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UC Merced Library Assessment

Assessment and planning documentation

Context 2018-2019

This plan and report is based on the four areas outlined in the UC Merced Library Strategic Plan.

Research Excellence and Academic Distinction


Research Excellence & Academic Distinction 

As an essential partner in UC Merced’s pursuit of research excellence and academic distinction, the Library will:

  • Support scholarly communication & open access to information.
  • Enable access to collections of high quality and unique information resources that support the research areas of the UC Merced intellectual community.
  • Serve as a center of expertise for the stewardship of campus intellectual output.

Outcomes:

Library Liaison Outreach to Faculty

  • For complete information see: https://tinyurl.com/yypo4cf8.
  • Highlights: 
    • During 2018-2019, the UC Merced Library liaisons put a combined 192.41 hours of effort into reported liaison activities.
    • Over the same period, liaisons made contact with 359 individuals, mostly faculty/lecturers and graduate students.* 

*Three-hundred-fifty-nine is an undercount, as some liaisons were not able to estimate how many contacts they actually made through certain outreach efforts to groups.

 

Spatial Analysis and Research Center (SpARC) 

  • Provided support for twenty-five faculty, including five new faculty.
  • Provided support for fifteen labs and centers.
  • Supported 300 users of ESRI GIS software.
  • See https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive for detailed information on use of SpARC facilities and services.

Digital Curation & Scholarship

DC&S Goal 1: Conduct outreach and provide support and educational opportunities on open access publishing and the UC Open Access Policies.

AssessmentMeasurable increases in number of open access publications or eScholarship deposits by UCM faculty and researchers; increase in ORCID registrations by UCM faculty and researchers; increase in usage of Publication Management System; monitor use of website resources.

Outcomes:

  • Created a suite of informational pages on Scholarly Publishing and open access for the Library website. Topics are divided between those that would interest faculty and researcher, and those that would interest the general student population. Topics geared toward the first category include: The UC Open Access Policies, The UC Publication Management System, publishing with eScholarship, finding and using affordable course content. Topics geared toward the second category include: understanding copyright and copyright alternatives, understanding open access, managing your academic identity.
     
  • Researched and documented procedures for monitoring faculty publishing habits and outputs in order to better track compliance with the UC Academic Senate Open Access Policy. Also documented procedures for tracking ORCID ID adoption in order to increase use of ORCID IDs on campus, which will facilitate ease of use of the UC Publication Management System.
     
  • Conducted outreach to all ten departments in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. Outreach was to request attendance at department meetings in order to present on open access publishing, Open Access Policy compliance. Presentations were tailored to reflect publishing activities of individual department's faculty. Delivered presentations to three departments within SSHA: History and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies; Global Arts, Media and Writing Studies; Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Two more presentations are scheduled for the Fall semester: Cognitive Science and Philosophy; Psychology.
     
  • Open Access Highlights:
    • As of June 2019, there are 381 ORCID IDs attached to someone affiliated with UC Merced.
    • As of February 2019, there are currently 19,466 pending publications in the Publication management System. 5,469 publications have been claimed, 6,257 have been rejected. Of a cumulative total of 31,192 publications, about 38% have been processed by a faculty member or their delegate. Eleven individuals have claimed about 44% of the articles claimed. 154 faculty have claimed the remaining 56%.
    • For AY 18-19, out of 313 faculty (both current and no longer with the university), 84 have logged into the system, a decrease from the previous year.

 

DC&S Goal 2: Reach out to every department about delivering a short presentation on data management planning.

AssessmentMeasurable number of presentations scheduled and completed by the end of the year (12); compare workshop attendance and # of consultation requests for Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 or for Spring 2019 and Fall 2019, etc. Calculate number of successful presentation requests (# of presentations / # of departments). Number of questions/comments at presentations.

Outcomes:

  • Reached out to eleven department chairs: Marc Beutel, David Noelle, Miriam Barlow, Mark Aldenderfer, Jayson Beaster-Jones, David Torres-Rouff, Katie Brokaw, Steve Nicholson, Linda Cameron, Nancy Burke, & Paul Almeida. Received initial responses from Mark Aldenderfer, Miriam Barlow, Linda Cameron, but not able to confirm. Presented to CogSci, Global Arts faculty. Received request for consultation from Jayson Beaster-Jones as a follow-up to presentation.

 

DC&S Goal 3: Create a program of data management and curation workshops for the year.

AssessmentTally number of workshops held in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019. Record attendance and breakdown by status and school, etc. Record some measure of participant satisfaction. Compare measures of attendance and satisfaction across semesters. Assess consultation requests, Dash deposits, DMPTool logins (etc.) post-workshop.

Outcomes:

In Fall 2018, the workshop “Creating Effective Data Management Plans” was offered twice.

Data Workshops

  • For complete information on data workshops, see 2018-2019 Data Management Seminars Overview.
  • The Library offered three data workshops: 
    • Data Carpentry Workshop, November 1-2, 2018. 
    • Software Carpentry Workshop, March 27-28, 2019. 
    • Data Carpentry: R for Social Scientists, May 23-24, 2019.
  • Highlights
    • Attendees were primarily graduate students, faculty, and staff.
    • All three UC Merced schools were represented among the attendees. 

2018-2019 Data Management Seminars Overview

 

 

Participants at the 10/30 workshop were asked to complete a post-workshop survey, and 7 responded.

 

In Fall 2018, 1 graduate student and 1 faculty member attended the “Sharing Your Data with Dash” workshop.

In addition, the Library hosted a Popper workshop, introducing a tool/methods for conducting reproducible science, which 4 graduate students and 2 postdoctoral researchers attended.

For Spring 2019, an expanded seminar series covering five topics on “Research Data Management: From Plan to Practice” was developed. See Seminar Overview for a summary.

Also, a separate report [UCM_Carpentries_Evaluation_20190603] summarizes the outcomes and evaluation of 2018-2019 Carpentries workshop.

DC&S Goal 4: Develop a DMP review service, including revised web information.

Assessment: Track website traffic for library DMP information. Compare (if possible) to earlier semesters. Track number of downloads of workshop slides. Track usage of DMPTool. Number of consultation requests/involvement with larger proposals.

Outcomes:

  • Expanded web content on Data Management Best Practices, Workshops, and Carpentries. Pages with expanded material on File and Folder Organization, Metadata and documentation require additional editing and formatting.
  • consultation service was set up with the Research Data Management Working Group, in conjunction with OIT Research Computing staff.
  • The team conducted three research data management consultations, and created three plans in the DMPTool as a result. An additional 4 requests were received, but follow-up was conducted over e-mail.

DMPTool Usage (as of 6/25/2019):

 

In addition to the 4 plans created by the RDM Working Group, 6 plans were completed in the DMPTool.
  • Harnessing Hot Carriers from Metallic Nanoparticles for Sustainable Catalysis
  • Impact of Phosphorus from Airborne Deposition on Soil Nutrient Cycling and Watershed Function in Temperate Mountain Ecosystems
  • EDGE TT: Development of viral transduction methods in the freshwater sponge model, Ephydatia muelleri
  • Fish, Forests, Farms and Floodplains: Quantifying Multiple Benefits of Ecosystem Restoration and Enhancement along the Cosumnes-Mokelumne Corridor
  • Exploring mechanosensation of swimming microorganisms via spatially and temporally modulated microfluidic apparatus
  • Clarifying the relationship between socioeconomic status and early psychological reasoning

 

 

D&CS GOAL 5: Develop a protocol for applying Natural Language Processing to OCR’d documents to generate controlled vocabulary.

AssessmentEvaluate quality of entities generated by NLP tools.

Outcomes:

  • The desired outcome is to enhance metadata records, including finding aids, with NLP-generated terms. One barrier to the use of NLP tools is the quality of the OCR text. We are still refining our methods and processes in order to generate a clean list of entities.

DC&S GOAL 5: Archive and make accessible the records of the UC Cooperative Extension that are of significant research value.

AssessmentMetrics of total linear feet appraised and processed, number of items scanned, and at what rates of work. Once available, collect measures of use of collections in Calisphere and guides in OAC. Track inquiries and requests; track citations, if possible.

Outcomes: 

  • Appraised approximately 200 LF of materials and are planning to accession 80 LF from Butte County
  • Appraised approximately 150 LF of material and accessioned 100 LF from Sutter and Yuba counties

Files processed

  • Merced: additional 5 linear feet processed, 2000 files had flagging paper removed and files from 32 boxes were returned from their overflow boxes to their original containers.
  • Ventura: 35 boxes had flagging paper removed and were re-housed in archival cartons. Humboldt: 1 additional linear foot processed.
  • Santa Barbara: 15 linear feet of materials processed.
  • San Joaquin was arranged and described by the museum; however, student workers removed metal fasteners for digitization and preservation for approximately 7 linear feet of papers.
  • 65 linear feet of Madera and 27 feet of Tulare have been processed, but not yet digitized.
  • Average 5hr/1 linear foot processing time

Files digitized

  • Merced 15719
  • Ventura 9934
  • Humboldt 7601
  • Santa Barbara 10710
  • San Joaquin 19029
  • Fresno 4671
  • 104393 pages were digitized and 74428 OCR’d in 2455 hours of student work or approximately 73 pages/hour.
  • Uploaded 1,573 items from Merced UCCE and 1100 items from Ventura UCCE to Calisphere

 

 

Faculty Engagement with the UC Libraries-Elsevier Negotiations

In August 2018 the UC Systemwide Libraries put out bids for an outside consultant to manage communications relating to the Elsevier Negotiations. 

In October 2018 the UC Systemwide Libraries created a communication team entirely devoted to keeping faculty informed about the Elsevier negotiations. 

On November 14, 2018, UC Merced Library hosted the "Faculty Open Forum on Elsevier Negotiations." The forum was offered as both an in-person session and via Zoom. 

In Spring 2019 the UC Systemwide Libraries Office of Scholarly Communication created and continues to maintain UC and Elsevier: Overview, a webpage devoted to informing faculty and the rest of the UC Community on the Elsevier negotiations. 

In Spring 2019, the UC Merced Library created and continues to maintain its UC-Elsevier Negotiations, a webpage is devoted to providing information about the Elsevier negotiations as well as information on alternative means for accessing articles published in Elsevier journals. 

February 28, 2019 a letter was transmitted to UC Merced faculty on behalf of Kurt Schnier, Chair, UCM Academic Senate; Teenie Matlock, Interim Vice Provost for the Faculty; Maria DePrano, Chair, LASC, and Haipeng Li, University Librarian regarding the outcome of UC Negotiations with Elsevier.   

On March 1, 2019, The Chronicle of Higher Education published the article “A Lesson From UC’s Split With Elsevier: Keep the Faculty in the Loop,” which praises the efforts of the UC Systemwide Libraries to involve faculty in the decision making surrounding the negotiations with Elsevier as well as keeping faculty informed during and after the negotiations.

In March 2019 the UC Office of Scholarly Communications launched the webpage Access to Elsevier Articles to inform faculty and other members of the UC Community about their options for obtaining articles published in Elsevier journals. 

On June 25, 2019, the UC Systemwide Libraries launched a coordinated communication plan to inform faculty and other members of the UC Community of the shutting off of access to 2019 Elsevier journal articles and to share information on alternatives for accessing articles made unavailable due to this shutoff. 

 

Collections Statistics

Holdings
At the end of 2018-2019, the total holdings of the UC Merced Library numbered as follows: 

  • Electronic Books:  1,957,441
  • Print Books:  142,067
  • Electronic Journals: 155,150
  • Print Journals:  20
  • Databases: 738
  • Digitized Collections: 18 collections--309,582 items--244,581 views

 

Total Volumes Held by UC Merced Library

Total volumes (print and electronic) held by UC Merced Library from 2003-2019.

 

Total Serials Held by UC Merced Library

Total number of serials (journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.) subscribed to by UC Merced Library from 2007 through 2019. 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

UC Merced Interlibrary Loan Statistics 2004-2019

N.b.: The Interlibrary loan statistics for 2018-2019 are incomplete due to a three-week gap caused by a failure of the ILL software.  The above numbers show all items loaned and borrowed, including returnables (books, etc.) and non-returnables (copies). 

Second Annual Carter Joseph Abrescy and Larry Kranich Library Award for Student Research Excellence, April 5, 2019.

Now in its second year, the Abrescy-Kranich Library Award, funded by a generous endowment, continues to celebrate outstanding undergraduate student research. Sarah Lee, a third-year history major, and Marisela Padilla Alcala, a fourth year student studying biological sciences with a human emphasis, each received $500 for demonstrating the effective use of library resources and critically reflecting on their research processes. Their winning course papers can be found in eScholarship

 

  • Sarah Lee: History major. Submission: “They Called it a Boom: National Building in Coronado, California in 1888.”
  • Marisela Padilla Alcala: Bioscience major. Submission: “Access to Healthcare within the Prison System.”

 

Student Success


Student Success

UC Merced Library Research and Learning Services

As an active, engaged partner in student success, the Library will:

  • Create user experiences that promote and encourage collaboration, exploration, and intellectual curiosity through direct user engagement, exemplary service and support, and welcoming learning spaces.
  • Invest in scalable and innovative teaching and learning projects and services that align with and advance the University’s core educational missions while encouraging the active and inquisitive discovery and production of knowledge.

Outcomes:

1. Launch and formally assess Zero Cost Course Materials program to support student learning.​​ ​

  • Conduct a formal assessment. 

After developing the Zero-Cost Course Materials (ZCCM) initiative with partners from the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) during the spring of 2018, the first RFP cycle opened in August 2018 to support the adoption of open educational resources and library electronic resources for courses scheduled in the spring 2019 semester. In response to the call, we received six applications, five of which were awarded funding. However due to a course reassignment and deferment of two awards, two courses were supported by the ZCCM grant in spring 2019, Statistical Inference (Econ 10) taught by Jason Lee, and GIS for Spatial History (IH 2016) taught by Karl Ryavec. Early in spring 2019, IRB approval was granted to assess the ZCCM initiative through student and faculty survey data along with other data points obtained from IRDS and the Registrar’s Office. In April 2019, students in Econ 10 were surveyed; survey data and associated student data has not yet been analyzed. With 90 students enrolled in Econ 10, approximate student cost savings is between $15,840- $21,150.

 

The 2nd RFP opened this past spring. Of the four applications received, funding has been awarded to support the use of zero-cost materials in 3 courses in fall 2019, GIS for World Economic History (Econ 112) taught by Rowena Gray and Karl Ryavec, and Introductory to Physics Lab I and II (PHYS 8L and 9L), led by Carrie Menke. The two deferred awards, for Academic Writing and College Reading & Composition (Wri 1 and 10) led by Catherine Koehler and Amy Fenstermaker have also been distributed and will support the use of zero-cost materials during this academic year. 

 

2. Create and assess online learning activities integrated into the Canvas Commons for use curriculum.

  • Determine downloads (OIT)
  • Gather faculty members who used the modules.
  • Ask faculty to obtain feedback from students?

In summer 2018, the Research & Learning Services group created eight online learning modules with quizzes in Canvas to support new Spark courses. The modules were advertised to individual Spark faculty members via email, three faculty orientations (one in August 2018 and two in January 2019), and during instruction planning meetings between librarians and faculty members. 

After the fall 2018 semester, the General Education committee conducted a faculty needs assessment, which included one question about library services: “What information about library services would have been useful as you designed and delivered your Spark Seminar?” A few instructors specifically called out the usefulness of the library’s modules:

“I am glad that I checked my  email over the summer and knew about the library resources for Sparks--they are awesome, and I hope other Spark teachers use the library-made quizzes (which can be imported into CatCourses), the library's webpages gathering together useful Spark resources and handouts, and instruction days.”

“I uploaded the library tutorials for the students, which are very helpful. But I need to spend more time on them to make sure the students understand all that is offered.” 

While the R&LS librarians are not able to retrieve module quiz scores or more detailed information about which specific courses used the modules through Canvas Commons, as of May 2019, individual modules were downloaded between 5 and 39 times:  

  • Finding & Selecting Databases: 39
  • Working with Information – Working with Scholarly Articles: 31
  • Searching for Information – Searching in Google: 27
  • Accessing Information – VPN & UCeLinks: 13
  • Understanding Databases: 8
  • Evaluating Information: 5
  • Finding Statistics and Data: 5

As the data regarding module usage and their effectiveness is limited, the R&LS librarians will need to identify instructors who are using the modules in future semesters in order to assess their impact on student learning. Gaining both instructor and student feedback, including student quiz scores, would be helpful to determine the usefulness of these modules in particular. 

During summer 2019, the R&LS group revised a few modules based on low usage numbers. For example, while Finding & Selecting Databases was the module that was most downloaded, it was revised to include the content from the less popular Understanding Databases module. Finding Statistics & Data was also updated and includes a new quiz. 

 

3. Identify and collaborate with faculty/departments to 1) map information literacy into curriculum and/or 2) integrate online learning activities. 

  • Track collaborations

In summer 2018, the Research & Learning Services group created eight online learning modules in Canvas in support of Spark courses.  Spark courses were launched in fall 2019 as part of the campus’ new General Education (GE) program. To increase awareness and encourage adoption of the online learning activities, librarians prepared and offered a workshop “Library Support for Spark Seminars” to those teaching Spark courses in fall 2019.  We had six instructors RSVP and four attend. Librarians introduced a guide “Research as Inquiry” focused on providing resources in support of Spark course outcomes.  Part of this session involved highlighting the online learning activities available in the Canvas Commons for use in Spark classes.  Information about the modules, in light of all the content we prepared, seemed to be of most interest to those who attended.  Details about each of the eight modules is available here

In anticipation of spring 2019 semester, GE Executive Committee Chair Valerie Leppert invited librarians to share the online learning modules at two workshops (2 hours in length) that GE organized for Spark instructors.  Prior to the workshops, librarians updated the module information on the “Research as Inquiry” guide to provide more details about suggested use.  In addition, librarians recorded a video showing how to download modules from the Canvas Commons into a specific Canvas course.  In a 10-minute segment, librarians presented the modules to workshop participants.  Both GE-sponsored sessions which were well attended.  

During the 2018-2019 academic year, librarians often encouraged and/or pointed instructors toward the module content for potential use prior to in-person library instruction session.  See the Student Success section above for more details about the use of the modules in 2018-2019.

4. Access Services Statistics 2018-2019

Average Evening Headcounts

FY18-19

5:00 PM

275

6:00 PM

285

7:00 PM

247

8:00 PM

201

9:00 PM

152

10:00 PM

125

11:00 PM

  81

Average Evening Headcounts FY18-29

Over the course of FY2018-2019: 

  • The highest recorded headcount during the collection period was 733 at 11:00AM on Wednesday, March 16, 2019.
  • At least 750,000 visitors passed through the Library gates. This is not a complete count because the gates went down occasionally.
  • Library Services Desk staff and student employees answered approximately 2,080 reference questions.
  • Library users checked out 18,330 items. 

5. Digital Curation & Scholarship: See DC&S Goal 3: Create a program of data management and curation workshops for the year.

  • Provided instruction and project support for Luce Grant: Building Research Partnerships in the San Joaquin Valley: Community-Engaged Research and Graduate Mentorship in the Interdisciplinary Humanities. Provided readings, syllabus input, and workshops for Fall IH 206 graduate seminar on research design and methodology; provided mentorship, access to collections, and space for student collaborative project.
  • Organized research trip for graduate students to Yosemite National Park archives.

Spatial Analysis and Research Center (SpARC)

  • SpARC offered 13 workshops during 2018-2019, up 1 from the previous year. 
  • A total of 114 students attended a SpARC workshop. 
  • Provide direct support for 8 for-credit courses. 
  • See https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive for detailed information on use of SpARC facilities and services.

Organizational Sustainability


Organizational Sustainability

As a learning organization committed to ongoing quality improvement, the Library will:

  • Provide its employees with ample opportunities for professional development.
  • Foster a culture of assessment which values data-driven decision making.
  • Support a diverse workforce and embrace fair and open processes for hiring and advancement.

Outcomes: 

1. Collate current and historical reference and instructions statistics, making stats more easily accessible for planning, reporting, and analysis. 

  • Determine if project is completed and accessible.

The Learning Services Specialist curated and collated current and historical library instruction statistics from FY 2015-2016 through FY 2018-2019.  LibInsight acts as a repository for stats and allows end-users to easily generate reports and visualize data based on specific time frames.  Some reference statistics are also located in LibInsight; however, these need to be reviewed and the most recent year of statistics will be added. A goal of the upcoming year will be to identify the most useful reports saving these as report filters.  This will allow library staff to more easily obtain and share data when making program decisions, communicating library value, and referring to their own contributions.

 

2. Recruit and onboard an individual (Research and Learning Services Specialist) to support the Research & Learning Services team’s goals.

  • Individual is recruited, gaining expertise, and contributing to the organization.

The library hired a candidate in June 2019 to fill the new Learning Services Specialist position.  Due to an initial failed search, this position was filled much later in the academic year than anticipated.  The UC Merced Library’s new staff member is becoming familiar with the library and beginning to take on responsibilities and projects. 

 

3. Digital Curation & Scholarship: Document, improve, and operationalize procedures for digitization.

AssessmentDetermine page/hour digitization benchmarks. Determine storage needs and upload rates for digital collections.
Outcomes: 
  • Created a purge schedule for working and master image files.
  • Created and continually updated training documents for student employees.
  • Updated digitization workflow diagrams.
  • Evaluated and recommended hardware and software to improve digitization throughput.
4. Digital Curation & Scholarship:Define budget for DSC Operations
AssessmentDetermine baseline costs.
Outcomes: Emily
 

Spatial Analysis and Research Center (SpARC) 

  • SpARC generated approximately $21,000 in recharge fees. 

Community Engagement


Community Engagement

As a research organization committed to building strategic collaborations, the Library will:

  • Build partnerships with faculty, campus stakeholders, and other community members to pursue mutually beneficial projects, programs, and collaborations.
  • Create an outreach program to identify potential community partnerships and gift opportunities.

Outcomes

Exhibits:  

Singing California, an exhibit of fifty-five framed examples of vintage sheet music covering more than a century of music history in California mounted in collaboration with the Merced County Courthouse Historical Museum, October 2018-January 2019.

Black Migrants to the Central Valley, 1960-1964: Exhibit of Photography by Ernest Lowe, January-April 2019.

Talks: 

  • UC Merced Faculty Authors Series: Donald Barclay. Talk on his book Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age, September 11, 2018. 
  • UC Merced Faculty Authors Series: Catherine Keske. Talk on her book Food Futures, October 16, 2018.
  • UC Merced Faculty Authors Series: Maria DePrano. Talk on her book Art Patronage, Family, and Gender in Renaissance Florence: The Tornabuoni, February 6, 2019.
  • UC Merced Faculty Authors Series: Jessica Trounstine. Talk on her book Segregation by Design, March 21, 2019.  

Events: 

1. Faculty Networking Hour in Celebration of Open Access Week, October 24, 2018.

  • Approximately thirty faculty members attended the networking hour, many of whom engaged in conversations about open access and scholarly publishing. 

2. Contribute Living Learning Communities’ programming goals through identifying and planning workshops or events. 

  • Exit Slips Fiat Lux
  • Confer with NS Living Learning Communities for their assessment plans.
  • AIDS Archive Walk: AIDS History. A UC Merced Library & School of Natural Sciences Living-Learning Communities Collaboration.

In fall 2018, the School of Natural Sciences launched four living-learning communities, each headed by a House Fellow, a graduate student who, in addition to teaching USTU 10 (fall) and USTU 11 (spring), is required to hold at least five events for their learning community during the academic year. The Research & Learning Services group worked with the graduate students to determine how to best connect with students outside of formal instruction. Using the communities’ foci as inspiration--technology, health careers, education and service, and sustainability--the R&LS librarians and Joe Ameen, Head of Access Services, developed a gallery walk utilizing recently digitized historical AIDS materials. After gaining some context about San Francisco’s AIDS crisis, participants, through writing, reflected on what the items tell about the epidemic and engaged in a rich, small group discussion facilitated by the librarians. Though only several students and the House Fellow from Aristotle House: Leadership, Education, Service attended the event, R&LS plans to host the event again and share the gallery with other campus partners and the wider academic library community. 

In addition, librarians from the Research & Learning Services group worked with students in Carson House, providing a workshop about evaluating news resources during one class period of Carson House’s USTU.

3. Ninth Annual Central Valley Geosummit, March 15, 2019.

  • Ninety-Five registered attendees. 
  • Presentations: 
    • Innovating Observations for Aquatic Ecosystems: Next Generation Remote Sensing for Biodiversity and Water Equality
      --Erin Hestir, PhD, Associate Professor, UC Merced
    • California Stewardship of the National Hydrography Dataset
      --Jane Schafer-Kramer Geographic Data Specialist, Dept. of Water Resources
    • Shaping the Future of GIS at Yosemite National Park
      --Garrett Fuelling, Kristen Jurica, & Jillian McKenna, Geoscientists-in-Parks, YNP
    • Building a Connected City
      --Michael Machado, GIS Coordinator, City of Merced
    • ESRI Story Map Demonstration
      --Joshua Flickinger
    • ESRI, The Science of Where: What's Next?
      --Matthew Twietmeyer, Solution Engineer, Local Government: ESRI
    • Solar Energy Development & Endangered Species in the San Joaquin Valley, CA
      --Scott Phillips, Endangered Species Recovery Program, CSU Stanislaus
    • Does Agriculture Need a Resolution Revolution? 
      --Anna Rallings & Michael Kalua, VICE Lab, UC Merced
    • GIS Workflows to Save Lives
      --Rocco Bowman,  Graduate Student, UC Merced
    • Yosemite Leadership Program Capstone Project

4. Living Library, April 9, 2019.

  • Sixty-three participants checked out a volunteer and heard their story. 

Development Activities:

Presentation on the UC Cooperative Extension Archive project to the UC President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources, December 18, 2018, Oakland, California. 

Digital Curation & Scholarship:

  • Met targets for UCSF/SFPL/GLBTHS AIDS collections digitization project funded by NEH.
  • Created interactive exhibit highlighting CARA project and the UC Cooperative Extension Archive at 2019 World Ag Expo, Tulare, CA.
  • Delivered keynote on the Golden State Digital Network at Merced County Historical Society annual membership meeting.
  • Continuing conversations about partnerships with curators of Yosemite National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon (SEKI) National Parks archives. Established loan and digitization agreement with SEKI for two collections.