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Access Services was very busy during Fall 2025!

ILL

The small but mighty Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Team welcomed four student assistants, and with their help, reviewed and processed over 12,200 total interlibrary loan requests from August to December 2025. Thanks to their efforts, ������ Library’s borrowing and lending statistics went up across the board in 2025. The Team prioritized ������ students’ requests as well as the requests of students at other libraries both nationally and internationally, with the goal of supporting equitable access. 

Student Assistants

Student staffing saw significant growth as well. 14 of our 17 Access Services student assistants were hired in Fall 2025, including 13 in Circulation, all of whom were trained on our new printers! The student assistants and the librarians exchanged photos and fun facts about themselves to aid in the transition to the new reference desk, where they’ll be working alongside each other.

Circulation Statistics

With the help of Cathy Outten, chair of RICC and resident SpringShare expert, the Access Services team set up LibAnswers forms for both staff and student assistants so they could start recording all desk interactions. This was also part of preparation for Circulation student assistants to be stationed at the new reference desk. Stay tuned for exciting updates on Circulation and ILL interaction statistics, coming to you in Spring 2025! 

Finals

Finals week kept the department especially busy. Access Services were hard at work keeping the Circulation Desk and printers staffed during Finals extended hours and nightly free coffee and tea service. Several staff from other departments pitched in as well, which was greatly appreciated! Finals Programming activities were well attended  - the Access Services Finals Programming working group (ASFiP) collected over 300 student survey responses.

Students wait in line to collect their prize.

Student views the Library Quest Message Board to review study tips left by other ������ students.

Jeanne Rasmussen and Rose Tang

Wavemaker

Fall 2025 also marked the launch of WaveMaker, ������ Library’s Pop-Up MakerSpace! Circulation staff hosted two events inviting patrons to participate in fun activities in real time, including button-making, 3D doodle pens, and much more.

Throughout Fall 2025, the Technical Services Department focused heavily on catalog cleanup, support for e-resource workflows, documentation improvements, and work on  special projects.

Amber Medvedovskaya addressed issues including call number inconsistencies, material type mismatches, missing or incorrect item descriptions, duplicate holdings, brief vendor bibs, and records lacking OCLC numbers. She also continued her work on Special Collections cataloging. Ashley Evangelista-Mendiola and Laura O'Connor have been cleaning up holdings records for serials and bound-with titles, and standardizing formatting in call numbers.

E-resource work had a breakthrough in how the department treats non-COUNTER-compliant usage statistics from vendors, based on a presentation from eCAUG. This new method will allow for more uniform reporting to CDMC and librarians. Several department members attended eCAUG virtually and continued to work on their Alma certification from Ex Libris. The return on investment for focused staff professional development is high. Additional e-resource highlights include working with Library Administration on preparation for reporting out compliance with new accessibility requirements using Alma Analytics.  

The department also progressed on their move of documentation to OneNote, adding a tracking column to the master list and continuing to migrate and create task documentation. Ex Libris (Alma/Primo) documentation practices were clarified, emphasizing dedicated sections and inter-document linking. 

Special projects during the fall included:

• Creating the Children’s Literature Research Center collection for updates and display.
• Support for the weeding project of the Reference collection.
• Collaboration with Access Services on testing ORCA withdrawal workflows.
• Expanding local access to the Consorita Manager software platform.
• Moving platforms to Single Sign On, e.g. Statista.  

In Fall of 2025, Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) hosted approximately 26 scheduled class visits and tours this semester, 10 more than in Spring 2025! 

Highlights included welcoming the 18th Century Student Association, LBUSD librarians for their Professional Development Day, and the Faculty Coffee and Community group. Each class visit and tour helps expand SCUA community connections and deepen the impact of its teaching and outreach. 

SCUA Highlights 

• Digital Archives Processing Station 
  With the support and collaboration of ������ IT, Bennie Allen Stoll was able to acquire and implement a digital archives processing station. This machine is equipped with the necessary tools and processing power to handle a wide variety of digital preservation tasks and will serve an essential role in processing the born-digital collection of Alan Lowenthal's Congressional Files. 
   
• ArchivesSpace
  In Fall semester, SCUA implemented its very first archives content management system, ArchivesSpace. This software will allow the department to collect and organize information about our resources in a far more robust and structured way than we previously could, ultimately allowing more time spent working with communities. ArchivesSpace will also serve a foundational role in sharing finding aids and other collection-related information with researchers, shining a new light on SCUA's materials. This is a huge undertaking, which Heather Steele Gajewski and Bennie Allen Stoll will be working on throughout the rest of the year. They are excited to share more updates on this project as they develop!
   
• Zine Classes and Workshops 
  SCUA also hosted a zine workshop in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, featuring guest speaker Dr. Kimberly Robertson, whose engaging lecture was titled “American Indian Beadwork as Activism, Healing, and Storytelling.” In addition, six classes incorporated zine-making as part of their course curriculum and assignments. Zine workshops have quickly become one of SCUA’s most in-demand offerings. 

Students making zines following Dr. Robertson’s talk on American Indian beadwork as a form of transformative art and activism. 

• Collections Work  
  Thanks to the hard work of Briana Vasquez and student assistants, inventories were expanded and improved for several collections, including the Venice Collection, the Owens Valley Water Controversy Collection, the ������ Historical Photo Collection, the Long Beach and Local History Collection, and materials related to radical politics. These updates support the creation of new and enhanced finding aids, which will ultimately be available online through ArchivesSpace. 

The department has also been reviewing the SCUA stacks shelf by shelf to update call slips and location data in ALMA/PRIMO, ensuring books are accurately represented in the catalog. It is a time-intensive process, but an important step toward better access and discovery.

Fall 2025 was busy for our Librarian Faculty who taught over 291 information literacy instructions sessions including both in-person and online teaching modalities. Librarians also facilitated over 1,815 reference consultations including at the refence desk, via chat and by appointment with individual librarian faculty.

Updates from the Reference, Instruction, and Curriculum Committee (RICC):

• New Reference Desk & Triage Model
  This semester, RICC launched a new reference desk and triage model designed to streamline service and ensure patrons are connected with the right level of support more efficiently. The model clari?es pathways for research help, instructional support, and referrals, improving response time while allowing librarians to focus their expertise where it is most impactful.

• Reference Desk Rescuer Reward Program 
  The Faculty Chair introduced the Reference Desk Rescuer Reward program to recognize librarians who step in to provide additional coverage when colleagues are out sick. Since the program’s launch, out-sick desk coverage has increased by 78.6%, helping maintain consistent service levels while fostering a culture of appreciation and mutual support.

  
  
   

Updates from the Collection Development & Management Committee (CDMC): 

• Mold Remediation Review CDMC facilitated a comprehensive mold remediation review to assess impacted materials within the collection. As a result of this review, the 9 impacted librarians have identified 10% of the 38,000 affected titles to be sent out for professional remediation, supporting both long-term preservation of the collection and safe access for users.

Faculty Outreach

• Outreach Highlights 
  This fall, the library faculty expanded its campus presence through over eight engagement and tabling events designed to connect students and faculty with library services and resources early in the semester. Faculty outreach efforts, most led by our student engagement and success librarian Kari Darby, included the LIFE Project Scavenger Hunt, International Student Resource Fair, International Student Scavenger Hunt, Bookstore Bash, Week of Welcome, Latine Welcome, Wave of Wellness, Monster Mash Campus Dash and Faculty Orientation. These efforts broadened awareness of library resources while deepening meaningful connections across campus communities.

  
  
  

(From left) Jessica McBride, Khue Duong, Kelly Janousek, Karin Griffin, Sarah Corona, and Paige Paulsen

• LBUSD Mini Conference The library hosted 37 teacher librarians from Long Beach Unified School District for the LBUSD Mini Conference. The visit included a library tour and presentations highlighting archival instruction and outreach initiatives. The event strengthened partnerships with local school librarians and showcased the library’s role in supporting K–12 and higher education collaboration.

SCUA presenting to LBUSD teaching librarians

LBUSD Teacher Librarian Chris De La Garza

General Faculty News:

• BeachBusters DVD Project 
  
  Michelle DeMars recently launched the BeachBusters project that aims to increase awareness and usage of the library’s DVD collection. Through parody style packaging and improved visibility, the project highlights the breadth of instructional and recreational films available to support teaching, learning, and campus life, with a retro twist. 

  
    

• Book Art Installations 
  To enhance the new reference desk area and create a more inviting, creative environment, Book art installations created by Library Faculty, Michelle DeMars were installed as part of the new desk’s design. They add visual interest while highlighting campus partners and reinforcing the library as a space for curiosity, creativity, and engagement.