Escape

Check out the library noticeboard for some book-escape suggestions this weekend.

Survey results

Last week we asked you about noise and the library. We wanted to know whether you are happy with the new noise zones in the library. The results of the survey are now available on the library noticeboard.

In short, over 3/4 of you liked the idea of the noise zones BUT the vast majority of you felt that the noise levels in each zone are too high. Some of you made suggestions about how we might improve things. We plan to discuss the issue in more detail at the Library User Committee meeting next week.

If you would like you views to be heard at that meeting please discuss it with your class rep or to the Students' Union. Otherwise you can email us at libraryinfo@itb.ie.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey!

Happy Business and Sports Week!

Check out the library noticeboard for some hints on effective searching of the Business Databases, Emerald and Business Source Premier.

Take this opportunity to learn about the best way to search for the information you need.

Beannachtaí na Féile!

Library survey: noise and the library

As you have probably noticed, the library is very busy at the moment. We thought that this would be a good time to ask for your feedback on the new noise zones.

This term we created three zones in the library:

• Green zone for group work
• Orange zone for quiet, individual work
• Red zone for silent study

Please fill in a survey and let us know what you think.

Winners for Library Ireland Week

Thank you to everyone who participated in Library Ireland Week, from the Citizens Information representatives to the people who recommended favourite books, from the photographers to those who entered the library quiz, from the staff members who joined us for a catch-up to those who donated/bought books from the book sale. It has been a great week!

Congratulations to Paul Murray who won the Photography Competition (see below) and to Deirdre Nugent, Liz Simpson and Justin O’Connell who won Easter eggs in the library quiz.
And the answers to the quiz questions were:

1. James Joyce’s wife was called Nora Barnacle
2. ITB’s newest service for students is Ask A Librarian
3. Batgirl was a librarian-by-day superhero-by-night
4. This year’s One City One Book is Ghost Light

Citizens' Information @ ITB

As part of Library Ireland Week, representatives from the Blanchardstown branch of The Citizens' Information Centre will be on campus today. The CIC offer information and advice on a broad range of social and public services and this is an excellent opportunity to avail of this free service.

Where? Foyer of C Block

When? 11am - 3pm today, Thurs. 10th Mar

It's a book

A Library Ireland Week message from Louise!

Well hello to all,

As part of library week I was asked to be a Guest Blogger for the ITB Library and after several attempts at giving a synopsis of books im reading or giving accounts of exhibitions I have attended, I realised that they all sound very mundane. Not exactly what you want to hear from a guest blogger. Then it dawned on me that I have spent over 7 years in ITB and that the college we see today is a far cry from what I remember in my first year. I can actually say that it has grown right in front of my eyes.

I started in here in 2004 studying Business in IT and French, then transferred to Business in IT, lets just say French was not my strong point :-(. My class was pretty small with only 8 graduating in my final year but then again the college was not as busy as it is now. You could walk around campus and you would be lucky to see more than a hand full of people. It was defiantly scary at times.

I can honestly say that I rarely used the library until my 3rd year in college for many reasons. A) I skipped induction day and did not have a clue how to take out a book B) the labs were empty so computers were not a problem C) I thought if I bought the book instead of rent them from the library I would study more, I was wrong ! D) it scared me as I always associated the library with exam time.

Then things changed dramatically, my final year, which ultimately turned out not to be my final year at all as I came back to ITB to do a Masters and now I work here, but from this point on I seen the Library in a whole new light. It was, for almost 2 years, where I lived. I was there when the doors opened at 9am and most days did not leave until 8pm. As most business students know that at this stage online journals become your best friend, and I was best pals with Emerald as well as the staff that worked in the library as I always seemed to need the one article that was inaccessible, or I always seemed to need something printed when the printers would break. Looking back I was probably a nuisance.

I can honestly say that my experiences have changed in ITB as the college has grown and I am quite jealous of the students who are studying here now (its probably why I haven't left yet). I know that we now have problems like noise levels in the library, no free labs, no car spaces and massive queues in the canteen, which in black and white make the college sound dreadful but the atmosphere on campus in the last 2 years far outweighs all of this. There is still a huge sense of comradery with students and staff alike which I have always admired about here but now with the ever growing diverse population there is a new element to ITB. I find it difficult to put into words but I see it every time I walk around the campus. Students are finally using every inch of the campus available to them.

So little time and so little to do. Oscar Levant (1906 - 1972)

Happy Library Week :-)

Louise Dwyer
Student Union President, ITB

Welcome to Library Ireland Week!

Library Ireland Week

Next week libraries around the country celebrate Library Ireland Week. Here at ITB we have some great events planned. We look forward to seeing you here!

Bring a Book Buy a Book
The campaign continues next week. Bring your old books and donate them to a book sale for St Michael's House. Buy great new titles for just €2!

Photography Competition: "At our library..."
Students are invited to submit photos encouraging use of our library. Send your entry to LibraryInfo@itb.ie before 1pm on Fri 11th March. The two best photos will each win a €50 voucher for the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

Citizens' Information Centre
A representative from the Blanchardstown Citizens' Information Centre (CIC) will be on campus on Thurs 10th March, in the foyer of C Block. The CIC offer information and advice on a broad range of public and social services. This is an excellent free service; take the opportunity to meet them here on-campus.

Staff Break
On Tues 8th March, ITB staff are invited to join us for tea, biscuits & a catch-up at 11am. We will be in the Staff Room, upstairs in C Block.

Library Quiz
Students are invited to fill in a short quiz at the library desk, during the week. If you know whether James Joyce was married to Norah Jones, Nora Barnacle or Nora Batty, you might be in with a chance of winning an Easter Egg!

Book recommendations
Keep an eye out in the library for book recommendations made by ITB staff members. Lots of goods ideas there!

Keep up with events here on the library blog all week!

Bring a book Buy a book

After two successful years, we will run our annual Bring A Book Buy A Book campaign again this week. It’s the perfect opportunity to donate your old books to a worthy cause… and then buy some more books for just €2 each!

You can bring your old books to the library and buy books that other people have donated, from today 2 March 2011.

In aid of St Michael’s House, this is a very worthwhile campaign. St Michael's House provides services for over 1500 people with an intellectual disability, and their families, in the Greater Dublin Area. These services include residential units, respite care, schools, clinics and day centres. All monies raised goes to St Michael’s House.

Books Books Glorious Books

This month is full of festivities for book lovers!

• Dublin Book Festival runs from 2-6 March, 2011. The festival includes a variety of events for readers and writers, children and families.
• Dublin Swell is on 18 March, 2011. The evening combines literary, musical and theatrical elements, including Seamus Heaney, Roddy Doyle, Glen Hansard and many more.
• One City One Book starts st the end of this month. The choice for 2011 is Joseph O'Connor's Ghost Light.
• Phil Lynott is celebrated this month with an exhibition at the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. It is the biggest collection of "memorabilia, song lyrics, exhibits, paintings, tributes and photographs of the late rock legend".

As a new UNESCO City of Literature, Dublin continues to celebrate in style.

"It is surely clear that to describe Dublin as a City of Literature would be like saying that rain sometimes falls in Ireland" - Joseph O'Connor, author of Ghost Light