More News April 21, 2020

Curious about how to find, analyze, and use archival materials from your laptop or computer? Want to learn more about digital archival resources at UCR and beyond?

Starting on Tuesday, April 29, staff from the UCR Library's Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) department will offer Virtual Office Hours twice each week until Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Interested students, faculty or UCR affiliated researchers can join SCUA virtual office hours on Tuesdays from 10 - 11:00 a.m., or on Thursdays from 2 - 3:00 p.m.

All are welcome, whether you have questions about your homework, research, or you just want to learn more. You can also email at specialcollections@ucr.edu if you would like to schedule an in-depth research consultation.

Attendees can participate individually or in groups (for instance, several classmates working on the same project).

If interested in attending, please RSVP on Eventbrite (use your UCR email address) to get the link to join.

All participants are expected to follow and uphold UC Riverside's Principles of Community.

More News November 04, 2016

Hayden Jackson is a third-year Political Science major with a minor in Statistics. He’s also a first-generation university student from Ripon, California and the eldest of three children.

“UCR kind of found me, rather than the other way around,” Hayden explained. “When I stepped on campus at UCR, it just felt right. My counselors said that would happen with one college, and UCR was definitely that one for me. I absolutely love this campus, and you couldn’t pay me enough to leave now.”

Hayden first came to the library looking for a second job so that he could stay on campus more to become more involved. He began working as a Library Security Monitor and now works in in Special Collections & University Archives.

“Robin Katz and Zayda Delgado have both been very helpful mentors,” Hayden said. “Robin is always trying to get more people into Special Collections, and Zayda is making a meaningful experience for the patrons, to make it easier to do research. It’s incredibly important work.”

Hayden is also involved in student government with ASUCR and SSFAC (Student Services Fee Advisory Committee), which meets once per quarter with leadership from other UC schools. Hayden said, “I get to see how each UC campus differs.”

Last year, Hayden also joined the UC system-wide Academic Senate Library and Scholarly Communications Committee after a long wait. “They hadn’t had an undergrad rep in four years,” he explained. As the only student voice on this committee, Hayden represents 250,000 other students.

Hayden also did an internship in Sacramento with Senator Richard Roth in summer 2016. “They were missing a legislative aide, so they let me jump into that role. It was eye-opening to see how it all works,” he explained. “A lot more similarities to what I do on campus than I might have thought.”

After UCR, Hayden wants to get his PhD and to go either into higher education or work in the professional field in Sacramento or Washington DC. “I’m interested in doing something that’s bigger than me, something that’s going to outlast me, something that’s going to affect more than just my life,” he says of his long-term vision.

Hayden’s desire to go into academia started when he began working in Special Collections, he said. “A lot of international researchers came here to do original research. Seeing them do that here was really inspiring.”

Being able to work on campus is a big benefit when it comes to class scheduling, Hayden explained. “Life would be very different if I were still working off-campus. My best friends are my co-workers, so that’s been a great support network, as well.”

 “I was thinking about how much more I learn outside the classroom through all these experiences,” Hayden concluded. “Not to say anything against the professors, because they’re all great, too. Classes are harder to put on a resume, but no less valuable.”

More News June 01, 2017

UCR Library is pleased to announce that the Digital Initiatives Program Manager position was offered to Eric Milenkiewicz, and he has accepted.

His new title was effective on June 1, 2017.

 Eric joined the library in 2001. For the past 16 years, he has worked as the Manuscripts Curator in Special Collections and University Archives. Eric played a key role in the UCR Library's receipt of the CLIR Grant, which will fund a collaborative project to digitize the Sherman Indian Museum’s collection.

Eric’s key responsibility as the Digital Initiatives Program Manager, in the Digital Library Division, is to lead the library in both on-going and future development of a comprehensive program to generate, manage and preserve born-digital and digital surrogates, and to build value-added services on top of these digital assets.

He holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside and an M.L.I.S. from San José State University with a specialization in archival studies.

Please join us in congratulating Eric on his new role.

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• Read more about Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant

More Past Exhibits April 11, 2025

This exhibit celebrates the remarkable career and contributions of Carlos E. Cortés, Professor Emeritus of History at UC Riverside. 

Highlighting his rich career as a historian, media specialist, diversity consultant, and writer, this exhibit spans his work across multiple decades and genres. It also marks the official announcement that Dr. Cortés will donate his papers to UCR Library Special Collections & University Archives, ensuring his impactful work is preserved for future generations.

More News March 01, 2019

The UCR Library is delighted to announce that Robin Katz has moved from Special Collections to join the Teaching and Learning Department as the Primary Source Literacy Teaching Librarian.

This move aligns with the library’s overall organizational strategy to house teaching-related activities and expertise in Teaching and Learning.

This move creates great potential for new projects in Teaching and Learning. The library hopes this move will foster an even closer relationship between this department and  Special Collections and University Archives.

Robin's new office is in Room 121 (in the Teaching and Learning office suite) on the first floor of Tomás Rivera Library, but her e-mail and phone number remain the same.

Please join us in congratulating Robin!

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More News March 31, 2021

Sandy Enriquez, Special Collections Public Services, Outreach & Community Engagement Librarian, was awarded a highly competitive fellowship from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The program will only invite 45 fellows over a six-year period, with aims to advance multicultural collections through innovative and inclusive curatorial practice and leadership among fellows who either identify with diverse racial or ethnic communities and/or who work with collections that document minority, immigrant, and non-Western cultural traditions.

"Participating in the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage is a great honor and opportunity for me as an early-career librarian who is from a traditionally underrepresented background,” said Enriquez, who identifies as first-generation Peruvian-American and Quechua. “This program and training will enhance my ability to serve our UCR community while also providing additional support to highlight our multicultural collections. I especially look forward to collaborating across institutions to develop innovative ways to promote community-oriented, inclusive, and meaningful access to special collections and archives."

In June 2019, Rare Book School received a $1.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage.

“Sandy has been successful in receiving a rare and wonderful Fellowship opportunity. This is a competitive process with only a small cohort being accepted,” added Tiffany Moxham, Associate University Librarian for Content and Discovery.

More News January 10, 2017

Bring your best pair of reading glasses – you’ll need them.

The University of California, Riverside Library will host “The Magic of Miniature Books” exhibit Jan. 18 through March 30.

“Miniature books have a long and interesting history, with the earliest miniatures created approximately 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia,” said Cherry Williams, the director of Distinctive Collections at UCR Libraries. “The books have been popular throughout history, being recognized early on as a format that can be effortlessly carried about, hung from a belt or even easily concealed.”

By the 19th and 20th centuries, Williams said, books from nearly every genre were available as miniatures. These genres included classic fiction, artists’ books, dictionaries, almanacs, Bibles and prayer books, children’s books and non-fiction works such as fishing guides.

The exhibit has two components. The first features about 30 miniature books from the Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) section of the Tomas Rivera Library. Books featured vary from tiny volumes of novels such as, “The Cat Who Loved Christmas,” to a copy of "The Lord's Prayer" that is smaller than your pinky fingernail, to a miniature version of Thomas More’s “Utopia” that measures about 2 by 3 inches.

Some of the other books on display include “Jack be Nimble and Other Rhymes,” printed in 1987, and “El Libro de la Misa Para uso de la Incancia,” a Catholic service book printed in Spanish from 1861.

“As a result of putting these items on display, we hope that our viewers will return often to visit Special Collections at a future date, and discover additional interesting materials available for their use in the SCUA reading room,” Williams said.

The second component is a traveling exhibit UCR is hosting on behalf of the Miniature Book Society (MBS). MBS is an international organization that works to sustain an interest in miniature books.

Williams said the traveling exhibit highlights winners of the annual MBS competition, and showcases modern masterpieces and historic examples of miniature books. Williams hopes the traveling component promotes MBS grant opportunities, which enable students to pursue study in miniature books.

“The Magic of Miniature Books” traveling exhibit will be on display on the first floor of the Rivera Library, while the display of selected items from SCUA will be available on the 4th floor of the Rivera Library in the Special Collections reading room. For more information, contact Cherry Williams.