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  • California Library Association Conference: Report from the Field by Benjamin MaggioNovember 14, 2024

    Photo Credit: Rob Quigley

    The 2024 California Library Association Conference took place at the Pasadena Convention Center on October 17-19, and several Caltech Library staff members attended. Benjamin Maggio, who supports Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan requests in the department of Access & Collection Services, reports from the field.

    The California Library Association tackled the theme of mental health in the workplace at the annual conference in October. Titled “Balancing Act: Shelf Care & Self Care,” the three-day conference offered numerous lectures under a united theme of libraries as a safe environment for patrons and staff with mental health concerns.

    Some librarians gave presentations on activities they had organized for their communities. During “Self Care is Fresh Air,” staff from San Mateo County Libraries described organizing outdoor summer activities for both kids and adults. This included nature walks in city and state parks, and watercolors in the library garden. In another talk, Camille Hyatt shared photos and videos from animal encounters and pet adoption events for kids at the San Diego Public Library.

    Other lectures were for the direct benefit of the attendees. Some were geared toward offering career advice to librarians, including presenting at conferences or applying to jobs after finishing school. Still others, many themed around mindfulness, sought to help librarians by instructing them in practices for creating a psychologically safe workplace. Among these was a talk that acknowledged the inherent stress of working in library advocacy, and that included advice about mindfulness meant specifically for advocates. “Music, Intentionality, and Mental Health” concluded with presenter Scott Farthing asking the listeners to compile an individual “arsenal of songs” that makes each of them feel positive emotions. He recommended that listeners who live with anxiety use their personal playlist to counteract triggering situations.

    During the Saturday talk “Mindset Matters,” Kathleen Farris encouraged librarians to utilize kindness and self-reflection in the workplace. Particularly effective in her presentation was a slide titled “Changing Mindsets,” which encouraged workers to replace self-defeating thoughts (“I will never find a path”) with more positive, reinforcing language (“What are my options?”). Some of these presentations did not necessarily use the word “mindfulness.” However, the conference overall repeatedly demonstrated that that theme was always on the periphery of what was being discussed.

    By highlighting activities like music and being immersed in nature, and emphasizing themes like self-compassion, kindness, intentionality, and community, the presenters demonstrated the rewards that mindfulness can offer to library staff, students, and the public. For that reason alone, the conference was a very rewarding experience.

  • Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020September 19, 2024

    In fall 2024, Caltech Library is hosting Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020, an expansive public exhibition that weaves together the history of science with historical and contemporary art. How, it asks, have scientists and engineers used images and collaborated with artists to discover, invent, and communicate? The exhibition features displays of about 250 objects, most drawn from the Caltech Archives and Special Collections, including rare books, paintings, drawings, photographs, scientific instruments, molecular models, and video. It will be open September 27 – December 15, 11–4 Wednesday – Sunday.

  • Progress and Insights from the GALCIT Archival ProjectSeptember 18, 2024

    Photos found in the GALCIT collection of the JPL Arroyo Seco rocket experiments, c. 1936

     

    A GALCIT Update by DiAndra Reyes

    The GALCIT archival project has made tremendous progress in its first year, making headway to ensure that the rich history of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories, California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) is properly preserved and accessible for future generations. 

    Over the past year, Mariella Soprano, Senior Collections and Special Projects archivist, has collaborated with Jamie Meighen-Sei, Department Administrator, Aerospace (GALCIT), and the GALCIT Department (Division of Engineering and Applied Science) to develop a robust collection plan, implement access policies, select materials, and organize the refurbishment of archival storage in the GALCIT Firestone basement. GALCIT Archival Processing intern DiAndra Reyes has been instrumental in this effort, describing materials, creating a comprehensive inventory, and rehousing them in acid-free folders and archival boxes. DiAndra has processed over 80 bankers’ boxes, resulting in 121 archival boxes of processed materials. She also published the Ten Foot Wind Tunnel Series finding aid, offering a sneak peek into the collection. As DiAndra’s internship concludes, a new intern will continue processing papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

     

    Key Findings and Insights So Far

    So far the processed GALCIT Collection spans from 1918 to 2005 and documents the extensive history of aeronautical engineering, fluid mechanics, and aerospace research at the GALCIT. It includes materials from significant research projects, wind tunnel developments, collaborations with military and government agencies, and the foundational work of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Some highlights include the Research Projects Series, JPL Series, and Department Series. 

    The Research Projects Series (1935-1985) documents GALCIT's collaborative research in aerodynamics, materials science, and structural mechanics, including significant projects like ramjet propulsion and the analysis of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse. The series contains technical papers, classified reports, and correspondence with prominent scientists such as Theodore von Kármán and Frank Malina.

    The JPL Series (1939-1986) highlights GALCIT’s early activities with JPL and includes instructional materials for military personnel by GALCIT faculty, early rocket research, and the development and usage of JPL’s supersonic wind tunnel. These materials are invaluable for understanding the collaboration between academic and military-industrial development during World War II. 

    The Department Series (1929-2005) gives insight into faculty, student, and administrative activities throughout GALCIT’s eighty-year history. Correspondence from prominent faculty like Hans W. Liepmann provides insight into their academic contributions, while classified materials and selective service documents offer a look at how GALCIT navigated national security during periods of sensitive research. 

  • An Interview with Archival Processing Interns Jo Krajeski and Benjamin Mendez Jr.September 17, 2024

    L to R: Benjamin and Jo physically arranging the collection boxes. Jo and Benjamin organizing D. Goodstein’s correspondence. Penny, Benjamin, and Jo stopping to smile after the hard work they completed.

    Jo Krajeski and Benjamin Mendez Jr. worked as Archival Processing Interns this past spring and summer in the Caltech Archives and Special Collections processing the David L. Goodstein and the Judith R. Goodstein papers. This is the first time the Archives brought in two interns to collaboratively work in the archives. The Goodsteins both spent many hours in the Archives working and researching Caltech’s history, so it was fitting to have both collections successively processed. Both David’s and Judith’s collections are now both fully organized and accessible in the reading room.

    Collections and Metadata Archivist Penny Neder-Muro asked Jo and Benjamin some questions about their experiences as MLIS students and their time working as interns in the Caltech Archives. We want to thank Jo and Benjamin for helping the Archives preserve and make accessible the collections of two significant figures in Caltech’s history.

    Thank you, Jo and Benjamin, for speaking with us today. You are both enrolled in San Jose State University’s Master of Library and Information Science fully online program. What drew you to pursue the MLIS degree?  And how has that program prepared you for this internship?

    BM: My experience as an intern for the CSULB Center for the History of Video Games, Technology, and Critical Play drew me to enroll in the SJSU MLIS program. I enjoy information in general and its importance to people. During my time in SJSU’s program, I have learned tons about the LIS field, including archives. One course that helped a lot was a course called Archives and Manuscripts. This course reviewed the importance of archives as information spaces and how to be a successful archivist.

    JK: Genealogy and a growing love for researching historical events inspired me to pursue an MLIS at SJSU. I have been studying archival and library science for a while now (my bachelor’s degree is also LIS focused), so I am well-educated but had little practical experience. I jumped at the chance to work in the Caltech Archives. I also hoped to gain smarts through osmosis.

    Can you please briefly describe your work as a Caltech Archives Processing Intern?

    JK: I had the privilege of appraising and organizing the collections of both David and Judith R Goodstein. Depending on the day my tasks included: applying basic preservation measures to rehouse the paper materials, moving them to acid-free folders/boxes, and organizing items alphabetically, chronologically or by subject. Once the collection order was determined, we created collection guides for researchers to quickly and easily locate the information sought within their collections. It was interesting to learn what was in a collection, which determined the best way to organize it and make it accessible to archives researchers.

    BM: As an archives intern, I worked alongside you (Penny) and Jo on processing, which Jo mentioned. We rehoused David Goodstein’s papers into clean archival folders and boxes, organizing, then created Goodstein’s online finding aid for his entire collection. My day-to-day included arriving at the archive around 7:30 am till 12:30 pm, Monday only for the beginning of my internship, then after that; it sped up once summer began. Jo and I used a shared spreadsheet, and we communicated a lot about which organization made the most sense.

    David Goodstein was a member of the Caltech Faculty from 1968 through 2007, as Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished Teaching and Service Professor, who taught physics and served as Vice-Provost for almost twenty years. What is the one thing you learned while processing his collection that you would like the Caltech community and beyond to know about David Goodstein?

    BM: One interesting fact I discovered when processing his collection was his love for his students and his upbeat, funny demeanor. From responding to fan letters for those who know him from the Mechanical Universe, to students' evaluation notes– It was amazing to see what a great teacher he was.

    JK: He had a great sense of humor, which is strange to say about someone you have never met except on paper. He was also a very curious person, a great admirer (and friend) of Richard Feynman, and he formed strong lasting friendships with colleagues and others within his profession. I was very impressed by his ability and determination to learn Italian after he accepted an NSF fellowship in Rome. He would not only learn to communicate with his fellow lab team, but he would give seminars solely in Italian. I have great respect for David Goodstein.

    Jo, you also had the opportunity to process Judith Goodstein’s Papers. Judith is University Archivist emeritus and founded the Caltech Archives in 1968. What do you want to share about Judy?

    JK: Judy, Judy, Judy. As a history buff, I enjoyed going through her collection, seeing her research process and eventual culmination of the research. She, like David, had a knack for forming lifelong relationships with colleagues and those she met through her research. I enjoyed creating her collection’s finding aid too. I look forward to reading her books in the near future.

    What is one surprising thing you learned while working in the Archives?

    JK: I guess what surprises me the most about working in archives in general is the number of ways actions can be performed; there is no one way to do any task, but the outcome is the same: to provide access to the collections. I didn’t quite know what to expect from the Caltech Archives and Special collections, but I learned there is more interesting history to be found within their stacks than I ever realized.

    BM: Of the many important things I learned this summer, one that will stick with me is that every collection is different, and depending on the circumstances, decisions can change; as Penny would say, “It depends.” While archives have standards set in place, every day could be different, and sometimes exceptions are made. A lot depends on donor agreements and the information being processed, such as medical records or classified materials.

    What do you hope to do when you complete your MLIS degree?

    JK: Ultimately, my goal is to remain in the archival field, but I am open to anywhere in the LIS field. I have really enjoyed my time working in an academic environment, but my passion lies with genealogy so maybe a state or local archive, or something along those lines. Working with NARA would be an accomplishment.

    BM: After graduation, I plan to work in an academic library or in an archives. If I take the librarian route, I would love to work at a community college or CSU in either an education or systems librarian role. If I go with the archivist route, I would love to work in an archive revolving around technology and video games. With only a year left in my MLIS, I am anxious but excited for what will come. The road will be tough, but I am ready for the challenge!

    Any final thoughts?

    JK: This experience has been amazing. I have learned so much and felt so welcomed by the archives staff (and by extension the library crew) from my arrival to departure. I was given several learning opportunities, such as helping with reference, that helped with my coursework and gave me the hands-on experience I desired. I feel prepared to embark on other adventures and hope the archives’ staff continue to share their wisdom with future interns and students.

    BM: I would like to thank all the archives and library staff who have assisted me through my internship at Caltech, especially Penny, Richard, Mariella, Elisa, and Peter. You have all been great to work with, and I hope our paths cross again someday.

  • A Farewell from University Librarian Kara WhatleyAugust 23, 2024

    This message will be my final greeting as Caltech’s university librarian, and I would like to take a moment to reflect on what the Library has accomplished in the last five years. The Caltech Library staff, including the Caltech Archives & Special Collections, are an amazing team dedicated to supporting the mission of the Institute, and I have been privileged to work with all of them. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I know they are, too.

     



    EVENTS

    One of the greatest areas of growth since 2019 is in our programming and outreach efforts, especially in our student focused events. In collaboration with the Graduate Studies Office, we’ve produced 3MT and Dissertation Writer’s Bootcamp events for our graduate students each of the past three years.

    • 3MT: From 2021 to 2024, Caltech Library's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) event—an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland in Australia—awarded over $25,000 in prizes with support from the American Physical Society, EBSCO, Elsevier, IOP Publishing, Science of Synthesis/Thieme Chemistry, Springer/Nature, Wiley, and more. The Three Minute Thesis competition challenges Caltech graduate students to explain their research in an engaging and clear three-minute talk intended for a non-specialist audience. 

    • Dissertation Writers Bootcamp: The Caltech Library and the Graduate Studies Office Dissertation Writers Bootcamp provides a calm, distraction-free environment for writing, along with refreshments and writing and formatting support. Over the two days, optional consultations with the Hixon Writing Center and Caltech librarians will help students address formatting, copyright, data, and writing questions.  We hold two bootcamps per academic year, and each one hosts 12-18 dissertation writers.

    • S.F.L. = Stress Free Library: Each term we turn Sherman Fairchild Library, aka SFL, into the Stress Free Library during midterms and finals. SFL provides twenty-four hour study space and services to all Caltech students along with evening snacks and hot water, puzzle breaks, visits from the Huntington Hospital Pet Assisted Therapy volunteers (“the puppies”), our soundscape study and retreat room, and much more. We also sneak a little stress reduction in over the late spring, all summer, and early fall with our SFL Amphitheater outdoor movie nights.

    • PST ART: The Caltech Archives was awarded a grant to prepare for the next edition of the region-wide arts initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art x Science x L.A., scheduled to open in 2024. Caltech is one of 45 cultural, educational, and scientific institutions throughout Southern California to receive support from the Getty Foundation for their projects, all of which will explore the intersection of art and science.

      The Caltech Archives’ project, “Crossing Over: Art & Science at Caltech, 1920-2020,” will tell stories from Caltech’s 133 years of using art and images in science and engineering research, science communication, and building campus community.

      Pacific Standard Time: Art x Science x L.A. will include dozens of simultaneous exhibitions and programs focused on the intertwined histories of art and science, past and present, that together address some of the most complex challenges of the 21st century—from climate change and environmental racism to the current pandemic and artificial intelligence—and the creative solutions these problems demand. Read more >

     

    PROJECTS

    The running joke around the Caltech Library is that I’ve never met a project I didn’t like, and there is some truth to that. Over the past five years, we’ve migrated all of our back-end library systems and implemented a few new systems solutions, such as ARES, our online course reserves tool that is linked to Caltech’s Canvas courses. Below are a few of the behind-the-scenes projects we’ve done to help bring a better library experience to the Caltech community.

    • EZ Proxy > Open Athens: After upgrading our proxy server, which allowed off-campus access to Library materials without using the VPN for improved security and performance for users, we switched off-campus authentication methods from EZproxy to OpenAthens. Read more about Caltech's VPN.

    • EBSCO/FOLIO/LibSearch: After much research and deliberation, the Caltech Library adopted the FOLIO Library Services Platform (LSP) for use starting in the fall 2021 term. FOLIO, which stands for the Future of Libraries Is Open, is “an open-source project supported by many academic libraries worldwide, and a number of commercial vendors, including EBSCO. EBSCO contributes substantially to the technical development of FOLIO software and offers FOLIO hosting and data management services.” FOLIO offers our patrons a more integrated library search experience.

    • RFID Inventory: As part of our new system of RFID (radio frequency identification) tagging, we conducted a collection inventory. In addition to confirming what’s on our shelves, the completion of this project means that we can reconcile our holdings with OCLC, helping DocuServe be a better interlibrary loan lending partner and allowing us to update our SCELC Shared Print commitments. Correct SCELC Shared Print commitments will allow other SCELC libraries to weed their collections with confidence in knowing we are retaining copies of these items.

    • Invenio RDM: CaltechDATA, our institutional data and software repository, launched a major upgrade on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. InvenioRDM enables Caltech Library to more rapidly roll out new features and collaborate with other institutions to establish repository best practices. Our CaltechAUTHORS repository—home to over 100,000 publications written by Caltech researchers—also migrated to InvenioRDM. Most items in CaltechAUTHORS are articles, but there are also books, book chapters, conference papers, and more. The repository is updated continuously as departments and library staff add available and recently published documents.

    • Website Redesign: The Caltech Library website now offers improved navigation, enhanced accessibility, integration with Caltech Archives & Special Collections, streamlined content, and a vibrant visual interface. Read more about the new website >

    • NSF Grant: Research Data Specialist Tom Morrell and the CaltechDATA team were awarded a generous grant as part of the National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure program. (The Caltech Library’s very first NSF grant!)  Through a collaboration between the Library and Caltech’s Information Management Systems and Services (IMSS), the award will allow the standard free storage allocation in CaltechDATA to be expanded from 500 GB per research group to 1 TB per researcher. Learn more >

     

    COLLECTIONS

    Collections have been a major focus of the Library’s work in the past five years, and we hope you’ve noticed! We’ve negotiated with our publisher/vendor partners to bring our campus the research resources you all need, making access more seamless and putting up fewer barriers to research. Here are a few of our collection highlights: 

    • AIAA: Beginning in 2024, we're subscribing to all​ AIAA journals as well as their meeting papers. 

    • ASME Read & Publish: Beginning in 2024 if you have an accepted manuscript with ASME and are the corresponding author, you do not pay an article processing charge (APC) - it is free to publish Open Access in their titles. 

    • JSTOR Collection Expansion: Our Library recently subscribed to 27 JSTOR Archive Journal Collections. Our new entitlements give us access to almost 3000 journals across every area of research on our campus. 

    • IOP Read & Publish: The Library has subscribed to the Institute of Physics comprehensive journal package, IOPscience Extra, and more than 85 journals are included in this new subscription. We have also added read-and-publish to our subscription, meaning that our Library’s IOP subscription covers *both* reading and publishing in their journal titles.

     

    STAFF DEVELOPMENT & GROWTH

    As I said at the beginning, we have an amazing staff in the Caltech Library, and they have done a lot of work to grow as a team these past few years. They have leaned into learning new skills, humoring me (at least at first) in team-building activities, and continue to expand the level of service they provide to our community.  

    • Staff Development: We’ve done quite a bit of hiring in the last five years! Many of the positions are reconfigurations of existing staff lines but to serve new purposes as the Library evolves, and, even more significantly, many of these positions were filled with internal hires who grew into their new positions by working at Caltech.

      • Head of Business & Operations, Head of Access & Collection Services (2), and Head of Research Services

      • Reference & Instruction Librarian, Access and E-Resource Services Librarian, Systems & Discovery Librarian, Programming and Student Engagement Librarian, Geology & Planetary Sciences Librarian, Humanities & Social Sciences Librarian, Engineering & Applied Science Librarian

      • Library Communication Coordinator, Repository Coordinator, Library Facilities Coordinator

      • Collections & Metadata Archivist, Digital Archivist

      • Exhibition Research Assistant, Library Administrative Assistant (CLOPS), Library Support Assistants (ACS, TechHub)

      • Web Services Project Manager, Metadata Specialist, Systems Administrator and TechHub Manager

      • Librarian & Archivist Interns

    • Strategic Plan AY21-AY23 / AY24-27: The Caltech Library devised its first Strategic Plan for AY21-AY23 around the key theme of partnership. This plan serves as the foundation for progress at the Caltech Library and establishes future directions to ensure its growth as a premier research library befitting the world-class research institution it serves. Read the latest strategic plan here >

     

    I feel a little tired after writing that list, but it really only reflects a small portion of what the Caltech Library has achieved! I have enjoyed working with everyone at the Library and across the Caltech campus. It’s truly an extraordinary place to work, and I will miss all of you very much.

    Best wishes,

    Kara Whatley

    University Librarian

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