Sonoma State University Library at the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center
Table of Contents
The Sonoma State University Library fosters a transformative and welcoming environment for learning and scholarship, and empowers its community to be fluent users and creators of information across and beyond the curriculum.
Library News is published by the Sonoma State University Library.
Dean: Karen G. Schneider
Editor: Bonnie Cormier
Contributors: Laura Krier, Turner Masland, Rita Premo, Lynn Prime, Jonathan Smith
Reflections After the Fire
“This exhibit is a testimony to the power of art to find meaning in all human experience, including catastrophic fire.”
– Dean Schneider
This fall the University Library Gallery presents Reflections: After the Fire, an exhibit featuring the work of 21 artists and other contributors whose art is a response to the fall 2017 firestorm through painting, photography, video, and mixed media work. Mary Wegmann, chair of the Library Art Committee, said, “The artwork in Reflections: After the Fire is deeply personal. All contributors were greatly affected by the fire, and their artistic responses reflect everything from sadness and loss to gratitude and optimism.” The exhibit, which is open to the public, is located in the Library Gallery and the 2North exhibit area on the second floor, and is showing from Monday, August 20th through Friday, December 14th. See the Library website for hours. The October 17 reception is also open to the public and a free parking pass is available on request (email library@sonoma.edu). Many of the artists will be present. October 17, the date of the reception, is the first year anniversary of the day Sonoma State University reopened after the fires, and recognizes our community’s collective resilience.
Exhibit Reception:
Wednesday, October 17, 4 – 5:30 pm.
Open to the public.
No RSVP required. Email library@sonoma.edu for a free parking pass.
From the Dean
Dean of SSU Library
The Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center turned 18 this September, so this fall we welcomed the first students who were born after the building opened in 2000. Part of my role as dean is stewardship of this sturdy, gorgeous building and ensuring it serves students well for many years to come. I know many people think of this building as new, but for any building it only takes a couple of decades for roofs and carpeting to wear out and furniture to become dated. That’s even more true for high-traffic buildings such as libraries. We have had over ten million visitors since our building opened. During peak times such as midterms and finals our study tables and study rooms are stretched beyond capacity. There have also been huge changes in technology and learning practices since this building opened. In June the Library entered the second phase of its Revitalization Plan with a kickoff meeting led by the architectural firm Noll & Tam, a company with deep expertise in academic library buildings. We in the Library have a vision of where our Library can be by its silver anniversary in 2025, and Noll & Tam was selected to help design key projects we can use to plan for our building’s next steps. For those of you reading this newsletter, I have a big “ask.” Can you help shape our vision by participating in one of a number of conversations we will hold this fall to gather input on our ideas? Most sessions will be in person, but we’ll hold a couple online. I’m also available for one-on-one visits to share our ideas and get your reactions. If you can help us by participating in a session, drop a note to library@sonoma.edu.
Fresh from the Archives
Sonoma County Women’s Oral History Collection
Runes magazine, v. 34, August 1976.
Courtesy of Sonoma State University Special Collections
In the spring of 2018, Dr. Michelle Jolly, professor of history at Sonoma State University, donated the Sonoma County Women’s Oral History Collection to the Library. “This significant acquisition addressing forty years of feminism in the North Bay is the culmination of over a decade of partnership between Dr. Jolly and the Library,” said Lynn Prime, Head of Special Collections.
This collection got its start in 2007, when Dr. Jolly assigned her students a project to interview women who had been in the forefront of the feminist movements in Sonoma County. This project led to a University Library exhibit, “A Fine and Long Tradition,” which attracted interest and attention.
The collection includes recordings, transcriptions, photos, and feminist newsletters and magazines. Women interviewed include Molly Murphy MacGregor, founder of the National Women’s History Project; J.J. Wilson, former Sonoma State University professor and founder of The Sitting Room, a private community library dedicated to women’s art and literature; and Lynn Woolsey, who represented the North Bay in Congress from 1993-2013.
Researchers have already made good use of the new collection, and we anticipate even more use as we approach the centennial celebrations of women’s suffrage in 2020.
In Brief
New lending laptops and bags
In response to popular demand, we have yet again grown our laptop lending program. This year we increased our fleet to over 100 laptops, featuring a mix of 4-hour and one-week loans. We circulated laptops nearly 10,000 times in 2017-2018. The most popular spot to use those laptops? The Library, of course!
Love Your Library event
New SSU students pose in the
iPad photo booth at Love Your Library event.
Every June, the Library hosts Love Your Library, an event for students participating in Summer Bridge, a Sonoma State University program that onboards first-generation and low-income students. “At Love Your Library, students get a sneak peek of our Library resources in a fun, comfortable setting. This year we kicked it up a notch,” said librarian Marjorie Lear. Students guided themselves through the Library using colorful passports stamped at each station. Activity stations included a photo booth, Special Collections, the Makerspace, the Automated Retrieval System, and the new Learning and Academic Resource Center (LARC).
Library Hosts History Day Teachers
This summer the University Library welcomed the inaugural Camp History Day, a four-day boot camp for middle and high school teachers from across California. Led by regional National History Day Coordinator Whitney Olson, master teachers, and Sonoma State University librarians, camp activities focused on implementing National History Day in the classroom, from choosing a topic to final presentation. University librarians hosted sessions on strategies for research. The “campers” created compelling presentations on this year’s theme of Triumph and Tragedy, with topics ranging from Immigration at Angel Island, the Atomic Bomb, and the Nineteenth Amendment.
Student-Friendly Building Upgrades
In July, the first floor of the Library became home to the LARC (Learning and Academic Resource Center). The existing Writing Center was expanded to incorporate tutoring services in other subjects formerly housed in a building across campus. Loriann Negri, director of the LARC, said, ““We enjoyed collaborating with the Library on designing this invaluable new service!”
In August, the Library completed the first major expansion of Wi-Fi coverage since the building opened in 2000. Jonathan Smith, Director of Library Technology, said, “Students are excited to have Wi-Fi service in former dead zones around the building.”
New Librarian: Catherine Fonseca
Catherine Fonseca joined us in August as our tenure-track Outreach and Inclusion Librarian. Catherine recently graduated from Indiana University with a dual masters degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Library and Information Science. Catherine will work directly with student groups and building relationships with student-centered units and programs across campus, especially those supporting traditionally underserved campus communities. If interested in collaborating, contact Catherine at fonseca@sonoma.edu.
Maker Magic
SSU Makerspace a Hit
visits with participants in Tinker Academy, a two-week maker boot camp
for eighth-grade girls held at the SSU Makerspace this summer.
In its first year, the SSU Makerspace, on the second floor of the Library, has been a huge hit with students and faculty. It was open over 1,000 hours in 2017/2018, and almost always has students or faculty busily “making away” with its 3D printers, presses, drills, embroidery machines, 3D scanner, and even a 3D chocolate printer.
For close to a year, the Library, the School of Science and Technology, and the School of Education partnered in planning the inaugural CSU Maker Convening, which brought 130 educators from across the state for 2 days in late May. Sessions included teacher education, experiential learning, curriculum development across the disciplines, service learning, and the value of Makerspaces in student success initiatives.
The Chevron Foundation funded the Maker Convening, which was so successful that by the end of the event Chevron had committed to funding a second Maker Convening at Sonoma State in 2019.
Dinner and a Good Book
Join us for our annual Dinner Table Talk, this time for dinner and a discussion of Octavia Butler’s groundbreaking novel, Kindred. First published in 1979, Kindred explores a number of questions about the legacy of slavery in the United States, gender, race, and power, historical memory and trauma, and the meaning of freedom through a fascinating combination of time travel story and slave narrative.
Come to Schulz 3001 at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 for (free!) pizza and conversation. This event is open to the public. Please RSVP at sonoma.libcal.com/ event/4427909 or by email at library@sonoma.edu
Around the Stacks
Curl Up with a Good Read
Students, faculty, and community visitors looking for a place to catch up on the news, pick up something fun to read, or explore a new topic can now visit Lobo’s Reading Lounge in the North wing of the second floor of the Library.
Lobo’s Reading Lounge offers cozy seating and our popular reading collection, formerly near the front door. Hilary Smith, our User Experience Librarian, said, “We encourage everyone to browse the collection and hang out in our comfy chairs.”
Small Books, BIG Ideas
An innovation grant from the Provost’s office funded the purchase of all 500 volumes of the Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press. Laura Krier, grant investigator, said, “Eachsmall book provides a brief, accessible introduction to a wide range of topics across disciplines, from Geopolitics to Forensic Science to Heidegger. The books are excellent resources for students who are exploring new ideas, historical events, people, and places.” Find this collection on the second floor of the Library, across from the Info/Checkout Desk.
Foundations and Explorations
This is another new micro-collection, located in the North wing of our second floor. This collection features approximately 2,000 books on introductory topics across the disciplines. Mary Wegmann, Collections Librarian, said, “The goal is to provide an approachable and engaging introduction to the Library’s print book collection. We hope that students will browse this condensed collection and will be inspired to explore topics outside their comfort zones.”
Library Calendar
October 17
Reflections: After the Fire
Reception for Library exhibit featuring 21 artists whose work is a response to the Fall 2017 firestorms.
November 7
Dinner Table Talk: Butler’s Kindred
Our annual pizza and book conversation, this time featuring Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred.
Coming Spring 2019
The Library will host two exhibits in spring 2018. The first will be in collaboration with Alchemia, a Petaluma-based non-profit that leads art and life skills courses for adults with developmental disabilities, led by Artistic Director and SSU alum Liz Jahren.
The second exhibit will be in collaboration with Professor Michael Schwager’s Curatorial Practice course and will feature student artists from across the North Bay and Bay area.
Stay tuned for reception dates for these spring exhibits!
Schulz by the Numbers
Library use in the 2017/2018 academic year
- 21K STUDY ROOM HOURS
- 248 INFO LITERACY SESSIONS
- 1,100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED
- 420K WALK-INS
- THREE ART EXHIBITS
- WOMEN IN POLITICS PANEL
- WIFI ACCESS UP 750%
- 3K PARTICIPANTS IN OUTREACH
- 15 STUDY AND VIEWING ROOMS
- 50 MAKERSPACE LAB SESSIONS
- OPEN 90 HOURS PER WEEK
- 200 COMPUTER STATIONS
- 1,000 STUDY SEATS
- MAKERSPACE OPEN 1,000 HRS
- 10K LAPTOPS CHECKED OUT
- FINALS: ALL SEATS FULL 24/7
- 50K ITEMS CHECKED OUT