UC Berkeley Library

This presentation was related to the author's published work in The Philippine Journal of Librarianship and Information Studies (PhJLIS) in volume 44 issue 1 (2024). The journal issue was published in May 2025. It can be accessed here: https://phjlis.org/index.php/phjlis/issue/view/11

The presentation was delivered at the 70th annual conference of the Seminar on the acquisition of Latin American Library Materials on 29th of May 2025 at the NYU in New York. 

This exhibition highlights efforts of UC Berkeley Library’s Latin American Studies librarian to create distinguished collections of the Caribbean and Latin American book collections that relay spirit of ingenuity and creativity of Caribbean and Latin American publishers and artists that base their cultural production also on the notion of sustainability and repurposing of materials that could have otherwise been relegated to landfills. Each book in this exhibition represents distinct viewpoints of its creators and publishers. Each book symbolically represents an artwork that would allow visitors to this exhibition re-discover not only the lesser known traditions of upcycling movement in the region but also the folkloric esthetics of the book art.

This exhibition is divided into four distinct sections and each section highlights a distinct way of conveying literary and visual esthetics. These sections are Cuban Artists Books, Fine Letterpress Books from Mexico: Taller Gráfica de Comala, Cartonera Books and Literatura de Cordel Chapbooks. Each section can be enjoyed in conjunction with the next section or it could be enjoyed separately. The curator leave it up to the visitors to this exhibition an act of exploration and self-reflection. The author Dr. Liladhar R. Pendse thanks LAUC Statewide for providing him with a presentation grant that allowed him to travel to NYC and present his research.

UC Berkeley’s history of collecting Africana materials traces back to the earliest years of its founding, but it was the foundational collections work of Africana Collections Librarian Lee Petrasek and his successor Phyllis Bischof, in the post Word War II era to 2005, that established Berkeley as a major source for Africana collections in the United States. Through details gathered from staff files, library records and personal accounts, this article provides a glimpse into the collecting practices, priorities, and strategies of former and current librarians charged with building and maintaining Africana materials collections at UC Berkeley from 1960 to 2024.

Seismica, a new Diamond Open Access journal in Seismology and Earthquake Science, launched in July 2022. One year into production, we have received 90 submissions, published 25 articles and have over 50 works in the pipeline. Seismica is an independent journal, designed and built by a global community of researchers with the aim of making scientific research freely available, with no publication or subscription fees.

Beyond traditional research articles, Seismica publishes an innovative set of peer-reviewed reports including fast reports, null results/failed experiments, software reports, and instrument deployment/field campaign reports. Seismica accepts papers within the very broad scope of fault slip and earthquake source phenomena, earthquake records, imaging the Earth, theoretical and computational seismology, beyond Earth-tectonic applications, techniques and instrumentation, earthquake engineering and engineering seismology, and earthquake education, community engagement, and other social science methods.

The new journal's philosophy was developed through continuous communication among broader community members and strives to be accessible, transparent, respectful, credible, and progressive. In the past year, Seismica has evolved both as a journal and a community dedicated to transparency in science, and supporting not not only open access articles, but also a fully open research process. Seismica addresses community needs by publishing public reviews along with the paper, promoting a fair and unbiased reviewing process while providing an insider look into reviewing that benefits early-career researchers; valuing time and expertise by crediting all contributors to a publication; encouraging preprint sharing; allowing authors to keep the copyright to their work; and helping authors share and promote their research once published.

The need for a Diamond Open Access journal and the necessity to share seismology research for broader community benefits is evident. The successful launch and growth of Seismica in the past year demonstrates that this model is responsive, inclusive and sustainable.

Seismica, a pioneering diamond open access journal in Seismology and Earthquake Science, launched in July 2022. Seismica is an independent journal supported by McGill University, designed and built by a global community of researchers with the aim of making scientific research freely available. Our international team of over 40 people includes disciplinary experts as well as specialists in open science and data; equity, diversity and inclusion; outreach and communication; and digital media and branding. Volunteers cover traditional editorial roles as well as the journal’s full-time management and operation (including technical support, copy editing, branding and communications). 

Now in its second year of publication, Seismica has evolved as both a journal and a community dedicated to transparency in science, and supporting not only open access articles, but also a fully open publication process. Beyond traditional research articles, Seismica publishes an innovative set of peer-reviewed reports including fast reports, null results/failed experiments, software reports, and instrument deployment/field campaign reports; we also require the sharing of related data and code. This initial year of growth has included the development of of our own reproducible workflows on the backend, the publication of a special issue in response to the Turkiye earthquakes of February 2023, and much work behind the scenes fostering community, mentoring new editors, opening peer review, investigating future funding and planning for sustainable succession. This presentation will demonstrate how Seismica contributors have responded to community needs and changing expectations in the field while gaining invaluable professional experience along the way.

This presentation was supported by a Presentation Grant from the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC).

The Research Organization Registry (ROR), a recent initiative by California Digital Library (CDL), Crossref, and DataCite, attempts to address the issue of institutional disambiguation through the development of a non-commercial, open, and interoperable system of unique persistent identifiers for research organizations.