The accomplishments highlighted below offer a glimpse into the many successes of Fiscal Year 2023–2024. These achievements reflect the dedication, expertise and hard work of our library employees, whose contributions are essential to advancing the Library’s mission. Their commitment ensures we continue to support research, learning, and discovery at the highest level.
BY THE NUMBERS
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
How Have Library Spaces Evolved?
This year, the Library refreshed several spaces to better serve our users. At Geisel Library, new comfortable seating invites students to settle in and stay awhile. Eye-catching murals — selected by Library users — now brighten two popular spaces: the Calm Cave, a tranquil retreat stocked with mindfulness and wellness books, and the Leisure Lounge, home to activities such as coloring pages and board games. At WongAvery Library, new charging lockers offer a secure and convenient way for users to power their devices while they study. These updates reflect our ongoing commitment to creating welcoming, functional, and inspiring spaces for the campus community.
How Can Library Users Access Reliable Datasets?
Datasets can be messy. For a researcher to gain insights from the numbers, the data must first be organized and structured, and these sets can be difficult to find in the wild. Librarians in our Research Data Curation program frequently field requests from students, researchers, and instructors for reliable datasets. These requests sparked the idea for the Educational Dataset Service (EDS), a collaboration between the Library and UC San Diego IT Services that houses curated, machine-learning-ready datasets. For this joint initiative, campus IT provides the technical infrastructure, and the Library ingests, curates, and vets data sources, while also making them more discoverable. Thanks to the EDS, Library users can more easily access the datasets they need to conduct their research and achieve their academic goals.
NEW AND EXPANDED DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
Faces of Select Bees from San Diego, CA
This collection of photographs features the faces of select bee species collected in San Diego, CA. It showcases the morphological diversity of native bees inhabiting Southern California’s bee biodiversity hotspot. Photo subjects were preserved specimens mounted on entomological pins.
Anti-Confucian Book Collection
This collection consists of 747 titles donated by UC San Diego Ph.D. alumnus Matthew Wills. They are largely political propaganda produced during 1960s-1970s, also known as the Cultural Revolution period in China. Materials in this collection reflect a 1970s campaign to reinforce the power of political elites and affirm the absolute correctness of Maoist socialism.
Aerosol Measurements at Utqiagvik, Alaska, from 2022 to 2027 for Sustaining The Utqiagvik Aerosol Record of Decades (STUARD)
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, leading to rapid sea ice loss and changes in sea spray and biogenic aerosol emissions. Utqiagvik, located near one of the most affected regions, is at the forefront of this transformation. It holds the longest and most comprehensive record of aerosol properties in the American Arctic, making it a key location for tracking atmospheric changes. This dataset builds on and extends previous records of Arctic aerosol measurements.
EXPLORE MORE DIGITAL COLLECTIONS >>
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY ACQUISITIONS
The Papers of Poet David Bromige, a key figure in the Bay Area poetry scene from the early 1960s to his death in 2009, added extensive manuscripts, correspondence, and audio-visual materials to the Archive for New Poetry in Special Collections & Archives. The Bromige materials illustrate connections between the Black Mountain poets and language-writers.
The Calig Oral History Project Files, a gift from historian Martha Heard, includes interviews and other materials revealing the life of a Spanish town through the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
The Herbert York Papers, a gift of York’s daughter Rachel, added a wealth of correspondence, reports, photographs, and scrapbooks to the records of UC San Diego’s first Chancellor who was a physicist who advised numerous U.S. presidents on science and nuclear disarmament.
COMPLETED STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
The Library continued to make progress on its Strategic Plan 2022-2027, which is tightly aligned with the goals outlined in UC San Diego’s 2024 Strategic Plan Update and the Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence. Here are updates on two recently completed strategic initiatives.
Inclusive Recruiting, Promotion and Retention Practices
To support UC San Diego’s strategic goals of People and Purpose and Diversity and Access, this initiative set out to improve recruitment, selection, promotion, and retention of diverse staff and Librarians. This initiative introduced new EDI training opportunities for Library employees and expanded employee access to inclusive manager training. New projects were piloted as a result of this initiative, including outreach webinars for open librarian positions, and a review of librarian job descriptions.
Review Circulation Policies
Library employees reviewed and updated the Library’s circulation policies to better support research and learning and to provide timely and equitable access to materials. Beginning July 1, 2024, the initial checkout period for all UC San Diego circulating print items was reduced to 30 days for all users while simultaneously activating automatic renewals. This change helps ensure that our users can access the Library resources they need when they need them for their academic endeavors or interests.
SIGNATURE EVENT SERIES
UC San Diego Library’s Signature Event Series brought thought-provoking conversations to campus, featuring two dynamic speakers in discussion with Audrey Geisel University Librarian Erik Mitchell.
In the fall, independent filmmaker and author Mason Engel captivated audiences with a lively discussion about his documentary “Books Across America,” which follows Engel as he travels to all 50 states, reads 50 books, and interviews 50 authors—all in just 50 days. He also shared insights into his past films and his novel “2084.”
In February, Jason Magabo Perez ’03, MA ’13, PhD ’16 took the stage. The UC San Diego alumnus and 2023–2024 San Diego Poet Laureate shared powerful readings from his latest work, “I Ask About What Falls Away,” and reflected on how his time as a student shaped his journey.
These events were made possible through the philanthropic support of our Library Associates. The 2023-2024 Signature Event Series had the support of more than 25 sponsors and over 200 Library Associates! Their commitment helps bring inspiring voices to our community, fostering dialogue, creativity, and lifelong learning.
SUPPORTING UC’S VISION
The Library’s Technology and Digital Experience program brought our website to a new level of web accessibility (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA accessibility compliance). Achieving these compliance standards makes content more accessible to users who may experience disabilities such as blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, or limited movement. These standards are established by the international standards organization World Wide Web Consortium (WSC), and enforced by the University of California Office of the President (UCOP).
Scholarly Communications Librarian Allegra Swift collaborated with campus partners across the UC to create the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Scholarly Communication resource guide. This guide, endorsed by the UC Academic Council and the University Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication, is intended to help academic institutions support a diverse community of scholars and researchers.
In support of UC’s pledge to purchase 100% clean electricity on all campuses by 2025, the Library recently replaced two aged gas vehicles with all-electric vans. This effort also supports UC’s commitment to eliminate carbon emissions from all campuses and locations by 2045.
COMMUNITY AND COLLABORATION
In Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the Library hosted nearly 130 events, drawing more than 6,500 attendees, alongside almost 50 outreach activities designed to engage and inform the campus community about our resources and services. While it’s impossible to capture every moment, we’re excited to share a glimpse of the many events, exhibits, and outreach initiatives that defined this fiscal year. Explore our highlights through our YouTube Playlist featuring standout events from 23-24, and revisit the full range of activities below.
Event Highlights
Exhibit Highlights
Collaboration Highlights
In 2016, UC San Diego Library embarked on international agreements with two academic libraries—Fudan University Library in Shanghai, China and the Göttingen State and University Library in Germany. These partnerships remain strong and continue to foster staff exchanges, annual workshops, knowledge sharing, and free access to each library’s resources for visiting scholars and students.
- In fall 2023, UC San Diego Library hosted a virtual exchange with Fudan University Library, bringing librarians from both institutions together for discussions, presentations, and cultural exchange sessions.
- In spring 2024, UC San Diego Library and Göttingen State and University Library held a joint presentation exploring the similarities and differences between the two research-focused institutions. Participants highlighted the benefits of the long-standing collaboration, shared challenges faced, and outlined plans for future cooperation.
NOTABLE NEWS
As the administrative sponsor of the Conference on Academic Library Management (CALM), UC San Diego Library was awarded a $104,818 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The award supported an in depth examination of the state of management training and professional support in the field of academic libraries.
New Grant Supports Multi-UC Campus Effort to Build Network of Open Source Program Offices
The University of California was awarded a grant by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the development of a UC-wide network of Open Source Program Offices. This award leveraged the work of the Open Source Program Office at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) and funds a collaboration of UC campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego with UCSC to promote open source research, teaching, and public service.
UC San Diego Library Adapts to Meet the Needs of Today’s Students
Since its opening in 1970, Geisel Library has been a central hub for campus scholarship and research. While its exterior continues to shine as a recognizable Brutalist architectural landmark, its interior has undergone a major renovation. Nearly a decade ago, a revitalization initiative was established to transform and rejuvenate the building’s most heavily used spaces, prompting reflection on the current and future needs of students.
UC San Diego Expands Undergraduate Library Research Prize
Seven UC San Diego students have been selected to receive the 2024 Undergraduate Library Research Prize (ULRP) awards and honorable mentions. An annual awards program that enriches the undergraduate student experience at UC San Diego, the ULRP celebrates the strategic use of UC San Diego Library services, resources and expertise in support of the university’s mission.