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Library News

Reupholstery Project

Thu, July 30, 2015 12:00 AM

Where’s all the furniture?

You may have noticed some empty spaces in the Library and asked yourself, wasn’t there a couch here? And a chair over there?  Where is all the furniture?

In July, the Library sent 30 pieces of furniture to our partners Tangram Interiors in Fresno, CA to be reupholstered and repaired. This is a result of a furniture condition inventory conducted earlier this year. We identified a total of 50 damaged pieces; the remaining 20 pieces are slated for repair next summer.

Most of our furniture has been around since the opening of UC Merced. Our custodial team does a wonderful job keeping the furniture looking like new, but after 10 years, some of our pieces were showing their age. Before sending off the furniture, the Library considered the overall impact of purchasing replacement pieces versus the efforts of reupholstery and repair.  

The furniture will be back in place for the start of the fall semester. 

Access to ProQuest Databases

Fri, July 24, 2015 12:00 AM

On Saturday, August 8th ProQuest will be upgrading its systems infrastructure to improve performance, security, and overall reliability of its databases products. The maintenance window is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM Pacific Time and will last for eight (8) hours.  This will impact databases on the ProQuest platform such as RefWorks, EconLit, Sociological Abstracts and PsycInfo.

Library Welcomes Haipeng Li as University Librarian

Thu, July 2, 2015 5:00 PM

UC Merced Library is pleased to welcome Mr. Haipeng Li as University Librarian.  Mr. Li has extensive experience in academic libraries and is actively involved in the broader library profession. 

He most recently held the position of University Librarian at Hong Kong Baptist University and joined our campus June 22nd. Previously he served as Associate Director and Acting Head of Access Services at the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey and Reference Librarian at Oberlin College in Ohio, University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

His current activities in professional library organizations include serving on the Council of American Library Association (ALA) and the Executive Committee of the International Relations Round Table (IRRT).  He has made significant contributions to the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) first as President (2006-2007) and then as Executive Director (2008-2013). In addition, Mr. Li has been promoting collaboration and exchange between libraries in China and the United States.  Recently he served as chair of the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) in Hong Kong and as President of the Hong Kong Library Association (HKLA) 2012-2013.

His research areas include information literacy, library management and diversity, leadership development, international librarianship and global collaboration. He is frequently invited to speak at library events and serves as a consultant for several academic libraries in China and the U.S.

Our library and campus community warmly welcomes Mr. Li to UC Merced.

Ebook Library (EBL) Maintenance

Mon, June 29, 2015 12:00 AM

On July 1, 2015, EBL will be upgrading its systems infrastructure to improve performance. Maintenance is scheduled from 2:00pm – 8:00pm. During this time, EBL resources and ebooks will not be available.

Library Launches New Website

Tue, June 30, 2015

The library has launched a new website and wishes to thank our library staff and University Communications for their roles in making this a reality.  

Highlights:

  • a move to a Drupal content management system, the CMS used by the campus
  • a responsive design framework to make all of our website content more easily accessible on mobile devices
  • updated information architecture with more focus on library collections including local digital collections
  • right hand links on most pages to facilitate navigation to related pages
  • surfacing of library resources, events, and news on the home page
  • integration of library hours onto the library calendar
  • significant revision & reorganization of library spaces related content

Ahead:

  • We will be continuing to update the library content and make enhancements to the site.  For example, we will be updating much of our video content since many video tutorials included images from the previous website.  

We welcome your feedback and look forward to continuing to improve your online experience as your access library resources, services, and space.

library@ucmerced.edu

Heather Wagner and Latasha Means Join UC Merced Library Staff

Tue, June 30, 2015 5:00 PM

The library welcomes new additions to our library staff.  Heather Wagner and Latasha Means both started June 1.

Heather’s previous positions and education are closely connected to her upcoming work in Digital Assets as the Digitization Coordinator.  She has worked in the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University as a Digitization Production Specialist and as an Audiovisual Specialist, as a Photo Archivist at Hewlett-Packard, and most recently in the library at the Los Banos campus of Merced College. She has a certificate in Library Technology from Foothill College, was a Radio, Television and Film major at San Jose State, and completed the Western Archives Institute.  She has a keen interest in the history and preservation of photography, moving images and digital media. If you have any questions about early Soviet or French New Wave film she is your person.  Her position at UC Merced includes overseeing the Supplemental Course Resources program and working on digitization projects.

Latasha has a strong connection with UC Merced.  She graduated with honors from UC Merced in 2012, receiving her B.A. in literature and cultures.  During Latasha’s undergraduate career, she worked in UC Merced Library’s Access Services, Exhibits, and Administrative Services areas and quickly grew to admire and appreciate the library’s role in education. Following graduation, she worked in UC Merced’s Merritt Writing Program and also Merced College’s Library.  Latasha has an immense love for books, writing, and education. She has proudly published, including research on electroconvulsive therapy and how it correlates with second wave feminism and literature.Ask her about feminist poetry and/or YA literature, and she will tell you more than you care to know. Latasha is now the Technical Services Coordinator at UC Merced managing the library’s physical collection.

We are delighted to have both of them join our staff.  Welcome Heather and Latasha!

Library Hours

Fri, June 19, 2015 12:00 AM

Due to the Fourth of July holiday, the library is closed July 3-5. We will reopen at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 6.

Welcome Aboard!

Tue, June 2, 2015 12:00 AM

Each summer students new to UC Merced participate in one of 10 campus orientations. This year students will be introduced to the library’s services and space through a humorous video similar in style to the Delta Airline safety videos. By combining a friendly librarian with background surprises, students will learn how the library can support their academic success. Filming took place in early June with the video to be released in July 2015.

Challenges to Academic Libraries

Mon, June 1, 2015

Discover how UC Libraries bring great value to the UC system by collaboratively acquiring resources and the ongoing challenges associated with the costs of information by viewing “Challenges to Academic Libraries.” This video is one in a series titled, "Conversations: Information, Research and Society."

The Americas Underground: Where our Past and Present Meet in the Dark

Tue, March 31, 2015 12:00 AM
Tue, March 31, 2015

Running from March 23 – April 30, 2015, The Americas Underground explores the various ways in which caves, rockshelters, mines, and other uses of the ‘underground’ have been perceived across the Americas. The exhibit addresses the theme of continuity and change in underground practices through time with the hopes of shedding light on these 'dark and scary' places. The exhibit demonstrates how caves have provided spaces for ritual and social practices throughout history, while practices such as archaeology, mining, caving, and tourism have emerged in different areas in different times and been slowly added to the repertoire. Photography, cultural objects and artifacts collected from ancient and modern contexts by UC Merced scholars and California residents demonstrate how modern practices intersect and overlap with past practices in interesting, but sometimes conflicting ways.

The exhibit has been organized by Marieka Arksey, Ph.D. Student in SSHA at UC Merced. It is made possible with generous assistance and funding from the following: UC Merced’s Center for Humanities, UC Merced Library, California State Parks: California State Gem and Mineral Mining Museum Mariposa, Mark Aldenderfer, Holley Moyes, Kathleen Hull, Patrick Wilkinson, Sarah Spoljaric.

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