Recent ucmercedlibrary_oapdeposits items

Cliopatria - A geospatial database of world-wide political entities from 3400BCE to 2024CE.

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The scientific understanding of the complex dynamics of global history - from the rise and spread of states to their declines and falls, from their peaceful interactions with economic or diplomatic exchanges to violent confrontations - requires, at its core, a consistent and explicit encoding of historical political entities, their locations, extents and durations. Numerous attempts have been made to produce digital geographical compendia of polities with different time depths and resolutions. Most have been limited in scope and many of the more comprehensive geospatial datasets must either be licensed or are stored in proprietary formats, making access for scholarly analysis difficult. To address these issues we have developed Cliopatria, a comprehensive open-source geospatial dataset of worldwide states from 3400BCE to 2024CE. Presently it comprises over 1600 political entities sampled at varying timesteps and spatial scales. Here, we discuss its construction, its scope, and...

Hand-drawn historic maps: Utilization and conversion of unique features into Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hand-drawn historic maps: Utilization and conversion of unique features into Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Sexual harassment at University of California Libraries: Understanding the experiences of library staff members

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the first study measuring sexual harassment experiences of academic library employees at a single institution, we conducted a census of 1,610 non-student employees at the 10-campus University of California Libraries system. This anonymous online survey measured how sexual harassment was experienced and observed in terms of behaviors, exhibitors, reporting and disclosure, institutional support and betrayal, and recommendations for future actions. Out of 579 respondents, 54% experienced and/or observed sexual harassment at work. Respondents recommended training, workplace culture change, support from leadership, and clear reporting processes in order to address sexual harassment at University of California Libraries.

Statement on Inclusion and Equity in Special Collections, Archives, and Distinctive Collections in the University of California Libraries

Tue, 5 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

We acknowledge historical absences in library collections, including those of the University of California Libraries. We will develop practices that counteract a paradigm of racist, sexist, and white-centered collecting, description, instruction, and access. Metadata, digital exhibits, and archival descriptions in particular have disadvantaged communities of color, limited points of subject-based access, and contributed to a culture of exclusivity and inequity. We commit to immediate and enduring work to elevate the narratives, perspectives, and expertise of the marginalized: those who identify as Black, Indigenous, persons of color, immigrants, women, disabled people, and those from the LGBTQ+ communities. We recognize that this work is iterative and ongoing, inherently risky, and messy, but entirely necessary.

Apprenticing Researchers: Exploring Upper-Division Students' Information Literacy Competencies

Wed, 1 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores upper-division students' research competencies, dispositions, challenges, and developments through focus group interviews complemented by surveys, including local responses to the Experiences with Information Literacy topical module from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). These undergraduates, apprenticing as researchers, use research practices that are more novice than expert, as described in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. They employ a range of abilities in the research process and demonstrate an emerging knowledge of the information environment and of academic disciplines. Because curriculum strongly influences information literacy development, librarians should pursue close collaborations with faculty.

The Fake News Phenomenon--An Opportunity for the Library Community to Make a Splash?

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

When media coverage of the fake news phenomenon blew up in the waning months of 2016, many were taken by surprise. I suspect, however, that most librarians had thoughts similar to mine: “Wait a minute! This is about information literacy. I’ve been rolling that rock up the hill my entire career.” While the idea of individuals forming opinions and making decisions on the basis of misinformation is discouraging, the furor over fake news represents an opportunity for the library community to show some leadership and, as difficult as the challenge may be, take meaningful action to help people become more savvy users of information. Before considering what actions the library community might take, though, it is important to understand the nuances of the problem.

Forum Planning Committee’s Report to UC Council of University Librarians on Choosing Pathways to Open Access (CP2OA)

Fri, 10 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

On October 16-17, 2018, University of California (UC) libraries hosted a working forum in Berkeley, California entitled “Choosing Pathways to Open Access” (“CP2OA”) (see https://cp2oa18.com/). Sponsored by the University of California’s Council of University Librarians (“CoUL”), the forum was designed to enable North American library or consortium leaders and key academic stakeholders to engage in action-focused deliberations about redirecting subscription and other funds toward sustainable open access (“OA”) publishing.

This report was prepared by members of the forum’s Planning Committee1 as a way to update CoUL on forum outcomes, and to synthesize these outcomes into recommendations for further collective (UC multi-institutional) action to advance OA. The recommendations reflect the opinions of the report drafters; they are not an official statement by CoUL, nor should publication of this report signify CoUL’s endorsement of our recommendations. We (the Planning Committee)...

Next-Generation Technical Services (NGTS): New Modes for Organizing and Providing Access to Special Collections, Archive, and Digital Formats: Final Report

Fri, 10 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Imagine a UC library with more than half a million volumes, carefully acquired and protected, many of them singular or not commonly held by others in the world. Imagine the contents lining thirteen and a half miles from end to end—more than one Bancroft Library’s worth of material—but all of it invisible and inaccessible to users. That library represents the self-reported aggregate of the unprocessed backlog of special collections and archives materials owned by UC.

The UC Libraries have the opportunity to bring such a library online, and make its contents discoverable and accessible to researchers, within this next decade. The UC Libraries also have the opportunity to prevent the creation of such a backlog of newly created scholarly content, much of it in digital format. Collective commitment is needed to invest the time and initial resources to follow through and to capture these opportunities.

Where (in the library) do you belong?: Using an informal quiz to engage prospective new students

Tue, 22 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Where (in the library) do you belong?: Using an informal quiz to engage prospective new students

If you build it ...?: One campus’ firsthand account of gamification in the academic library

Tue, 22 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If you build it ...?: One campus’ firsthand account of gamification in the academic library

No reservations: Why the time has come to kill print textbook reserves

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In the 21st century, the ever-growing cost of textbooks (and of higher education in general) provides the reason to break the textbook economic model. Digital technology provides the means. All that is lacking is the will to say that we librarians refuse to continue providing life support to an economic model that serves the interests of neither students nor the academy.

Let’s Put an End to Socialized Intellectual Property

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Spoofs extreme ownship-centric views of intellectual property.

From Communication to Collaboration: Developing the Spectrum of Activities for Effective Shared Services at the University of California

Mon, 25 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

From Communication to Collaboration: Developing the Spectrum of Activities for Effective Shared Services at the University of California

Space and the Social Worth of Public Libraries

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Space and the Social Worth of Public Libraries

Academic Libraries in the Digital Age

Thu, 4 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

academic libraries, library use, library space

The Use of Academic Libraries in the Digital Age: What the Numbers Say

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Given the early twenty-first century’s wealth of information, it is a fair question to ask: “Are we approaching a time when academic libraries will no longer be necessary?” According to academic library usage data, the answer to this question is clearly “No.” While over the last ten to twenty years the number of books borrowed from U.S. academic libraries has plummeted, the number of people setting foot in those same libraries has significantly increased. And although longitudinal data for the use of non-U.S. libraries is hard to come by, a small sampling of academic libraries outside of the U.S. reflects a similar trend of fewer books borrowed coupled with more visits. The paper concludes by suggestions reasons for why students are making increased use of academic library spaces in the Digital Age.

The Challenge Facing Libraries in an Era of Fake News

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Making sense of information is hard, maybe increasingly so in today’s world. So what role have academic libraries played in helping people make sense of world bursting at the seams with information?

Could Subscriptions for Academic Journals Go the Way of Pay Phones?

Thu, 1 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Could Subscriptions for Academic Journals Go the Way of Pay Phones?

The End of the Printed Scholarly Monograph: Collapsing Markets and New Models

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The End of the Printed Scholarly Monograph: Collapsing Markets and New Models

Has the Library Outlived Its Usefulness in the Age Of Internet? You’d Be Surprised

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Has the Library Outlived Its Usefulness in the Age Of Internet? You’d Be Surprised

Shouldn’t there be a time limit on Mickey’s copyright?

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Shouldn’t there be a time limit on Mickey’s copyright?

Turning a Page: Downsizing the Campus Book Collection.

Wed, 2 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Academic libraries are running out of space to house printed books. However, new on-campus spaces to house books are no longer being constructed. Academic libraries will have no choice but to downsize printed collections by moving books to off campus repositories. Shared repositories represent the most economical solution for housing low-use printed books.

Academic print books are dying. What’s the future?

Wed, 2 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sales of print-format scholarly monographs (books) have dropped to record lows. Because of digital technology and financial pressures on academic libraries, the economic model that has supported the publication of print-format scholarlly books has collapsed. The good news is that initiatiaves by scholarly publishers to create open-access scholarly books have the potential to save, and possibly enrich, long-form scholarship. The success of open-access book publishing depends, however, on the willingness of faculty promotion and tenure committees to reward young scholars for publishing in open-access formats.

The Laughing Horse: A Literary Magazine of the American West

Tue, 9 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Irregularly published from 1921 to 1939, The Laughing Horse deserves to be remembered for the simple fact that it published the work of many important western writers; second, it deserves to be remembered because it evolved into a literary magazine with a distinctly western focus, championing western lands, peoples, arts, and ideals, and doing so with a large measure of sincerity.

Native Americans in Books from the Past

Thu, 4 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Examines a selected set of pre-1960 illustrated children's books about Native Americans. The author concludes, "Taking everything into account, are all these books perfectly free from stereotypes and absolutely free from racism? No. But many of the books are good—surprisingly good to those who have been trained to expect only the worst from the past—and still worth reading."

Interpreted Well Enough: Two Illustrator's Visions of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Thu, 4 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Compares two illustrators' interpretations of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Edward Windsor Kemble (1884) and Barry Moser (1985).

Evaluating Library Instruction: Doing the Best You Can With What You Have