Copley Connects Spring Summer 2024

COPLEY CONNECTS COPLEY LIBRARY EXPLORE | DISCOVER | SUCCEED VOL. 11, ISSUE 3, Spring/Summer 2024 NEW BOOKPLATES ADDED TO DIGITAL COLLECTION p. 4 ANNUAL FACULTY AND STAFF RETREAT p. 3 COPLEY LIBRARY AND SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY TEAM UP TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH p. 6

NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR DIGITAL BOOKPLATE COLLECTIONS

SPRING 2024 REWIND

Spring and Summer 2024 were busy at Copley Library! In addition to welcoming new colleagues and collections, our work included conferences, book talks, research celebrations, and more. See inside for highlights of our activities over the last few months.

Message From the Dean

STUDEN

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Table of Contents Message From the Dean Annual Faculty and Staff Retreat New Bookplates Added to Digital Collection TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Message From the Dean 3 Student Assistant Spotlight 4 Copley Connects Celebrates 10 Years with Highlights 6 Bookplate Tradition Honors Graduating Student Assistants 8 COPLEY READS: Book Recommendations Copley Library and San Diego Public Library Team up to 6 Celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month Research and Scholarship Recognition 8 Fourth Pontem Partnership Event 8 SCELCapalooza 2024 8 Digitial Initiatives Symposium 9 Copley’s Summer 2024 Reading List 10 New Faces at Copley 11 Social Media 10 Immersive Global Reading 11 Faculty and Staff Retreat 12 Faculty Research and Scholarship Recognition Reception 14 The 9th Annual Digital Initiatives Symposium 16 Black and Women's History Month Event 18 Faculty and Staff News 20 Save the Date: DIS 2024 Social Media

The American Library Association (ALA) selected San Diego as the site for its 2024 annual conference, which attracted 13,532 librarians from around the world. Ten Copley employees attended the conference. ALA offered professional development programs, committee meetings, conversations with vendors in the Exhibit Hall, and an opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends. Copley Library and librarians were integral in several conference programs. The library hosted two significant events on campus on June 28. The first was Core’s Buildings for College and University Libraries’ ALA Annual Preconference: Academic Library and Learning Spaces Tour of innovative academic libraries and flexible teaching and learning spaces. The tour featured the UC San Diego Geisel Library, the Design and Innovation Building, and the Halicioglu Data Science Institute (HDSI). The participants were then transported to the University of San Diego to tour Copley Library and adjacent Learning Commons. From 1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., the tour participants were introduced to Copley Library and the University of San Diego. I conducted a 30-minute presentation with Q & A about the Copley Library renovation for the 52 attendees from the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, and Singapore, including architects, librarians, and furniture representatives. Christopher Marcum, Head of Access and Outreach Services, and Diane Maher, Head of Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives, gave them a library and Learning Commons tour. Joe Agati, Jr. of Agati Furniture participated in the tour and wrote an article about Copley Library’s Agati furniture: https://www.agati.com/ blog/copley-library-renovation-expansion/. Later that evening, we hosted the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Book Awards 55th Anniversary event. This celebration was held from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Auditorium and Garden of the Sea, and 200 people attended. Both programs on Friday were a huge success. During the ALA Conference, Copley Library received the 2024 PR Xchange Award at a ceremony held on Sunday, June 30, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Sails Pavilion at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC). A panel of 25 judges selected Copley’s 10 th Anniversary issue of Copley Connects from 334 entries to win an award in the External Communications Professional development and connection to library professional organizations helped the library advance and deliver services to the university’s consitituencies. We are affiliated with SPARC, CRL, CNI, HathiTrust, NISO, and Lyrasis. The Artwork Committee assists with selecting art and installing exhibitions that create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students. Our December AlumniWorks 2022 exhibition featured 13 alumni artists. Three of these diverse artists’ works now hang on the library’s walls. Copley closes the period from 2013-2023 by focusing on accessibility; a changing collection development model; fake news and misinformation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; affordable learning materials; and artificial intelligence. The library is meeting the needs of an evolving USD, and its faculty. Our scope is even bigger with the demands of the university’s R2 status. Here’s to another ten years of Copley Connects informing the USD community of Copley’s milestones and services. Theresa S. Byrd, DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY with Santa Barbara As a SSS mentor for transfer students tra Theta Pi since the Sp Service Chair. He wa for exemplifying the assistance. Raul will Administration and B full-time position at San Diego. In additio Hardware and Lighti working with his fam For the past two sem Outreach Student As in photography to cr newsletters, annual with Raul to ask abo in Copley Library, an YOU'RE AN ACCOU INTERESTED IN P Yes, I’m an Account junior year of high sc cousin introduced m person out of the wh posts on Instagram me to get a camera then. I’m self-taugh a photography class but everything they By Catherine Paolillo, Visiting Evening Access Raul Flores Torres (C has worked in Cople Services since Fall 2 his 4 years at USD h in Movimiento Estud de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A) and Student Suppor while being employe Center, and operatin first-generation stud extended family to g on the M.E.Ch.A e-b Representative whe General Body Meetin Farmers Workers Ma events, with the oth involvement in M.E.C and San Diego comm ALA Comes to San Diego

2 3 4 Celebrating Ten Years of Copley Connects: 2013-2023 Over the past ten years, Copley Library has thrived. The central focus of the library is collections, services, and space. Print remains vital, but Covid made digital-first in all formats popular. In 2013, students engaged with Reference Librarians in-person. However, today they work with librarians in-person and virtually through our chat reference service and Springshare’s 24/7 reference cooperative. The library initiated the Digital Initiatives Librarian position and joined the institutional repository (IR) and open movement. This year, we reached 2 million IR downloads of faculty’s and students’ research being accessed worldwide. In 2020, we began participating in JSTOR’s Open Communities Collections initiative featuring three of our marquee collections: Japanese Bookplates, Paris Exposition Postcards, and the San Diego Lowrider Archival project. Like many of the schools in USD, Copley Library has matured. In 2015, former President Lyons granted us our tenure process. The faculty holds its own elections. We became Faculty Senate members in 2018. The faculty taught 1,433 instruction sessions and 217 workshops. They gave 97 conference presentations and published 21 articles, 4 book chapters, 7 conference proceedings, 8 book reviews, 1 book and 3 short stories. The faculty has grown, and their expertise strengthened with embedded librarians located in the schools and liaison librarians in the College. Moreover, the library organization has benefitted from creating positions, such as the Associate Dean for the Library and the Associate Dean for Student Success and Diversity. Seminal Library Moments 2013-2023 • Compiled the first Annual Report, 2016 • Joined USD’s Annual Senior Survey, 2017 • Launched the Copley Library Retreat, 2018 • Renovated the Building, Fall 2017-Spring 2020 • Impacted by Covid, March 2020-August 2021 • Assisted with the Faculty Research and Scholarship Recognition Reception, 2023 For additional highlights, see the timeline on p. 4-5. • Purchased the JSTOR Alumni Databases, 2013 • Started the Digital Initiatives Symposium, 2014 • Offered $1,000 OER Stipends to Four Faculty, 2015

Published twice a year by: Copley Library University of San Diego 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110 Copley Connects is also available on our website at www.sandiego.edu/library. Dr. Theresa S. Byrd Dean of the University Library tsbyrd@sandiego.edu Copley Connects Review Committee: Martha Adkins Reference Librarian, Editor Hugh Burkhart Executive Assistant Jordan Kobayashi Library Assistant, Periodicals/Serials Michael Conlee Archives/Digital Initiatives Assistant 2 COPLEY CONNECTS C OPLEY CONNECTS Published twice a year by: Copley Library University of San Diego 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110 Copley Connects is also available on our web site at www.sandiego.edu/library. Dr. Theresa S. Byrd, Dean of the University Library tsbyrd@sandiego.edu Copley Connects Review Committee: Martha Adkins , Reference Librarian, Editor Hugh Burkhart , Reference Librarian and Coordinator of Instruction and Undergraduate Learning Cindy Espineli , Executive Assistant Jordan Kobayashi , Library Assistant, Periodicals/Serials Jennifer Bidwell , Business Librarian Naomi Reeve , Archives/Digital Initiatives Assistant Reference Librarian and Coordinator of Instruction and Undergraduate Learning Cindy Espineli

“Masao Maeda Bookplate” (1965). Japanese Bookplate Collection . Image 16. https://digital.sandiego.edu/japanese_bookplates/16

2 | COPLEY CONNECTS

category in the budget category of under $1 million. Congratulations

to Martha Adkins, the Copley Connects Editor, and the library team. The San Diego Circuit Library Leaders, which I participated in, presented “Leading Libraries Committed to Community-Centered Collaboration and Impact” on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the SDCC. This program highlighted how the Circuit members have collaborated on resource sharing and collection management, information literacy, and community engagement. A small group activity invited the audience to identify issues of concern in their local communities that would benefit from a community-centered approach to library collaboration on programs or services. Laura Turner, Associate University Librarian and Head of Technical Services, and Jill Bogg, OCLC Senior Product Manager, co-presented “Simple Steps to Increase Your Library’s Visibility to Web Users” on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in SDCC. Their presentation covered tools and best practices for promoting library resources from both a librarian and a vendor angle. It was also my pleasure to host Liliana Araujo Briones, Library Director, and Imelda Guadalupe Sáenz Rodríguez, Head of the Library Services Department, Universidad de Monterrey Library, our sister library, for lunch and a Copley Library tour during the ALA conference. ALA was a whirlwind. This Copley Connects issue contains articles about the Digital Initiatives Symposium 10 th anniversary, new additions to our digital bookplate collection, and Copley’s Summer 2024 Reading List. I enjoy meeting faculty, students, and community members as I walk through the library, so be sure to visit Copley soon.

Copley faculty and staff tour the Museum of Man

Annual Faculty and Staff Retreat By Martha Adkins , Reference and Instruction Librarian On January 18, 2024, we gathered for our annual retreat day, first in the Nexus Theatre in the beautiful new Knauss School of Business, where our first speaker, Dr. Chris Burden, Assistant Vice President for Student Wellness at USD, gave a powerful presentation about the disturbing increase in college students’ feelings of loneliness, both in our country and on our campus. Following Dr. Burden’s presentation, we headed to Balboa Park for lunch and an afternoon workshop and guided tour of the Museum of Us. Morgan Owen, the Education Manager of the museum, led us through a workshop called Equity Versus Equality, in which we played a Monopoly-like board game created by a sociology professor called Sociopoly. Morgan followed our workshop with a guided tour of compelling and disturbing exhibits at her museum – including PostSecret and Hostile Terrain, a version of which has been on display in the lower level gallery space at Copley Library. Many thanks to the Retreat Committee for their hard work planning this day!

Dr. Theresa S. Byrd DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Dean Byrd and Dr. Burden

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO | 3

New Bookplates Added to Digital Collection By Michael Conlee , Archives/Digital Initiatives Assistant

We’re excited to announce the accessibility of our Bookplate Artists Collection on Digital USD! This new collection expands our digital collections of bookplates, adding to the original collection of Japanese Bookplates (spotlighted in the Summer 2019 issue of Copley Connects and in detail on the cover of the present issue). Featuring works by over 18 artists specializing in various printmaking mediums like linoleum cuts, woodblock, and offset lithography, the Bookplate Artists Collection showcases a diverse range of bookplate designs from a golden age of printmaking in the 20th century. From Adrian George Feint’s intricate patterns to Ismael Smith’s bold prints, each artist brings a unique touch to these miniature functional artworks. All the images on these pages may be found in the Bookplate Collections on Digital USD, alongside many many more.

4 | COPLEY CONNECTS

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO | 5

Copley Library and San Diego Public Library Team up to Celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month For the 7th year, the annual collaboration between Copley Library and the San Diego Public Library to celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month was a great success. Our featured author this year was Dr. Sabrina Strings, Professor and North Hall Chair of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Strings is the author of the books The End of Love: Racism, Sexism, & the Death of Romance and Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia , which was the topic of her talks in San Diego February 25 and 26, 2024.

We asked a few of our librarian colleagues to share their reflections on Dr. Strings’ work and presentation: “As a historian and because of my research interest in critical librarianship, I was pleased to attend Dr. Sabrina Strings’ talk on her book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia . Dr. Strings provided an interesting and undeniable framing of the racial origins of fat phobia by highlighting how European and American societies have shaped feminine beauty and promoted white supremacy based on aesthetics and racism. In the process of learning, I found a connection with other participants as we discussed the realities of body shaming and fat phobia that are still pervasive in American society today.” – Jennifer Bidwell Assistant Professor and Business Librarian “As one of the event’s planning committee members, I always enjoy the day-of events as a celebratory culmination of our months-long efforts. I enjoy watching how speakers and audiences interact even more. Dr. Sabrina Strings’ research exposes and expands the complex relationship amongst shifting beauty standards, white supremacy, and the exploitation of Black bodies for White entertainment. Dr. Strings has a particularly dynamic, personable style that

FEARING THE BLACK BODY

6 | COPLEY CONNECTS

made her presentations engaging across different audiences at both San Diego Public Library and the University of San Diego. Audiences were at times horrified and surprised, but always captivated. My guests and I spent nearly an hour post event discussing our own experiences and the revelations and confirmations raised by Dr. Strings’ presentation.” – V. Dozier Associate Professor, Education Librarian, and Coordinator of Graduate Student Programs “Due to my research interests in visual communication, I was eager to hear sociologist Dr. Sabrina Strings discuss how artwork and the media have perpetuated anti-fat racist stereotypes of Black women. She traced changing aesthetics within European notions of beauty from once celebrating voluptuous (white) figures during the High Renaissance to denigrating them during an active period of colonization and the transatlantic slave trade. This change in tastes was actually far more harmful, a confluence of the Enlightenment, whereby so-called intellectuals actively established a racial hierarchy. Later in the 20th century, Dr. Strings connects white supremacy to thin supremacy, the myth of the BMI, and details horrific examples of Western medicine using Black people as mere subjects for scientific research.” – Millie Fullmer Assistant Professor, Acquisitions and Cataloging Librarian, and Liaison to Department of Art, Architecture + Art History “Since 2018, Copley Library and San Diego Public Library’s Annual Black History Month and Women’s History Month event has brought many excellent authors to USD to discuss their work. Dr. Sabrina Strings was no exception. Her book is well researched and convincingly argues that fat phobia is deeply rooted in anti-Black racism. Dr. Strings was warm and funny and her presentation made her scholarship on a serious and important topic engaging and accessible. I thought the book’s examination of the history of medicine and the scholarly conversations around weight and health in the medical community was particularly important in showing how fat-phobia and racism are inextricably linked.” – Christopher Marcum Assistant Professor, Head of Access and Outreach Services, and Liaison to Department of History

L to R: Dr. Theresa Byrd , Dean of the University Library; Dr. Sabrina Strings , Professor and North Hall Chair of Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara and our featured author; Misty Jones , Director of the San Diego Public Library

“While I always enjoy the good speakers that Copley Library hosts, the collaborative February 25th Black History Month/Women’s History Month program at San Diego Public Library was particularly intriguing. Copley Library partnered with San Diego Public Library to offer an eye-opening look at the impact of insidious body image ideas that have been perpetuated for the past few hundred years. With an interested crowd at the afternoon event, Dr. Sabrina Strings provided a fascinating history of the origins and consequences of European approaches to female body image. Her research demonstrated that these approaches were rooted in racist constructs, with harm to women of color through persistent and systemic judgment not only by the wider white population but more significantly, by medical professionals. Examining the artificiality of the Body Mass Index as an example of an individual’s health marker, Strings denounced the impact that body image approach in medicine continues to exert on the physical and mental well-being of Black women. A powerful and engaging speaker, Strings left me with much to consider about my own implicit bias.” – Laura Turner Associate Professor, Associate Dean of the Library, and Head of Collections, Access, and Discovery, and Liaison to Department of Music

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO | 7

SCELCapalooza 2024 By Martha Adkins , Reference and Instruction Librarian

Fourth Pontem Partnership Event a Success By Hugh Burkhart , Coordinator of Instruction and

February 27-29, 2024, several librarians and staff members, as well as the Dean of the Library, attended SCELCapalooza, an annual meeting for members of the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) to gather for a variety of programming at Loyola Marymount University.

Undergraduate Learning Copley Library hosted its fourth Research Day for students in the Pontem Path, USD’s college bridge program for students attending select schools from the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. On May 4, 18 middle school students from

Jennifer Bidwell , Business Librarian, and Amy Pham , Senior Electronic and Open Content Librarian

Our Lady’s School, St. Katharine Drexel Academy, and St. Rita’s School participated in a workshop with Copley librarians Martha Adkins, Hugh Burkhart, Michael Epstein, and Christopher Marcum, focused on the fundamental skill of formulating a research question. Their parents attended an information session about admissions and financial aid led by Dulce Garcia from USD Admissions. They also took part in a campus tour, led by librarian Steve Staninger, and then convened in the library’s Mother Rosalie Hill Reading Room before lunch for a round of student presentations about narrowing a research topic to home in on a research question. For the first time, instruction librarians were assisted by Pontem Path alumni. Jeremias Zuniga (Our Lady and Cathedral Catholic High School graduate) and Alejandro Esparza Martin (St. Rita’s and St. Augustine High School graduate) were on hand to work with the students as they prepared their group presentations. Both students attended the library’s inaugural Research Day in 2019 and are current USD undergrads. The library hopes that having Pontem Path graduates participate in this mission critical initiative will become an annual occasion. A hearty congratulations to these new Toreros and all those who participated! USD’s Director of University Ministry, Christian Santa Maria , delivers the opening address to an audience of students, parents, and librarians.

The first day is the Deans and Directors Symposium, followed by Vendor Day and the Colloquium. Jennifer Bidwell, Business Librarian, and Amy Pham, Senior Electronic and Open Content Librarian (pictured here), presented a lightning talk, “Pathways for collaboration: Building relationships, building collections.” Dean Byrd presented on a panel on collaborations between SCELC and member libraries. In addition, Michael Conlee, Archives/Digital Initiatives Assistant, received a scholarship to attend the events of SCELCapalooza.

Research and Scholarship Recognition By Martha Adkins , Reference and Instruction Librarian For the second year, Copley Library was host to the Research and Scholarship Recognition event. We joined Gail F. Baker, PhD, Senior Vice President and Provost, Associate Provost Truc Ngo, and the Office of Sponsored Programs in celebrating the research and scholarship accomplishments of our USD colleagues in publications and external grant funding. Faculty gathered in the Mother Hill Reading Room on the afternoon of April 11, 2024 for refreshments and camaraderie, as we took in the journal articles, conference papers, books, creative work, and more examples of USD faculty scholarship on display.

Celebrating the successful completion of presentations in the Mother Hill Reading Room!

8 | COPLEY CONNECTS

Digitial Initiatives Symposium By Amanda Makula , Digital Initiatives Librarian The Digital Initiatives Symposium (DIS) celebrated its 10-year anniversary with two full days of programming on April 29-30, 2024. In her opening remarks, Dean Theresa Byrd shared a slideshow with the names of all presenters over the years, from the very first Symposium in 2014 to the present, alongside images of attendees and speakers enjoying the event and learning together. The first Symposium cost only $35 and featured one of the very same speakers as this year’s event: Dr. Lorraine J. Haricombe. Since its launch, the DIS has welcomed 20 keynote speakers, 19 panels, 105 presentations, and 37 workshops. While some things have changed over the years, other traditions remain the same: the popular Wine and Cheese reception, the vital support of sponsors, and a steadfast commitment to diverse perspectives and programming.

YEARS

Contributors to the Deans’ Panel, “Evolution or Revolution? Digital Transformation, AI, and Academic Libraries” stand with Dean Byrd after Dr. Isabel Espinal’s presentation. L to R: Xuemao Wang , Dean of Libraries, Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian for Northwestern University; Courtney Young , University Librarian at Colgate University; Dean Byrd ; and Jeff Steely , Dean of Libraries at Georgia State University

Dr. Clifford Lynch , Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, and Dean Byrd

Dean Byrd and Closing Keynote speaker, Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty, the director of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, after her presentation, “Narratives Told, Narratives Lost: Reflecting on Authentic Spaces for Library Digital Decolonization Strategies and Programs Four Years Post George Floyd”

Alexander Soto (Tohono O’odham), Director of the Labriola National

Featured speaker, Dr. Isabel Espinal, Academic Engagement librarian at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented “Digital and Physical Safety & Knowledge Work Bravery — Lessons from 33 Years in the Library DEI Space”

American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University (ASU) Library, presented “Cultivating Culturally-Informed Digital Literacies through Indigenous Librarianship”

Dr. Leo Lo, Dean and Professor at the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, who presented with Dr. Lorraine J. Haricombe, Vice Provost and Director of the University of Texas Libraries in Austin, Texas: “Forward Together: Libraries at the Intersection of AI and Open Scholarship”

Opening Keynote speaker, Dr. Bryan Alexander, presented “What’s Next for Higher Education?”

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO | 9

Copley’s Summer 2024 Reading List By Millie Fullmer , Acquisitions and Cataloging Librarian

Copley Library boasts an impressive collection of academic titles and journal articles both online and in its physical collection. As the semester comes to a close and the weather heats up, now is the perfect time to ponder your summer reading list! Copley Library’s Popular Books is a rotating collection of the most current bestsellers (2023 and 2024 publications). The over 300+ print books can be found on the lower level of the library and comprise nonfiction and fiction stories (sci-fi, romance, mystery, biography and many more). Research shows pleasure reading benefits include reducing stress, increasing empathy and other social skills, better sleep, and cognitive development e.g. memory, expanding your vocabulary, and writing skills. Visit the library to serendipitously discover your next page-turner, or search the online catalog with “Popular Books,” then refine to Location: Copley Library Popular Books.

Please see below for a curated list of 2024 bestsellers available for checkout:

Holiday Country by İnci Atrek “Nineteen-year-old Ada adores spending every summer in a Turkish seaside town with her mother and grandmother at the family villa. The glittering waters, picturesque olive groves, and her spirited friends make it easy for Ada to leave her idle life in California behind. But no matter how much Ada feels she belongs to the country where her mother grew up, deep down, her connection to the culture feels as fleeting as the seasons. When Levent, a mysterious man from her mother’s past, shows up in their town, Ada can’t help but imagine a different future for her mother-one that promises a return to home, to love, to happiness. But while playing matchmaker, Ada has to come to terms with her own intensifying attraction to Levent. Does the future she’s fighting for belong to her mother-or to her alone? Lush and evocative, İnci Atrek’s Holiday Country is a rapturous meditation about what it means to experience being of two worlds, the limitations and freedom of a life in translation, and the intricacies of a love triangle that stretches across generations and continents” – Publisher description.

10 | COPLEY CONNECTS

New Faces At Copley

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar “A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a search that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum” – Publisher description. Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili “A devastating story of one family’s border-crossing adventure to rescue one another and make peace with the past, set in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, two years after the occupation of South Ossetia by Russia in 2008” – Publisher description. River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure “Set against the backdrop of developing modern China, this mesmerizing literary debut is part coming-of-age tale, part family and social drama, as it follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity in a rapidly changing world” – Publisher description. The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri “In present-day Greece, deep in an ancient forest, lives a family: Irini, a musician, who teaches children to read and play music; her husband, Tasso, who paints pictures of the forest, his greatest muse; and Chara, their young daughter, whose name means joy. On the fateful day that will forever alter the trajectory of their lives, flames chase fleeing birds across the sky. The wildfire that will consume their home, and their lives as they know it, races toward them. In the smoldering aftermath, Irini stumbles upon the body of the man who started the fire, a land speculator who had intended only a small, controlled burn to clear forestland to build on and instead ignited a catastrophe. He is dead, although the cause is unclear, and in her anger at all he took from them, Irini makes a split-second decision that will haunt her. As the local police investigate the mysterious death, Tasso mourns his father, who has not been seen since before the fire. His hands were burnt in the flames, leaving him unable to paint, and he struggles to cope with the overwhelming loss of his artistic voice and his beloved forest. Only his young daughter, who wants to repair the damage that’s been done, gives him hope for the future. Gorgeously written, sweeping in scope and intimate in tone, The Book of Fire is a masterful work about the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, as well as the universal ties that bind people to each other, and to the land that they call home” – Publisher description.

Michael Conlee is our new Archives/Digital Initiatives Assistant, joining the Digital Initiatives team in December 2023. He holds a B.A. in Art History and Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. Michael was

an art handler at Martin Lawrence Gallery in La Jolla before taking this role. He fell in love with working in libraries as an Archives Student Assistant at UC Santa Cruz McHenry Library’s Special Collections & Archives. In his free time, he plays in rock bands, works on his ‘84 Toyota, and runs an internet radio station at whenco.site. Michael also joins us as the newest member of the Copley Library Newsletter Committee! Collections and Archives. She holds a B.A. in History from UC Irvine and M.L.I.S. from UCLA with a track specialization in Archiving. Prior to joining the Special Collections and Archives team in January 2024, Gabrielle previously worked at UC Irvine’s Special Collections and Archives as a Records Processor. Her favorite part of working in special collections and archives is being able to help researchers connect with history on a deeper level as well as being able to continually learn new things through the collections that she processes. Outside of work, she can be found cheering for her favorite Formula 1 drivers, playing with her dogs, coming up with ambitious sewing projects, and searching for the best latte in San Diego. Gabrielle Wood is the new Archives Assistant at the Copley Library Special

Kayla Holak is the new Interlibrary Loan and Reserves assistant at

Copley Library. She grew up in the beautiful coastal city of Beverly, Massachusetts. Kayla received her bachelor’s

degree in Geography with a concentration on sustainable tourism development from Salem State University in Salem, MA (2020), and now attends Simmons University in Boston where she is studying to obtain her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (expected graduation date of 2025). Kayla’s hobbies include free-diving and paddle boarding, and she has a 2-year old French Bulldog named Pancake who came with her from Massachusetts.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO | 11

“Takeo Takei Bookplate” (1965). Japanese Bookplate Collection . Image 35. https://digital.sandiego.edu/japanese_bookplates/35

Our library’s next chapter depends upon you... Yes, I want to support Copley Library at the University of San Diego! Every gift is significant. The following are suggested giving levels for supporters of Copley Library: $5,000+ $2,500 $1,000 $500 $250 $100 $50 Other USD AFFILIATION Student Faculty/Staff Family Alumni Friend of Copley Name Company Phone Address City State

Zip

Email My company will match my gift and I have enclosed my employer’s matching gift form. PAYMENT METHOD Check Payable to USD Mastercard Visa American Express Discover Credit Card No. Exp. Name on Card Signature THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT Please call Copley Library at (619) 260-4120 or visit our website at www.sandiego.edu/library for donation questions. Your gift provides vital support for materials and programs that help us enrich the academic life of the University of San Diego students. Please consider a generous gift. Please detach and mail with your gift to: Copley Library, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110 CLANLSPR24