Your Questions Answered

When Library users visit us, in-person or online, they seek answers to questions unknown. They look for partnership in peeling back layers of information to reveal new insights about our history and future. Our expert Library staff are their guides along the journey, and this past year unearthed fascinating discoveries spanning arts, science and the human experience.

Where do art, transportation and the Library intersect?

Artist Ann Hamilton

Campus visitors arriving at the new Blue Line trolley entrance are greeted by “KAHNOP • TO TELL A STORY,” created by artist Ann Hamilton and composed of phrases and quotes sourced by Library staff from Special Collections & Archives. To bring these words to life, Director of Special Collections Lynda Claassen and Archive for New Poetry Curator Nina Mamikunian identified collection materials by UC San Diego scholars and authors that helped shape the piece. With support from Library Web Manager Jenn Dandle, Digital Project Coordinator Matt Peters also led the creation of a website, kahnop.ucsd.edu, which allows users to experience the richness of the artistic walkway and the texts that inspired it. KAHNOP builds upon the long history of collaboration between UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection and the Library, which holds original drawings, interviews, proposals and more in the Stuart Collection Records archive.

How can we improve access to reliable computing?

Every successful college student needs access to a reliable laptop. Whether a student does not own a computer or their tech has gone awry, the Library’s Grab and Go Chromebook program is a helpful solution. Initiated by informal student feedback, usage statistics and input from the Library Student Advisory Council, the program embodies the Library’s commitment to addressing our users’ diverse and evolving needs. First launched in fall 2021, the program serviced 3,809 checkouts to 1,148 distinct users. “This program allows us to provide technology to students in a self-service model,” says Library Service Operations Manager Allison Flick. “They have the ability to check out the laptop and use it as they need it.” Users with a valid UC San Diego email address are eligible to check out a Chromebook for up to three days from four locations in Geisel and WongAvery Library.

Machine learning is changing the way we curate data. What standards should be in place?

As a relatively new source of research, machine learning datasets can grow wild and unwieldy without a set of standards to guide them. “We weren’t seeing best practices, so we decided we should work on it ourselves,” said Data Science Librarian Stephanie Labou. Thanks in part to a grant from the Librarians Association of the University of California, Labou, Technical

Analyst Ho Jung Yoo, Research Metadata Librarian Abigail Pennington and UC San Diego graduate student Michael Baluja have been chiseling through such data to unearth best practices for repositories that store machine learning outputs. To accomplish this, the team has inspected eight data repositories encompassing more than 40,000 digital objects (including the Library’s repository, the UC-wide repository and specialist repositories), for commonalities and standards that could help make data more discoverable, and ultimately, more usable for research. Their findings will help inform Library services and industry practices as machine learning continues to grow.

How can an updated catalog unleash new possibilities?

As part of our commitment to creating student-centered and accessible digital spaces, the UC libraries collectively implemented UC Library Search, a new all-encompassing catalog that went live in summer 2021. Made possible by the leadership of hundreds of UC library employees, this new platform draws together the collections and influence of all 10 UC libraries, making items more easily discoverable and accessible. Library staff from various departments weaved together the necessary threads of this transition to create a seamless experience for our users.

UC Library Search sets a new foundation for UC-wide collaboration. UC San Diego’s role in hosting systemwide acquisitions and cataloging teams means that our use of the system will greatly influence the direction of UC library work in the coming years.

What helps students de-stress?

For almost a decade, Library staff have offered unique programming to help students find calm amidst the storm of each academic quarter. Offerings such as healthy snacks, coloring pages and puzzles have helped students maintain their well-being throughout midterms and finals. Beginning in spring 2022, following many requests from users over the years, the Library introduced a new way for students to de-stress: Spending time with therapy dogs. In collaboration with the nonprofit organization Love on a Leash, students have the opportunity to interact with trained canines and put the stress of exams aside. “We can see how much the students appreciate it,” says Engagement, Assessment and Spaces Manager Gen Thipatima. “You can feel them walk out of the room in a brighter mood.” Feedback from the therapy dog visits has been overwhelmingly positive, and the Library now plans to offer the De-Stress with Pups activity quarterly.