CSUSM University Library Mini-Conference: Home

Essential to the Public: Libraries at the End of the World (Emily Drabinski)

Soon after Covid-19 sent so many of us into lockdown, the state designated some of us as essential workers. Delivery drivers were placed at risk in order to protect white-collar workers from harm. Corporate profits soared alongside death counts. When library workers were directed to return to buildings, we were deemed essential too. But essential to whom? Library spaces, collections, and services are essential to the public good, one of the last remaining non-commercial entities taking up literal space in our cities and towns. This talk asks how we might make ourselves and our publics more essential than profit in the wake of this crisis and in anticipation of the next one.

Emily Drabinski is Associate Professor and Critical Pedagogy Librarian at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has published and presented widely on issues related to information literacy, critical library practice, and the politics of information organization. She edits Gender & Sexuality in Information Studies, a book series from Library Juice Press/Litwin Books. Drabinski currently serves as the 2022-23 President-Elect of the American Library Association. 

Involuntary Online Learners and the CSUSM library: How the Pandemic Closures Affected Students’ Library Research (Tricia Lantzy)

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, college students across the United States temporarily became online learners regardless of their learning modality preferences. Academic libraries and the student support they offer also went entirely online for extended periods. This was certainly the case for the CSUSM University Library, which was closed to the public for over 17 months. How did this involuntary online environment affect students’ library research? Using qualitative survey data, this study explores the impact of the closures on students’ perceived helpfulness of librarian-led instruction, motivation to conduct research, barriers experienced, and preferred online help-seeking methods. What was learned about our students through this data and the implications of the results will be shared. There will also be an interactive portion of the presentation giving participants time to reflect and share how the physical library closure impacted their own work in the library.

Reimagining Library Spaces: From Books to Belonging (Kelly Ann Sam and Teresa Roudenbush)

Libraries just have books, right? Wrong. In the past decade, libraries have begun transitioning from just buildings with books to spaces that provide users with opportunities to collaborate, destress, and feel represented. Factors that have contributed to evolving library spaces include: mental health and well-being; sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and new technology. During the pandemic, students were isolated to online classes and minimal interaction with classmates, as well as experienced higher rates of depression and anxiety. In a post-COVID world, it is crucial now more than ever for students to feel like they have a safe space on campus where they have a sense of belonging. The University Library at CSUSM has already incorporated changes related to these factors including newly renovated collaborative learning spaces, contactless library locker pickups, a public break room, gender neutral restrooms, DEI displays and exhibits, and the upcoming development of a makerspace. This presentation will cover additional ways that the University Library can improve library spaces with consideration of these four factors. By collaborating with a Student Advisory Board and the CSUSM population, the University Library can survey students to determine what needs are not being met with library spaces and services. From the results of this survey, the University Library can create a roadmap of space and service implementations that can be included in the strategic plan and prioritized in the budget requests from campus leaders and stakeholders.

Expanding Access Through Collaboration: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic (Lauren Magnuson, with contributions from CDA)

In 2020, CDA gave a presentation at an All Library Meeting that described a process we developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual instruction that we called “Digital on Demand.” This workflow allowed CDA to provide the fastest possible access to resources by converting some resource sharing requests to ebook purchase requests, often fulfilling the request within the same day the item was requested. Resource sharing also developed workflows to enable users to have items mailed to their homes, and collaborated with User Services to ensure items could be picked up via Lockers. This presentation will give an update on those processes that were developed, as well as best practices and lessons learned. We will update the Library on the items that have been purchased over the past two years based on user requests, describe new developments to our workflows such as the implementation of the Rapido system by Resource Sharing, and describe some of the observations we have made and trends that we’ll be adapting to in the future.

Attendees will learn about some of the ebook and streaming platforms we’ve tried but that we haven’t used as much as we thought we would (BibliU, Swank, OverDrive) and provide information on future collection development strategies that will balance filling in gaps in the collection while also ensuring users can help us build collections by converting resource sharing requests to purchases. We will also discuss how working norms and culture in CDA have enabled us all to collaborate and innovate through this recent period of great difficulty.

The application of big data to analyze customer service records (Hugo Wong)

Both User Services staff and TAL use LibAnswer to log their interactions with students, staff, and faculty. Patron questions and interactions are essential for libraries because we want to demonstrate the library faculty and staff's hard work to our stakeholders. While the User Services Department logs and tracks these records through defined terms, it is manual to sort all the questions into their categories. Even though LibAnswers gives a general analysis of customer interaction, such as date/time stats, analyze metadata, and user stats, it does not give the library an idea of what questions patrons are asking. Since libraries are trying to improve library services, it is essential to consider patron questions and feedback. Enter the Big Data Program, Splunk. This presentation will demonstrate how the library can deploy Splunk in helping to make better decisions regarding spaces and quality assurance. This presentation will show what Splunk can do to help improve library customer interaction by analyzing data from the past to give better guidance on how to make better decisions. I will use almost two years of data from the User Services department and insert the data into Splunk to analyze customer service within User Services.

Modernizing Service Points: Developing Library Kiosks to Increase Visibility and Interaction (Graciela Aragon and Alysa Hernandez)

The future of libraries includes services that are accessible, convenient, user-friendly and resourceful. Technological advancements, in combination with global events, have been catalysts for libraries to reinvent the way their services are provided. These factors have caused a shift in how library services and collections are utilized by patrons. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Library shifted its focus to acquiring electronic materials over print to provide access to course materials while the building was closed. After the return to campus from the pandemic, the demand for digital materials and services has had a lasting impact on the circulation of physical items and in-person services. With many classes being taught virtually or in a hybrid setting, the University Library has not been able to attain the same level of library usage compared to pre-pandemic operations. To address the underutilization of physical items and library services in a post-pandemic world, the Library can install book kiosks in several campus buildings to increase circulation and visibility of library services. These kiosks would provide students with the ability to check out portable chargers, calculators, and course textbooks wherever they are, as well as request information about library services such as research help appointments and group study room reservations. The Library can partner with colleges to purchase course-specific textbooks for kiosks placed in their buildings. This poster will highlight the ways the University Library can utilize book kiosks and propose a plan for implementing these kiosks across several CSUSM buildings, including the Temecula campus.

A Fresh Look at Library Marketing and Communication (Jamie Higgins)

A digital poster will serve to introduce and highlight Library marketing and communications services, resources, and tools for internal customers. We have some exciting new things to share! The digital poster will highlight the new and improved Marketing and Communications L-Space page, which contains valuable information and resources for Library employees. A marketing flowchart will show the life cycle of a marketing request and will include new features, such as the marketing project plan template and marketing customer service questionnaire developed to obtain feedback.

Attendees will take away information about best practices and resources for creating content that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, learn about new internal communications features and tools, and gain a better understanding of the process used by the Library Public Affairs and Communications Specialist to promote, develop awareness, and create engagement for Library services and programs.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Marketing and Communications L-Space page
• Marketing Request Flow Chart
• Library Branding & Messaging
• Marketing Project Request Form
• Marketing Project Plan
• Accessibility Resources
• Inclusive Language Resources
• And more!

Library UX: Resources and Services at your Fingertips (Amanda Dalgleish and April Ibarra Siqueiros)

Our poster will feature different perspectives on how the library currently uses the CSUSM mobile app. We will dive into research topics of current trends used in social media and university apps in general. Using existing data collected within the Library we will examine all areas we can improve while including the low-hanging fruit (the changes that can be made more immediately), in turn, we will investigate all suggestions and see about an action plan for long-term changes to shift our approach. The interactive components will gather library staff and faculty perspectives and feedback on what they need at their fingertips in their own library work, as well as for students, campus staff, faculty, and community users. We will seek and explore staff and faculty input to identify areas where a shift can occur in user workflows for mobile app access.

"Different, Not Less": Supporting Students with ADHD in Academic Libraries (Lauren Magnuson, Judy Opdahl, Lalitha Nataraj, and Toni Olivas)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity which may interfere with a person’s daily life. It is estimated that approximately 4.5% of adults have ADHD (Brown, 2018). Though emerging research touches on how college students struggle with ADHD and adapt to higher education environments, to date, there is little published research on how academic libraries can better support these students."

As our collective understanding of neurodiversity deepens, we must also be prepared to evolve our library services and support systems to meet the needs of students who identify as neurodiverse. Because there is an added layer of racial oppression for students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), we also apply an intersectional lens to confronting socially inequitable systems specifically found in academic libraries.

Our research will review literature about college students with ADHD and identify themes in the existing research that can inform academic library practices. Recommendations for how academic libraries can support students with ADHD as well as areas for future research will be identified.

Embedding Research Planning into the Experiential Learning Capstone (Judy Opdahl)

To date, there is a gap in research on student perceptions of embedded programs (Blake et. al 2016; Rath & Wright, 2018). This poster presents the findings of a study on embedded librarian practices in an undergraduate business capstone course known as “senior experience.” Acting as consultant’s student teams in Spring 2022 (312 students, 63 unique projects) provide a sponsoring company/nonprofit with a solution to a business problem. Embedded in the course are an electronic research plan (form) and subsequent virtual team research consultation. Study questions asked are: how does submitting a library research plan benefit student teams enrolled in a business capstone course? How does meeting with the business and economics librarian impact student learning and benefit student teams working on their business capstone projects? To capture student experiences a Qualtrics survey was administered. Two matrix-based questions were asked, one question seeks to measure self-reported experience in how completing a research plan benefitted the team and the other seeks to measure self-reported team experience with a research consultation with the business librarian. The findings add to the literature on embedded librarianship and inform future librarian instruction and support.

Blake, L., Ballance, D., Davies, K., Gaines, J. K., Mears, K., Shipman, P., ... & Burchfield, V. (2016). Patron perception and utilization of an embedded librarian program. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 104(3), 226. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2016.16

Rath, L. & Wright, A. (2018). A pilot study of student perceptions of embedded library instruction. BRC Advances in Education, 3(1), 47-62. doi:10.15239/j.brcadvje.2018.03.01.ja04

Positive Impact on Organizational Communication through Knowledge Management (Ian Chan and Jennifer Fabbi)

Communication is one of the most important elements affecting climate and productivity in any organization. Effective organizational communication can contribute to organizational success in many ways, including building employee morale, satisfaction, and engagement; giving employees a voice; helping to lessen the chances for misunderstandings; and improving processes and procedures that ultimately create greater efficiencies. Creating a single internal communications hub for a library can drastically reduce the volume of “noise” employees must wade through to access and consume important information. CSU San Marcos Library has documented its seven-year transformation from several dispersed communication outlets to a single hub of organizational communication through a knowledge management initiative utilizing the Confluence tool by Atlassian. Knowledge management is defined broadly as “the conscious process of defining, structuring, retaining, and sharing the knowledge and experience of employees within an organization.” Through this introductory poster session, participants will be able to recognize challenges to organizational communication in libraries and understand the benefits of knowledge management for a library within the context of a larger library climate initiative.

Marina Aragon currently works in the Library’s Collection, Delivery, and Access (CDA) unit, where she works to support the daily operations in Resource Sharing and coordinating student assistants. Marina started her library career as a student assistant at CSUSM Barahona Center and transitioned to the Resource Sharing unit while obtaining her B.A. in Visual Performing Arts. Upon graduating in 2016 she began working at the Oceanside Public Library as a Library Aide and within a few months, she transitioned to Technical Assistant (2016-2021). In February 2019 Marina returned to CSUSM as an e-Hire in User Services and in the Media Library. She started her current position as Library Specialist Services II in Resource Sharing in August 2021.

Graciela Aragon worked at the California State University San Marcos Library as a student assistant in the Resource Sharing Department from 2015-2020 where she gained knowledge and experience pertaining to academic libraries. She graduated with her B.A in Human Development in 2020. Graciela returned as a staff member to the University Library in February 2022 and is currently serving as a Library Services Specialist II for the Circulation Desk. This position involves managing and overseeing the Circulation student assistants and the front desk operations.

Debbie Blair has been working at CSUSM in the University Library since 1999. She is currently the lead LSS III in ILLiad and Rapid lending operations for Resource Sharing within the CDA unit. Her library career began as a student assistant in Reference and Shelving at the Riverside City College (RCC) Rotella library. She transferred to CSUSM and was hired as a student assistant in Circulation the summer of 1996. Debbie holds an Associate’s degree in Accounting from RCC and Bachelor’s degree in Business, operations management from CSUSM.

Ian Chan serves as Head of Library Technology Initiatives and Development at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Ian has led project teams in the implementation of a variety of web-based applications including ArchivesSpace, Omeka, WordPress networks, Confluence, Jira, Hyrax, and Alma.

Amanda Dalgleish is the Web Developer and User Experience Specialist at California State University San Marcos Library. Coming to CSUSM in 2015, she has focused her efforts on the front-end development of the various library content management systems.

Jennifer Fabbi Dr. Jennifer Fabbi began her tenure as Dean of the University Library at California State University, San Marcos, in August 2014. Her emphasis on engaged strategic planning has focused the Library on educational partnerships benefiting students and special collections preserving the history of the community. She is a national leader and scholar in information literacy and has worked with the WASC Senior College and University Commission to design experiences to embed and assess information literacy and critical thinking in student learning. Dr. Fabbi’s Ph.D. is in higher education leadership from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Gabriel Garza is a new member of the CDA team where he purchases and processes physical materials, as well as handles financial transactions. He has worked in public and academic libraries since high school and began at CSUSM in 2015 as an evening circulation supervisor in User Services. Gabriel has a BA in Film Studies from UC Santa Barbara and an MLIS degree from San Jose State.

Alysa Hernandez has been working at the California State University San Marcos Library since January 2022. Prior to her staff role at the University Library, Alysa was a student assistant from 2016-2020 with Resource Sharing/Interlibrary Loan and spent a year as a student assistant in Metadata before graduating. Alysa's experience with software, policies, and procedures used in academic libraries piqued her interest in a career in academic librarianship. In her current role, Alysa is now the Library Reserves Coordinator working with faculty and students to provide free access to course materials. Alysa will be working towards her MLIS starting Spring 2023.

Jamie Higgins As the CSUSM University Library’s Public Affairs and Communications Specialist, Jamie Higgins is responsible for developing strategies, maintaining standards, and producing a wide range of communications in support of key library priorities, programs, services, and initiatives. Her work includes marketing, photography, graphic design, writing and editing, media relations, web content, and social media.

Jamie joined the CSUSM University Library in November 2019. She has a B.A. in Communications from California State University, Fullerton, and an M.A. in Public Arts Administration from California State University, Long Beach. Her professional interests include how to use storytelling to increase student engagement and promoting library collections to digital users.

April Ibarra Siqueiros is the User Experience Librarian at CSUSM University Library. She earned her MLIS with a User Experience concentration at Pratt Institute in New York City. Her research interests include examining user experience design with a DEIA and anti-racist lens, as well as applying her artist background for creative approaches in research, design, and librarianship.

Tricia Lantzy is the Health Sciences & Human Services Librarian at the CSUSM University Library and she currently serves as the Interim Teaching & Learning Department Head. Her research focuses on the assessment of student learning in a variety of formats as well as the student experience of academic libraries.

Cheryl Long currently works in the Library’s Collections, Delivery and Access (CDA) unit, where she coordinates the creation of analytics reports and visualizations, the creation of data dashboards to inform the optimal use of collections budgets and identify resources that should be cancelled and works on business intelligence and statistical analysis projects for the Library. Cheryl began her library career working in the Library’s Reference unit as a Student Information Assistant from 2000-2002. After working evenings and weekends at the MiraCosta College Library Circulation Desk, she returned to CSUSM in 2006 as staff in the Library’s Information Literacy Program (currently known as Teaching and Learning), where she oversaw RHD staffing and operations for fourteen years prior to her transition to CDA in 2020. Cheryl has a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and a Minor in Sociology from CSUSM.

Lauren Magnuson has been the Head of Collections, Delivery and Access (CDA) unit since 2017, and works to support the three subunits in CDA, including acquisitions, metadata, and resource sharing. Lauren works collaboratively with staff and librarians to manage CSUSM library’s collections budget, optimize library systems and workflows related to collections, and evaluate usage data and analytics about library collections and related services. Her research interests include support for students with disabilities, textbook affordability and libraries, and the ethical use of data to inform decision-making. Lauren has a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Tulane University, an M.A. in Information Science, and an M.Ed. in Educational Technology, both from the University of Missouri.

Lalitha Nataraj is the Social Sciences Librarian at CSUSM. She holds an MLIS from UCLA and a BA in English and Women’s Studies from UC Berkeley. Her research interests include feminist pedagogy, critical information literacy, critical fashion studies, South Asians in librarianship, and scholarly inquiry and the research cycle. 

Toni Olivas has been at CSUSM since 2006 and is the interim Head of User Services. She earned her M.A. in Information Resources & Library Science at the University of Arizona in 2003 and her doctorate in 2014 from the Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at CSU San Marcos/UC San Diego. Toni’s research interest is in social justice and equity in academic libraries.  

Judy Opdahl is the Business and Economics Librarian for the College of Business Administration and Economics Department at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Judy has a Master of Library and Information Science from San José State University and came to academic librarianship after having worked many years in Industry. She teaches reference and information literacy to a diverse range of learners from incoming freshmen to executive MBA students. Her areas of research interests include practices of embedded librarianship, which includes collaborations with disciplinary faculty in the development, teaching, and integration of information literacy instruction throughout a course, and research on accessibility, examining neurodivergent students in the academic library. 

Dasha Pavel currently works in CDA as an LSSIII managing the library's journal and serial subscriptions in a newly assigned role. Her library career began as a student assistant in Acquisitions while getting her bachelor’s degree in Human Development at CSUSM, which she graduated with in 1999. Dasha has worked in several units of the library including User Services, the Institutional Repository, and the Media Library, and has made full circle back to Acquisitions where she plans on retiring!

Elizabeth Rallos, in her new role as Metadata Lead in CDA, oversees and provides leadership on all aspects of Metadata in the Library. She catalogs all formats of material for the library collections, including electronic resources, as well as maintains the library catalog and troubleshoots electronic access issues. Elizabeth’s library career spans almost 30 years and includes working at a military base library circulating materials, assisting patrons and maintaining the card catalog; at a DOD middle school library, circulating materials, setting up media equipment for classrooms and assisting students; and substituting as a library assistant for the Poway Unified school district, before joining CSU San Marcos in 2000.

Teresa Roudenbush Teri has been working at California State University San Marcos’ Library since 2000, currently serving as the User Services Staff Lead, working directly with the subunit leads in Circulation, Library Reserves, and Stacks & Study Spaces. She has over 40 years of experience working in academic libraries and assisting users with everything from circulation, interlibrary loan, reserves, and more. She served on the CSUSM University Library’s Space Committee and was involved in the implementation of several space and service improvement initiatives, including the Library Lockers, and 24/5 Zone where meeting the fundamental needs of our students was essential. 

Kelly Ann Sam has been working at California State University San Marcos’ (CSUSM) Library since 2017. She earned her MLIS in 2019 from San Jose State University and has spent her library career working in Circulation and User Services in both public and academic libraries. During her career at CSUSM, Kelly Ann worked as the Library Reserves Coordinator before transitioning into the OER/ERM Librarian position in 2022. Kelly Ann has worked towards increasing textbook affordability for students by assisting faculty with making materials available through Library Reserves and collaborating with the Collections, Delivery, and Access department to purchase new course materials for the library collection. As the OER/ERM Librarian, Kelly Ann now manages and leads the Cougars Affordable Learning Materials (CALM) program.

Linly Sasinouan, a new member of the Collections, Delivery and Access (CDA) team, currently works to support the coordination of e-resource acquisitions and handles financial transactions for electronic required course materials through Library management systems. Linly’s Library journey began in 2019 when she joined the administration office as an Administrative Support Coordinator. Prior to that, she worked as an Administrative Assistant in CSUSM’s Disability Support Services since 2015 and earned a B.A. in Communications from San Diego State University.

Natalya Serge Magazino works in the Library’s Collections, Delivery and Access unit, where she coordinates Interlibrary Loan borrowing and CSU+ operations. Natalya began her library career in 2011 working in the library’s User Services unit as a student assistant in Circulation. Upon graduating with her B.A. in Social Sciences in 2013, she was hired on as staff in Circulation before eventually transitioning into Resource Sharing. Natalya earned her MLIS degree from San Jose State University in 2019. Her work interests include workflow and systems optimization and data-driven decision making.

Hugo Wong currently works in the CDA unit, where he works in the metadata subunit. His job is to process library books and online materials to be discoverable. He started his library journey at 14 when he volunteered for the local library's summer reading program. At UCSD, he worked as the nighttime circulation student assistant for three years and later became the work lead. After a year in finance, he came to CSUSM as the 24/5 Circulation staff, managing overnight space for five years. He transitioned to CDA in his current position in May 2022. Hugo holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and History with a political science minor and is scheduled to complete his MLIS degree at SJSU this fall.

Hua Yi, collection management librarian, started working at CSUSM in 1999 and joined the collection unit in 2005. Hua currently works with vendors on subscribed resources and potential resources, works on vendors usages statistics, and communicates with potential collection material donors.

If you want help brainstorming ideas, reviewing abstracts, thinking about presentation or poster structure, there are many people willing to help!

• Allie Carr
• Lali Nataraj
• Toni Olivas
• Rosa Rodriguez

Library Wide Learning Committee

• Char Booth
• Allie Carr (co-chair)
• Lali Nataraj
• Kelly Ann Sam
• Terri Roudenbush (Co-Chair)
• Hugo Wong

Design Ideas for Posters

Design Templates and Resources