2024-2025 Impact Report_final version

Message from the Dean T he essence of Copley is “Elevating Research, Empowering Students.” Our students and faculty are why we come to work each day. We strive to provide you with excellent service by ensuring our library operates effectively and that we have a first-class management team. We hire the right faculty and staff to assist you with research. In this report, we highlight four dynamic faculty members as well as those supporting the University’s National Science Foundation-funded ResDataNexus initiative. The Coordinator of Instruction and Undergraduate Learning discusses information literacy. As a learning organization, we also prioritize professional development, both individually and in groups, and the annual retreat is the pinnacle of this training. Last year’s retreat focused on neurodiversity. In collection news, we received items from Father Mike Blastic’s personal library of religious and theology books. The library also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Commission for Human Rights of Baja California to digitize human-rights cases. To my surprise, the library owns 19th-century books that contain arsenic, which our Archivist featured in a display, “Arsenic and Old Books: Poisons Hiding in Victorian Era Publications.” Curious about poisonous books? You can read more in the featured article. Annually, the library sponsors three student awards, and you will meet the winners. In the piece, “Where are they now?” three former library student employees share insights into how working in Copley helped one develop valuable skills for her current job and helped two others excel in graduate school. Throughout the year, Copley hosts several events, including Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio’s “In Blue Time” artist’s talk and unveiling, the Provost’s Research and Scholarship Recognition Celebration, and the Pontem Partnership with Catholic Middle School students, all of which are highlighted in photos. Statistics and expenditures round out this report. As we reflect on these accomplishments, we celebrate Sister Virginia Rodee’s lifetime of service as a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ), wishing her well as she retires from campus to the RSCJ home. Dr. Theresa S. Byrd DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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