Copley Connects Spring Summer 2024

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