Copley & Student Support Services Virtual Summer Bridge Program 2020

Copley Library has partnered with Student Support Services (SSS) on its robust no-cost Summer Bridge program since 2012. SSS supports and serves students who are first-generation, low-income, have a documented disability, and/or identify with another underrepresented group.  Summer Bridge participants are able to familiarize themselves with the USD campus before other students arrive, create meaningful new friendships and connections with fellow classmates as well as USD faculty and staff, participate in social events, and learn tools to bolster their student success from their first day through graduation. This year eighty Summer Bridge students spent the week of Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, 2020, learning about and engaging with USD’s myriad resources including Career Services; OneStop Student Center; The Writing Center; McNair Scholars; the Office of Undergraduate Research; Undergraduate Admissions; Office Financial Aid; Associated Student Government; Student Wellness; Black Student Resource Commons; United Front Multicultural Commons, Women’s Commons, LGBTQ+ & Allies Commons; Residential Life; the Office of the Vice President and Provost; and us.

Summer Bridge 2018 Amazing Race

• 

  Summer Bridge 2020 Zoom

• 

  Summer Bridge 2020 Zoom

• 

  Summer Bridge 2020 Zoom

In years past, Copley focused on an immersive experience in our physical space through scavenger hunts and other activities that required participants to use library resources, talk with Library faculty and staff, and navigate the building. This year, in light of the pandemic restrictions and limitations, we transformed our program to an entirely virtual experience. Our event featured two distinct assignments for participants to complete to help them learn about the vast resources and services Copley Library offers to help students succeed at USD. They also competed for a chance to win UberEats gift cards.

First, students were asked to complete an asynchronous self-guided virtual tour and tutorial created by our Access and Outreach Librarian, Christopher Marcum. The tutorial introduced the students to Library resources and services and prepared them for the final assignment. On the afternoon of August 11th, they joined the Access and Outreach Services Librarian on Zoom for a fun competition. Students were divided into 16 teams of 5 students each. The teams were then given forty-five minutes to create a promotional video, flyer, or other marketing tools for their favorite library resource or service based on what they learned from the tutorial. Each team presented their completed projects to the entire group and participants voted for their favorite two projects. Members of the winning two teams (ten students total) were each awarded a $25.00 UberEats gift card for their efforts. 

“Team Undecided”‘s rap about accessing eBooks through ProQuest won first place!

Some groups highlighted our Research Guides

And others chose to feature Ask A Librarian

This year’s virtual event was challenging, but also especially rewarding and fun! All the students did an excellent job reflecting on what they had learned about Copley Library and translating that knowledge into creative and engaging Library promotions. We can’t wait to do it again next year!

To learn about the Summer Bridge Program and its requirements, check out their website at https://www.sandiego.edu/student-support-services/summer-bridge.php. You can also connect with Copley Library and SSS on Instagram.

Copley Library Welcomes You [Remotely] to Fall 2020

Although our building is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, services are operating remotely seven days a week. You can reach us via chat, email, or phone at 619-260-4799.

Remote Services:

These are unprecedented and fluid times. Our comprehensive Remote Access Guide will have the most up-to-date information as the semester progresses. See some highlights of our remote services below:

• Our workshops will take place online this semester. See a complete list of our Fall 2020 offerings here. 
• USD students can schedule remote research consultations with a subject specialist. Faculty can request remote library instruction for your classes by filling out this form on our library Instruction page.
• Copley has numerous electronic resources available to support your remote teaching and learning. 
  • Copley Library has online databases, electronic journals, streaming videos, and ebooks that cover a wide array of subject areas.  
  • Click on this link for ebook for assistance using these Copley resources
  • Click on this link for a streaming video guide
  • Search our Catalog Plus tab on the library homepage. Search results will include everything the library has access to, both print and electronically. 
  • Request access to articles not owned by Copley Library, and books not available via Copley through Interlibrary Loan. Note that ILL request for print materials are temporarily restricted to USD faculty and graduate students. 

Safety Precautions:

• All Library Staff and Faculty will adhere to the USD mandated daily health screenings, temperature screenings, and mask mandates. Additionally staff will wear gloves while handling all materials circulating to and from patrons.
• While our building remains closed we will still circulate print items from our collection, interlibrary loan, Course Reserves, and the Associated Student Government and School of Nursing Textbook Reserves. We are hopeful that Circuit sharing will resume soon! 
  • Getting your item(s): For your safety our staff will wear masks and gloves while preparing your item(s) for our new touch-less curbside pickup (San Diego residents) and home delivery (non San Diego residents) services.
    • Please note that ASG and School of Nursing Textbook Reserves are available for curbside pickup only, no home delivery. 
  • Returning your item(s): Per industry standards, all print materials will be quarantined for 3 days before they can be recirculated. All plastic materials (DVDs, CDs, etc.) will be quarantined for 4 days before being recirculated.

Staying Connected:

We can’t wait until we can safely share our space with you again, but in the meantime we can still stay connected. In addition to our formal contact methods listed above, USD students, faculty, and alumni can reach us directly on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Antiracist Resources as Actions to Declare Allyship

The University of San Diego has spoken out against racism and discrimination against black Americans. USD is antiracist. At the university library, Copley Library, the librarians are working hard creating resources like this short list of ebooks from our library on Antiracism and the United States that you can access from the comfort of your home. It’s a short list even when including print books and as such the librarians are looking at this as a call to action to improve the library’s collection on the topic of antiracism. Copley Library is working toward strengthening their allyship to all of our black students. Check out these Libguides Racism in Science and the latest entry of the Department of Learning & Teaching Book Club on White Fragility. Do make plans to visit us again in the next few weeks as more resources will be popping up from different disciplines!

Our databases are available for you to explore from home. Access the databases anytime from anywhere and by subject if you prefer. You may prefer start with our research guides. All you need to access the databases from off campus is your USDOne login and password (the same as your email login and password).

In the meanwhile, take a look at the muse’s list of 11 antiracist actions you can take at work today and every day. And this great article with: 31 Resources that Will Help You Become a Better While Ally from defining what allyship is to book recommendations on the topic. We invite you to explore those resources to expand your knowledge or to pass along to those you may feel need a little brush up!

If you are taking summer classes, remember the library is here to help you all year round! If you need anything, always feel free to Ask A Librarian, now available 24/7.

Follow us on: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest at Copley Library.

Upward and Onward: The Mother Hill Reading Room 2020-2021 Renovation

Future library entrance to the Mother Hill Reading Room from Copley Library’s main floor.

Just when we are finishing up the final touches on the library’s renovation, USD has now embarked on the antepenultimate phase of the Renaissance Plan which is ultimately a significant part of the Stride to 2024 Initiative. For those who may not know, in 2024 USD will be turning 75 years-old!

The Mother Hill Reading Room’s renovation project is part of the Founders and Camino Hall renovations and it is expected to be finalized sometime in 2021. The iconic reading room will finally be outfitted with air-conditioning and heating, plus a little facelift while maintaining all of its original charm!

Take a look at these before pictures of the Mother Hill Reading Room and next year (2021) we will be bringing you the after ones:

Stairwell and view of empty reading room

The beautiful ceilings, woodwork, and iron work will be kept.

Left side of the reading room

A bare bones reading room. It’s been completely cleared out and is now awaiting renovation.

Right side of the reading room

We can’t wait for 2021 to come around for so many reasons but a big one would be having the beautiful Mother Hill Reading Room renovated and modernized to accommodate 21st Century technology.

Don’t forget that to stay up to date with everything that’s going on at Copley Library by visiting our page where you can access Copley Connects our twice a year newsletter. Of course remember you can follow us on: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Here’s to a better second half of 2020!

The building is closed, but we’re here for you!

Copley Library front steps on Tuesday, May 19th, 2020

Spring 2020 Wrap-Up

We would like to congratulate everyone on completing this unprecedented and challenging semester, especially the graduating class of 2020. We’d like to specifically recognize our graduating Student Assistants from Access Services; Amelia Henry, Angelica Ocana, Aoife O’Brien, Christina Callahan, Daisy Romo, Jay Mobisa, Mya Tobin, and Tim Goins. We are so proud of the work you’ve accomplished and hope we get to show you the new library space when you return for Commencement in October 2020. We would also like to thank Copley’s Staff and Librarians for their flexibility, ingenuity, and perseverance which enabled us to provide our patrons with continuous remote access to our many services and resources.

Copley and the Campus Closure

Along with the rest of campus, Copley Library transformed into a remote learning and teaching environment in two weeks’ time. Between March 12^th and April 27^th, 2020 our Access Services department filled over 180 Document Delivery requests for USD faculty and students; more than 420 interlibrary loan borrowing requests; over 400 interlibrary loan requests for other institutions; and added 190 items to our e-reserves which were viewed over 1100 times. The Technical Services department ordered and delivered quadruple its typical e-book orders for one month; and filled 127 streaming media requests for course reserves and remote instruction. Our Reference and Instruction Librarians answered 598 individual faculty and student questions; conducted 128 student and 81 faculty consultations; and hosted 19 instruction sessions and workshops.

Looking Forward to Fall 2020

We don’t know what the future holds, but we are working towards reopening the library safely, and supporting USD’s students and faculty for a successful Fall 2020 semester. As we mentioned last week, the library renovation is complete save for a few finishing touches. We can’t wait to safely share the new space with all of you. In the meantime, we are preparing for all contingencies of a hybrid learning environment. Students and faculty should expect the same level of service and materials access whether they’re working from home or are attending classes on campus.

Books return from our offsite storage facility and are sorted onto trucks before being shelved.

Our Camino Stacks are nearly full again!

Keep an eye on our website and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for up-to date information. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Library’s Renovation is 99.9% Done!

Corridor toward the Mother Hill Reading Room on the Main floor (2nd Level)

We at Copley Library are ecstatic to share that the library renovation has reached completion! The renovation project is in its the final last touch stages. New furniture is still being delivered and the book collection is now being moved back over the next 5 to 6 weeks. Take a peak at the beautiful new space for you to come study and hang out once COVID-19 is under control and we are no longer shelter-in-place:

Study Room on the Main Floor (2nd Level)

Lower Level Restroom (1st Level)

New Furniture Lower Level (1st Floor)

Lower level

Main floor Reading Room

Main Floor Reading Area and Librarian offices along the back wall

Lockers on the Lower Level (First Floor)

Research Assistance Desk on Lower Level (First Floor)

Lower Level Study Room (1st Floor)

Lower Level Staff Work Stations

As you can see it is a totally new workspace for everyone, the library personnel and the USD community!

Remember for the latest visit our library page and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to learn more about research resources and the library’s response to COVID-19.

Happy Finals!

Working Hard?: Ignoring the “work, work, work” Pressure Instead Focus on You

We have lived through epidemics like SARS in 2002/2003 and H1N1 in 2009, but never a pandemic with a new virus, one where no one has immunity. We are learning about the virus as we go along and unfortunately, or fortunately, upending our voracious form of capitalism all around the world. Work ethic loves to rub itself in to those of us who dare not have our work/student lives define us. Let us remember most of us are more than a job or school work and that is perfectly normal.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a game changer. Not only is it bizarre to live and adjust to not being able to go to work or school or go hang out with your family and friends but there are now a myriad of posts about how some people are being SUPER productive and getting everything they couldn’t get done before are now getting done. According to Dr. Aisha Ahmad, a scholar, who has lived through multiple disasters including war, confinement, violent conflict, food shortages and disease outbreaks, most of these people are projecting where they want to be. Some of us will eventually go back to being productive if the shelter-in-place remains long enough. She talks about the three (3) stages (Stage 1: Security, 2: Mental Shift, and 3: Embrace New Normal) we will go through in her piece Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure and leaves it up to you if we wish to follow her advice or not. It’s your life to live as best you can. She also has Twitter thread on how to adapt to a long-term pandemic. Dr. Ahmad takes care to specifically mention that there are stages to what’s happening to us. It’s perfectly OK to not feel like doing anything or doing some things and leaving the rest for later. As humans we first have to secure safety through family, shelter and food and drink. Only after these have been secured can one move on to trying to establish a new routine. The struggle to find toilet paper, isopropyl alcohol, hand sanitizer, and PPE (personal protective equipment) continues in many parts of the country adding to the already high levels of stress from shelter-in-place pronouncements to current demands to open-up businesses even when COVID-19 has yet to flatten in half of the country.

In fact, the high stress lifestyle most of us are living has led to new wave of articles all discussing our mental health. COVID-19 is affecting our mental health and those around us. These mental health issue articles also include technology. Some are touching on the emerging Zoom meeting burnout. A great example of these articles is USD’s SOLES Prof. Zachary Green’s Zoom and Gloom: The Rise of Videoconferencing Onset Depression. D. Green has a whole series of articles that we invite you check out on dealing with this pandemic and maintaining your and your loved ones’ mental sanity. His latest entry talks about emotional comas and how paralyzing these can seem, but we need to first acknowledge that we have gone deaf and numb to then overcome the paralysis. This pandemic will eventually subside in the meantime we need stick together.

For the latest visit our library page and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to learn more about research resources and the library’s response to COVID-19.

We continue to be here for you: Check out our remote resources!

Happy Earth Day 2020! It’s the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and wow what a world we are living in right now. We’ve made it one more day and scientists worldwide are working hard to find a vaccine to defeat COVID-19!

We at Copley Library hope that you’re are staying well and hanging in there like we are doing. The University of San Diego is working hard to set up the Fall 2020 semester in order to hold classes the format is still being decided. We’re all working hard to keep the university moving in the right direction, which is to provide quality higher education. Copley Library is part of this effort and has the following resources (continuously curated) for you to explore and use while working remotely:

Free Research Resources available during the COVID-19 closures. Here’s the direct link in case the embedded one doesn’t work for you: https://libguides.sandiego.edu/c.php?g=1010953&p=7351327

There are many Library Services still available to you during this time. You can find them all in the Remote Access Guide : https://libguides.sandiego.edu/remote_library_access

At the University level these resources can keep you informed as well lift your spirits seeing how USD community members are helping during the COVID-19 pandemic:

USD Coronavirus website (www.sandiego.edu/coronavirus)

Toreros Together website (www.sandiego.edu/torerostogether)

Stay well and hope to see you soon!

For the latest visit our library page and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to learn more about research resources and COVID-19.

Renovation Photographs!

The Copley Library renovation is moving forward on schedule! Below are some photographs we received of the progress, as well as a look at the new furniture.

_________________________

~ New ceiling designs ~

_________________________

~ Views of the second floor ~

• 

  Welcome Desk

• 

  Second Floor Classroom

• 

  Offices and Study Spaces

• 

  Journal Reading Room

• 

  Offices and Study Spaces

_________________________

~ New seating has been installed on the first floor ~

• 

• 

• 

______________________________

~ The Copley Library entrance gets a touch-up ~

Visit our library page and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more about the renovation.

A Lenten season, a Holy Week, and an Easter unlike any others

As we traverse through Holy Week leading up to Easter 2020 remember that besides this being a time to be reflective the library continues to be available to you. The library has electronic resources which you to use to fulfill your assignments and most importantly help you prepare for final projects and examinations. For the most up to date information regarding access visit our COVID-19 guide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended everyone’s lives and for this reason Pope Francis decided that Holy Week celebrations should be held without participation from the faithful. This is of course for our own safety. To listen to read the Pope Francis Holy Week Message from April 3, 2020 here.

COVID-19 is a serious threat that has now touched every corner of our planet. For the latest statistics on COVID-19 click here. Remember to pace yourself with the day to day be it for home life, work or school or both.

We at Copley Library wish to share a bit of good news. The building’s renovation has continued without too many hitches. We have reached Punch List status meaning that substantial completion for the renovation project has been achieved! Take a look at how the library now looks:

• 

• 

• 

• 

We are nearing the finish line. Thank you for support during this time.

Everyone at Copley Library wishes you a happy Holy Week and wonderful Easter as well as restful and productive Easter Break.

For more information remember to visit our library page or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.