Copley Connects Fall/Winter 2024

Faculty Spotlight: Diane Maher Head of Archives, Special Collections and Digital Initiatives Our colleague, Diane Maher, recently celebrated her 30th anniversary at USD. To commemorate this milestone, we wanted to share an interview with Diane, introducing her and her work to our readers.

History Department and Copley Library Partner to Welcome Veterans for Peace By Martha Adkins , Research and Instruction Librarian Representatives from the San Diego Veterans for Peace organization held a moving panel discussion at Copley Library on Thursday, November 7, 2024. Gary Butterfield, Dave Patterson, and Jan Ruhman, discussed the history of the Veterans Day holiday in the United States, especially its origin after World War I as Armistice Day, arguing for a return to the original title and purpose of the holiday, which resided in a hope that there would never again be a war as terrible as World War I. The experiences of these men in and after their wartime military experience brought to vivid life their presentations on the military industrial complex, the economic impact of war, the ongoing societal trauma of war, the environmental cost of war and military expansion, and their arguments for returning the Veterans Day holiday to its original meaning. Their panel was followed by a lively question and answer session with members of the audience. The event also coincided with an essay contest, which asked students to consider the question, Veterans Day or Armistice Day? The winners of the cash-prize context were Julia Sciallo (first place), EK Squires (second place), and K Pressly (third place). Dr. Kathryn Statler (History) organized the evening with three powerful veteran speakers. While we missed the presence of Mr. Jack Doxey, who was unable to join his colleagues on the panel, we hope to see him next year. We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership for this important event again with Dr. Statler and the Veterans for Peace in November 2025.

What was campus like when you arrived? Much smaller. Not as many buildings—a lot more open space. There were fewer students who were much less diverse compared with students today and many of them appeared to be quite wealthy. In general, there wasn’t as much going on although the university did host the Presidential Debate between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole soon after I got here. That was a big deal. How has the library changed since you’ve been here? The library building has changed in almost every way. Technology has changed how we work and how people use the library. When I arrived in 1994, I didn’t have a computer at my desk, the collection was classified using the Dewey Decimal System, the online catalog was still new and not very well understood—and the library building itself was not in good shape. Fortunately, the library in 2024 has overcome these problems. The building has been renovated and we are technologically forward looking.

For those of our readers who don’t know you personally, give us a brief introduction. Diane Maher/Head of Archives, Special Collections and Digital Initiatives After growing up in a climate that offered the probability of six months of snow—I moved to California and never looked back. I’ve worked as a library assistant in libraries at UCSD (Biomedical Library and Geisel’s Special Collections); graduated from SDSU (BA in English, Certificate in Technical Writing, and MA in British Literature); attended UCLA’s Library School, graduated in 1994, and three months later found myself at Copley Library hired as a Cataloger/Reference Librarian. How long have you worked at Copley? I can hardly believe that it’s been thirty years since I started working here. I still remember my interview— when I was asked what I did for fun—I had to laugh because commuting to UCLA while working part time at UCSD and having a toddler at home didn’t leave much time for fun—though I did reply that I was hoping to find out. Can you give us a description of your daily routine? Every day is different although attending meetings is the one constant that drives my schedule. I’m also representing Copley Library in the Faculty Senate and was elected to its Executive Committee which is a fascinating but time-consuming experience. I have long term projects that I’ve been working on related to reorganizing some of our department’s spaces—it’s down to the vault now—the final frontier of the chaos of moving the department during the pandemic. I’m also involved in creating the exhibits in the second-floor display cases which gives me a creative outlet as well as a connection to the university community and the library’s collection. But the most unpredictable and often the most rewarding aspect of my work involves answering reference questions. These questions can come from anywhere and from anyone on a wide range of subjects connected to our special collections’ holdings or USD history. There have been many questions this year raised in support of USD’s 75th Anniversary events. The one type of anniversary question that caused me the most anxiety usually began with “I remember seeing a photograph….”

Gary Butterfield

Dave Patterson

Jan Ruhman

Hispanic Heritage Month

Diane Maher stands with one of the displays celebrating the university’s 75th anniversary

What else would you like to share about yourself? I have another connection—not so well known—to USD. When I first moved to San Diego I worked as a library assistant in the Law Library (before it was called the Legal Research Center). If anyone had told me then that I would become the University Archivist—I would never have believed them!

Displays, designed and composed by Diane Maher, Head of Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives, to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month with highlights from our collections.

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