It is UCC's most significant project under the Higher Education Authority's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) - Cycle 3 (€27 million).  Under this programme, funding for the library was provided on a 50:50 basis by the State and from private sources, including The Atlantic Philanthropies, represented at the opening by Mr Colin McCrea.
 
The new building involved the construction of almost 6,000 square metres of additional space adjacent to the 12,000 square metre Boole Library. The refurbishment of the basement and ground floor of the existing library was also completed as part of the project.
 
When the Boole Library was built at University College Cork in 1983, the student population was a mere 5,300.  Some 25 years later, the student body has increased to more than 16,000 students with a simultaneous increase in research and academic staff. According to University Librarian, John FitzGerald, the new facility will offer a significantly improved environment for readers and much more advanced IT infrastructure to accommodate electronic material. "The development will serve undergraduates and postgraduates and the new library space will also provide a significant research tool for scholars in the Munster region and beyond" Mr FitzGerald said.

The new facility will also house the University's Special Collections, part of a growing body of important research material that includes the O Riada Collection and the collection of WB Yeats first editions. The fit-out for this section of the library was made possible through the generous support of Joseph and Mary Carey who also support the library's acquisition programme.

Speaking at the opening, Minister Hanafin said: "This  new state of the art library will enormously enrich the learning and research experience for the thousands of students who will study here on a daily basis. Providing modern facilities such as this, through funding of our research programme, is a very tangible demonstration of the Government's clear intention to enable our research community to compete and lead on the global stage. For students, a library is a place of learning; a quiet and convenient place to study; to do research and to use the electronic resources and indeed to interact with fellow students. For others, it is a place to work and for the 130 staff employed here, this is also their day. I must acknowledge their commitment to the services that they have provided in the past, are providing today and will provide well into the future."

UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, said: "As well as providing 50 per cent more space for library users, the postgraduate library will allow the Librarian and Library staff to branch into specialised areas of research, information access and storage of rare documents and collections. When added to our facilities at Brookfield and Cork University Hospital, this new facility gives us just under 3,000 reader places, bringing it to an acceptable level by international standards."
 
The design and construction of the new five-storey building was overseen by UCC's Buildings & Estates Office and included local architects, Wilson Architecture in association with Boston based architects, Shepley Bulfinch (SBRA), who brought significant experience from projects completed on the world's top libraries.  Other team members included civil and structural engineers, Horgan Lynch, mechanical and electrical engineers, Arup, quantity surveyors, Davis Langdon PKS, fire safety engineers, Cantwell Keogh and acoustic engineering consultants AWN Consulting.  The main contractor was Michael McNamara and Company.
 
In the course of her visit, Minister Hanafin also visited the Glucksman Gallery to launch a major visual arts programme for schools. The programme, titled Picturing our World, uses the Glucksman's unique location to encourage students to explore the visual art in relation to wider issues in society. Through workshops, gallery visits and the creation of their own artworks, students will learn to become more critically aware of images they encounter on a daily basis and the messages that these images convey. The Picturing our World programme began as a pilot project funded by Cork City Council in 2006.

Speaking at the launch of the project, Minister Hanafin said "from the outset, the Lewis Glucksman Gallery has placed education at the heart of its activities . By situating younger students in a University setting at an early age, it encourages them to view third-level education as an accessible and desirable prospect. Picturing our World programme is a good example of how a third level institution is responding imaginatively and dynamically to broadening participation in higher education."

During the last school year, the Glucksman worked successfully with fifth-year students from St Patrick's Girls School, Cork, prompting a class teacher to observe,  'The children's imaginations haven't just opened, they've exploded. The project was an absolutely huge success for everyone involved!'
 
In order to fund Picturing our World for schools across the region, the Glucksman is appealing for corporate sponsorship of individual schools. Speaking at the launch, Glucksman Director, Fiona Kearney said, "the response has been very encouraging, we are already in a position to facilitate five schools, and over the next year with the support of partners in the Munster region, we hope to grow that number significantly".  Minister Hanafin congratulated the Glucksman on the success of the programme to date and said the Gallery had a unique platform from which to encourage access to third level.
 
Picture: Minister Mary Hanafin speaking at the Offical Opening of the Postgraduate Research Library

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