12 minute read
The Library Welcomes Three New Leaders
After a yearlong, nationwide effort, the Library successfully recruited two new associate university librarians and a chief administrative officer, who make up the senior leadership team with University Librarian Erik Mitchell. This group will work with Library employees, campus leaders and community partners to shape the strategic direction of the Library in the years to come.
Heather Hernández
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER (CAO)
Responsible For: Providing strategic leadership and planning for Library operations by working with Library employees and campus partners, in addition to leading initiatives that serve the Library’s commitment to provide responsive and efficient business and employee services as well as safe and inclusive facilities.
Oversees: Administrative Support Team; Business and Employee Services; Internal Communications; Library Facilities Services; Library Safety and Security
A longtime employee at UC San Diego, Hernández most recently served as a transformational healthcare coach at UC San Diego Health. During her time in that role, she provided guidance and process-oriented approaches to enhance institutional performance and consulted with leaders, departments and committees to address change management. Hernández holds a master’s degree in business administration from National University and a certificate in Advanced Lean Training from the Virginia Mason Institute. She is also a Prosci-certified change practitioner.
Get To Know Heather
How did the Programs you oversee help the Library continue to thrive throughout the pandemic?
All of the Programs in my area support the work of Library employees, and I am incredibly proud of how they showed up, and continue to show up, for their colleagues. It’s inspiring!
Library Safety and Security and Library Facilities Services were critical to the continued operation of our Library facilities. Many staff from these areas worked on-site every day throughout the pandemic to ensure other essential workers could access the library buildings. Business and Employee Services and Internal Communications played crucial roles in helping keep all 300 Library employees abreast of rapidly changing information, such as the status of operations on campus and at the Library. They also answered many complex questions for employees regarding the newly issued expanded leave program for COVID-19 related incidents. Meanwhile, the Administrative Support Team was busy processing requests and purchasing technology tools for staff who needed help building temporary home offices.
Tell us about a project you are currently working on. Planning the safe reopening of Geisel Library.
We serve 7,000+ patrons per day in our wonderful building and are eager to welcome everyone back. Our goal is to fully open by the start of fall quarter in September 2021. Of course this plan is influenced by campus, county and state guidelines and could change at any time given the direction the pandemic takes. A lot of work has gone into this as we have to make sure that we are not only bringing our staff back to a safe space, but also our students in need of a place to study.
What have you been reading lately?
I recently finished reading “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee in preparation for her talk at Geisel Library’s 50th Anniversary Signature Event that took place in May.
What makes you excited about working at the Library?
There are two things about libraries that make me particularly drawn to them. First, they are a place for learning. I love learning new things and am really happy to be able to access so many wonderful materials. Second, libraries are a place of community. Whether you are an undergraduate or a distinguished professor, chances are you use the Library. It’s a place we all benefit from, and it is my sincere hope that our campus community feels welcome and connected to us.
Can you provide an update on Geisel Library’s upcoming renovation?
Our project timeline was impacted by the pandemic, and we are looking forward to seeing work begin this fall. Our 2nd (main) Floor renovation plans include:
• A modernized lobby entrance and service points
• New and enhanced technology services
• The addition of an Active Learning Library Classroom
• Significant enhancements to furniture, carpeting and finishes across Floor 2
Dani Cook
ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN, LEARNING AND USER EXPERIENCE (AUL, LUE)
Responsible For: Building collaborative partnerships within the Library and across campus that enhance academic engagement and strengthen patron services.
Oversees: Academic Engagement and Learning Services; Spaces, Lending and Access; Technology and Digital Experience
Cook brings a myriad of talents and next-level expertise in library science that will help advance the Library’s digital and physical experiences and spaces as destinations for scholarship and the academic community. With more than a decade of experience in academic and public libraries, Cook most recently served as the director of teaching and learning at the UC Riverside Library. Prior to that, she worked at the Claremont Colleges Library in various capacities, including as information literacy and research services coordinator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Chicago, a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina and a second master’s degree in research, evaluation, measurement and statistics from the UC Riverside Graduate School of Education.
Get To Know Dani
How did the Programs you oversee help the Library continue to thrive throughout the pandemic?
The Learning and User Experience (LUE) team completely shifted the way they provide services to campus in a matter of days. Librarians in Academic Engagement and Learning Services (AELS) worked with campus and Library colleagues to move all instruction to an online format and deliver reference services online. They collaborated closely with Technology and Digital Experience (TDX) and Spaces, Lending and Access (SLA) to launch a new chat platform that helps us to better answer user questions.
SLA worked closely with Library Safety and Security and Library Facilities Services to reopen the Biomedical Library Building (BLB) in October 2020 as a safe study space for students, and they have slowly been expanding that space as it is safe to do so. They also launched the contactless Curbside Pickup Service and ramped up scanning services for users.
TDX facilitated the transition to remote work for nearly all 300 Library employees and built the infrastructure for that to continue successfully. They’ve been a key partner with SLA and AELS to continue to provide highquality services through our website while continuing to make significant progress on ongoing projects, like the Systemwide Integrated Library System (see Page 16) and Project Surfliner.
Tell us about a project you are currently working on.
LUE is a newly created group within the Library, bringing together AELS, SLA and TDX. These three Programs have undergone significant restructuring over the past few years, as well as being brought together under one AUL for the first time. We are currently working on a visioning process to define the work that we want to do together and the values that we want to exhibit when working with each other and Library users. This will position us to plan collaborative projects in the future and map where we want to go as a group over the next few years.
If you could be any book character, who would you be and why?
My favorite book character of all time is Sherlock Holmes. I love that he always solves the case, has an insatiable curiosity about everything and sees connections that no one else can. I think many of those same qualities drew me to librarianship: solving puzzles, making connections and learning a little bit about a lot of things.
Can you explain what an integrated service hub (ISH) is and why the Library will be implementing this in its upcoming renovations?
The ISH will bring many of our services into a single location in Geisel Library, making it easier for users to get the help they need as soon as they enter the building. For example, users will be able to check out books and technology, get help with scanning and printing, ask reference questions and even have a person lead them to materials on the shelves, all in one spot. This saves our patrons from having to navigate the multiple service desks that are currently throughout Floors 1 and 2.
Your title includes “User Experience.” How does the Library evaluate its users’ experiences, and what changes have resulted or are on the horizon based on these evaluations?
We consider “user experience” to include any instance that a user interacts with a digital or physical space, so we are constantly interested in investigating people’s experiences with the Library in an effort to continually improve our services and spaces. We do this in a multitude of ways, from surveys to website heatmaps to even asking students to write love or breakup letters to the Library (see Page 12). This gives us valuable insight into how we can meet evolving user needs. Some significant changes we’ve made based on user research and input include the types of furniture and layout in our spaces, building hours and website design.
What is the Library Student Advisory Council (LSAC)?
LSAC is a group of highly engaged students who advise on library-specific issues affecting students. They met entirely virtually this past year but would normally meet in person every month or so to give feedback on different spaces and services. Recently, we’ve asked members for their feedback on our new chat service, online study rooms, study space in BLB and other COVID-specific services.
Roger Smith
ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN, SCHOLARLY RESOURCES AND SERVICES (AUL, SRS)
Responsible For: Providing leadership in information resource acquisition and access; digital conversion and preservation; and services in support of research, including: scholarly communications, collections, research methods, and tools in support of scholarship.
Oversees: Collection Development and Management; Content Acquisition and Resource Sharing; Metadata Services; Scholarship Tools and Methods; Special Collections & Archives; Research Data Curation
Smith joined UC San Diego in 2008 as the collection management and preservation librarian before transitioning to program director for the Digital Library Development Program (DLDP). Most recently, Smith served as interim AUL while continuing to serve as program director for DLDP. Prior to working at UC San Diego, Smith was the assistant head for access services at Rutgers University Libraries. With a bachelor’s degree in history and political science and a master’s degree in communication and information studies from Rutgers University, Smith has more than 25 years of experience working in libraries.
Get To Know Roger
How did the Programs you oversee help the Library continue to thrive throughout the pandemic?
Scholarly Resources and Services (SRS) Programs were faced with diverse challenges when it came to supporting our users during the pandemic. For Scholarship Tools and Methods, the pandemic meant supporting many services related to research and scholarship that pivoted to remote service models. Support from TDX was noteworthy in setting up and maintaining virtual machines to enable software that is physically located in Geisel Library to be accessible to staff and users remotely. Content Acquisition and Resource Sharing, Metadata Services and Collection Development and Management are Programs that were focused on supporting the development of collections, both physical and digital, and continued their work remotely with adjustments to workflow and communication. E-resources became a critical focus, yet the acquisition of physical content continued with some backlog in cataloging to be addressed later in 2021. Special Collections & Archives utilized technology to continue to deliver reference services and, when possible, make available digital surrogates for primary resource and archival content. The Virtual Reading Room was well positioned to support such services. Research Data Curation actually saw increased activity as campus researchers maximized their available time to address management and preservation of their data.
What has this last year been like for you transitioning into a new role?
Transitioning into the AUL, SRS position has been a unique experience by virtue of the pandemic and its impact on the Library and campus, but also because the process was for me defined by a need to leverage my work history with the organization while seeing my role with a fresh perspective. I feel fortunate to have historical context and connections to draw from in support of my work, yet recognize the need to reach out and form new relationships in the Library, on campus and across the UC system.
What made you pursue a Library career path?
I was placed in the Rutgers University Libraries’ Art Library as a student employee in 1991. It was a dynamic time as a new physical building was under construction and the library was planning new collections and services. A small staff that relied heavily on student employees gave me the opportunity to learn a range of skills that progressed into a career.
What are some exciting tech advancements happening in the Library space right now?
Our continuing evolution of our Digital Asset Management System promises a range of new services, including a forthcoming pivot to International Image Interoperability Framework and associated greater interoperability between repositories and options when presenting text and image content. I would also add that transformative publishing deals are changing the landscape of how UC scholarship is acquired and made available.
Why is digitizing materials so important for future generations?
Digitizing materials provides for enhanced discoverability and access; ease of use in different teaching and research spaces; and options to better preserve primary resources and archival objects. Through enhancing metadata and the application of standardized schemas, the digital object often offers discovery modalities that transcend the original catalog record. With respect to preservation, a digital surrogate lowers the use of the physical original, often allowing a choice to be made to restrict access and store in optimal conditions.
What is one scholarly tool offered by the Library that you consider to be a “hidden gem?”
The Data and GIS Lab, which offers a range of services supporting the growing fields of data science and geospatial data. Hands on assistance with software applications in support of student assignments integrate these resources into a range of disciplines. During the pandemic, Library staff have supported students virtually in these areas and ensured continued access to key content and tools.
