks to PJ for giving his time and sharing his work and expertise so generously, it made for captivating listening. Thanks also to everyone who came along on the night, both from the College and further afield. PJ thanks you all too on his own blog here!

Our Website Gets a Cert...

You may have noticed the icons to the right appear on our Library Website recently. They denote that our site is now fully XHTML and CSS compliant with W3C guidelines.

This helps ensure that the site displays consistently across different browsers and that it is compatible with assistive technologies. It also provides one of the most reliable guarantees that future Web platforms will handle it as it is currently designed.

There is more information on W3C validation available here.

Opening Hours

The Library resumes normal term-time opening hours from Monday, April 20.

Seamus Heaney Exhibition

To mark the 70th birthday of Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, we are currently displaying a collection of books and articles written by or about him on display at the Library.

All items can be taken out on loan at the issue desk.

P.J. Lynch Event on April 23rd

To celebrate UNESCO World Book Day, the Library is delighted is invite all staff and students of St. Patrick's College to a talk by renowned illustrator P.J. Lynch.

The event takes place in E201 on April 23 at 6.30pm.

If you would like to attend please R.S.V.P. by email to info.library@spd.dcu.ie.

Take a Short Loan on Vacation!

From tomorrow evening (Thursday), books from our Short Loan collection will be issued over the Easter break until Monday, April 20th.

Get Your Teeth into our Theses...

Did you know our full range of theses held in the Library can be viewed on our website? They are divided by course title and then arranged by author. Have a look!

All our theses are held behind the issue desk but are available on 3hr loan.

Easter Opening Hours

The Library is closed from Thursday, April 9th - Tuesday, April 14th inclusive. For our full Easter opening hours click here.

School Visit

Last Wednesday morning we were visited by the pupils of 2nd class from Scoil an tSeachtar Laoch in Ballymun. While they were here they participated in all manner of mayhem and even made their own picture books.

Thanks to all who contributed to a great day, most of all the children!

Book of the Month

Top of the pile for March is a junior book by Roberta Basel, "Sequoyah".

Sequoyah was a Cherokee Indian who in 1821 created a set of written symbols for the previously spoken-only Cherokee language. He went on to work as a delegate in Cherokee dealings with the US but his creation of the Cherokee alphabet is his most enduring legacy.

The book is in our Junior Section at J970.1/BAS but is a gorgeous production and a fascinating read for child and adult alike.

Library Visit

Today we welcome children from Scoil an tSeachtar Laoch to the Library for various book-related activities.

There may be some commotion in the Library so we thank our users for their patience!

Catalogue Downtime

The Catalogue will be unavailable on Monday, March 23 from 8.30am until lunchtime approximately to enable essential maintenance work to be carried out.

Apologies for any inconvenience to our users.

Resources for Early Childhood Education

The Subject Resources section on our website now has a portal for resources in Early Childhood Education. It lists journals and databases relevant to those studying in this area. Have a look!

Many thanks to Liz Dunphy for her help in selecting the resources.

J.M. Synge Exhibition

"In a good play every speech should be as fully flavoured as a nut or apple"
J.M. Synge, 1871-1909.

March 24th this year is the centenary of the death of one of our most celebrated playwrights, John Millington Synge. To mark the occasion we are displaying a collection of his works at the entrance to the Library.

Feel free to check out any of the display items yourself, we'll dig out a replacement!

School Visit

One day each year we invite children from a local school to the Library to partake in all manner of fun and games.

This year's event is taking place next Tuesday morning, March 24 and the lucky boys and girls are from Scoil an tSeachtar Laoch in Ballymun. We await their visit and the ensuing mayhem with glee!

All staff and students are more than welcome to spectate...

Library Closed on St. Patrick's Day

The Library will close on Tuesday, March 17 for St. Patrick's Day. Our opening hours for the rest of the week will be as normal during term-time.

Short Term Loans

This weekend (from Thursday evening) 24hr-loans will be issued until Wednesday, March 18th rather than Monday.

P.J. Lynch Library Visit

To celebrate Unesco World Book Day (April 23), the Library is delighted to announce that renowned Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch will be visiting us that evening. He will give a talk on his work as an illustrator of children's books while displaying slides of a selection of his paintings.

We will give more details closer to the date, but keep your diaries free for April 23!

A Few Words on Avoiding Plagiarism...

Students who want to know more about how to avoid plagiarism should visit plagiarism.org, an excellent site with lots of information on what is and isn't considered plagiarism and how to avoid the pitfalls. You can see the College policy on plagiarism here.

For staff of St. Patrick's College we provide Turnitin, a web-based program allowing you or your students to submit a document and obtain an 'originality report'. It gives feedback on referenced sources and details as to where further referencing is required.

If you'd like to know more about turnitin and how you can start using it, please contact Liam O'Dwyer in the Library @ 8842175.

Go raibh maith agaibh!

Last week's book sale in aid of St. Michael's House was a roaring success and the Library would like to thank all those who contributed towards it. We managed to raise €1,024 which we will present to St. Michaels House this week.

Bualadh bos mór to all of you!

Catalogue Downtime

The Library Catalogue will be unavailable tomorrow Wednesday, March 4th from 3pm until approximately 6pm to allow for essential systems maintenance.

Apologies for any inconvenience to our users.

Library Book Sale

Our Book Sale in aid of St. Michael's House will start tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10am outside the Library. We've had a great selection of titles donated already so thanks to all who contributed. You can still bring books along to the sale itself which will allow you to purchase another book for €2 (normal price will be €3).

The sale will last until Friday 6th March. Roll up!

Get Ready for TP!

Students undertaking Teaching Practice in the coming month should familiarise themselves with our Junior Section.

There are three bays of children's titles, including Large Books and CD-Roms containing material specifically designed for use in the classroom.

These are all searchable on the Catalogue by selecting 'SPD Junior' in the Collections drop-down box. In addition, our full collection of CD-Roms for TP can be viewed on our website.

Bring Your Own Books to the Library!

Are your favourite books collecting dust at home?
Have you got a secret classic you'd like to share?
Why not free up your shelves and bring them (the books, not the shelves...) into the Library this week?

We'll give you one voucher per book donated. The voucher will allow you to buy another donated book for €2 in our Book Sale, being held next week (March 4th-6th) .

All proceeds of the Book Sale are going to St. Michael's House, which provides vital services to those with intellectual disability and their families.

Hugh Leonard Exhibition

To mark the recent passing of Hugh Leonard, author and playwright, we are displaying a collection of his works at the entrance to the main Library.

All display copies are there to be read or taken out so don't be shy!

Go Green!!!

We're asking our users to support St. Pat's 'Green College' initiative by being a bit more careful about your paper usage while in the Library.

• THINK before you print
• THINK before you photocopy
• THINK GREEN!!!