Copley Library Annual Report 2022-2023

Destination for Information Resources

USD Alumni Can Return Virtually to Access Popular Library Databases Graduates from the University of San Diego may miss more than their fellow classmates and inspirational faculty. The library, both physical space and online, remains a favorite destination for many former students. In addition to a library building open to alums, some of Copley Library’s most-used databases for faculty, staff and students at USD are also available to USD alumni. The library first licensed JSTOR Alumni Access ten years ago and over the next several years, added Academic Search Alumni Edition and Business Source Alumni Edition (EBSCO products) along with the Sage Premier Package Alumni Edition. During the 2022-2023 academic year, alums took advantage of these resources nearly 3,200 times. Copley offers this access through the USD Alumni Association website. Alumni that want to take advantage of their virtual access and identify other library resources should try out https://www.sandiego.edu/library/alumni.php

New Subscriptions to Primary Sources in 2022-2023

Black Life in America — an expansive window into

Global Newsstream — one of the largest collections of news from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia that enables users to search the most recent global news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring content from newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format.

Hispanic Life in America — primary source collection offering centuries of Hispanic American history, culture, and daily life – as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of Hispanic descent.

centuries of African American history, culture and daily life – as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of African descent via Black-owned newspapers and mainstream publications.

Social Explorer In March 2023, Copley Library initiated a two-month campus-wide trial for Social Explorer based on a request from a finance professor in the Knauss School of Business. Social Explorer is a data resource that enables users to create maps and tables using data of the U.S. Census Bureau from 1790 to the present. In addition to general U.S. Census data, Social Explorer also offers specialized datasets on various topics, such as U.S. Business Patterns, U.S. Health Data, and European Statistics. Based on the success of the trial, the library initiated a campus subscription to Social Explorer in August 2023.

Social Explorer has additional features such as “lecture launchers” and “data snacks” for students and faculty to access data on a specific topic (e.g., “Using Data in the Hiring Process”). Researchers can easily visualize demographic data with Demographic Profiles, based on zip code, county, or state. Social Explorer offers easy sharing of its data in a variety of formats. Maps are shareable with a link, an embed code, or email. Tables can be downloaded to Excel or shared with a link.

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