Copley Library Annual Report 2022-2023

Report

Message from the Dean

ART, EVENTS, INSTRUCTION, AND SCHOLARSHIP Over the past 12 months, art, events, instruction, and faculty scholarship dominated the library’s agenda. In December 2022, Ximena Morena Jose won the prize for the best student video about the newly renovated library. The Alumni Works evening featuring 13 USD-trained artists was memorable. Our stats revealed group study rooms were reserved by students 35,262 times. Academic Search Premier , a multidisciplinary research resource, was the most popular database, and United States History books had the highest check-out rate. Dr. Marni LaFleur, Associate Professor of Anthropology, used Copley’s lower-level art gallery to promote her “Hostile Terrain 94” exhibit that told the story of the deaths of would-be migrants who enter California on foot.

Spring semester found us planning for the Digital Initiatives Symposium (DIS) and Black History Month. We are proud of our five-year relationship with the San Diego Public Library in sponsoring the Black History Month event, which is a community model. Candice Marie Benbow spoke about her book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store: When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough . Her presentation was a big hit with the 40 and under crowd. The 9 th annual DIS Symposium attracted 146 librarians to campus who loved having all the speakers in the Joan B. Kroc Theatre rather than requiring them to choose from competing concurrent sessions. Copley’s first-ever Comics Studies and Practices Symposium, a virtual program hosted by Professors Vanjury Dozier and Millie Fullmer, attracted a national audience and showcased well-known scholars in this genre. In April, we collaborated with the Provost and Sponsored Programs Offices to host the inaugural Faculty Research and Scholarship Recognition Reception in the Mother Hill Reading Room. The 2022 faculty scholarship output was 498 entries: 33 books, 25 book chapters, and 440 journal articles. In line with our strategic plan’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goal, our annual January retreat featured Jay Rice, USD Director, Black Student Resource Commons; Sahmie Wytewa, USD Tribal Liaison; and Isabel Soto-Luna, Business Librarian, University of Nebraska Omaha. Rice and Wytewa discussed serving Black and Native American student populations. Soto-Luna assisted us with learning more about Hispanic culture and students. The day included team-building exercises. Information literacy is at the core of our librarians’ teaching philosophy. They are always eager to teach students and faculty how to locate, use, and evaluate information, a highly desired skill in the disinformation age. Hugh Burkhart, Coordinator of Instruction, documented instruction trends in First Year Writing, Living Learning Communities, and Transfer Learning Communities. Through instruction, the library reached 700 of 1,686 students in first-year classes. I invite you to meet our five 2023 Roy and Marian Holleman Student Assistant Scholarship winners. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship. Moreover, two students won Copley’s Undergraduate Research Award. For the 400 Level Course, Olivia Sutton for The Emasculation of Glory: Pestilence, Revolution, and Madness in Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, and Holly Fisher for Maya Lin: Memorial as Politic for the 300 Level Course. Daily, we strive to support teaching and learning on campus. I like to say, “There’s never a dull moment in Copley.” I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read about our inspiring achievements during the 2022-2023 year!

Dr. Theresa S. Byrd DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

2022–2023 ANNUAL REPORT | 3