Ramon Barcia Staff Profile

Business Systems Analyst

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More News March 01, 2018

This month in 4 to Explore, your Special Collections librarians and archivists have selected four new items and placed them on hold in the reading room.

Here's what you can see this March in 4 to Explore:

Moonshot
An edited volume of indigenous comics

Westways travel magazine
A 1973 cover article on visting Riverside, CA

Post-War Jobs
A 1944 pamphlet aimed at women, blacks, and veterans

A Humument
A "treated novel" artist's book

 

Why you should try 4 to Explore:

Special Collections materials are kept in closed stacks, which means you can’t see the shelves and browse. You also can’t check things out and take them home. So, 4 to Explore is a great way to experience first-hand some of the collections that truly make the UCR Library unique.

4 to Explore will give you the chance to visit a reading room, like the ones that are used for archival research or by rare book scholars, and to get a sampling of our collections without having to submit a request ahead of time.

You’ll be asked to show photo ID and to check your bags – but don’t worry! Our UCR Library staff will explain everything to you when you arrive.

We will also have rotating exhibits of items from the collections on display.

Where to find 4 to Explore:

Department: Special Collections & University Archives

Where: Take elevators to 4th floor of Rivera Library

Hours: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday

Bring: Photo ID

Don’t bring: Food or drinks

Who: Everyone is welcome. 4 to Explore is more of an individual experience, but we can usually accommodate up to two people using the same item at the same time, so feel free to bring a friend.

What to expect: Staff will help you sign in and feel comfortable in the reading room. It should take about 5-10 minutes for you to get up to the 4th floor and get settled. Then you can stay and enjoy as long as you like!

Want to receive updates each month with more details about our 4 to Explore items? Sign up here.

More News May 24, 2021

Beginning Mon. May 24, patrons can return UCR Library resources quickly and conveniently, without needing to pay for parking.

The UCR Library has installed a new drive-up book return that is clearly visible from West Campus Drive on the south end of Lot 1, near the blue emergency call box.

When the library launched its Contact-Free Curbside Delivery program in June 2020, patrons could pick up physical library materials, despite the COVID-19 pandemic-related closure of both library buildings. This central afternoon contact-free pick-up service still required most patrons to park in order to return their items outside of specified hours.

The idea of a drive-up book deposit manifested from faculty and students' requests, primarily from those  located on the west side of campus, right before the pandemic. The need for this service gained importance with the advent of curbside delivery and planning for increased patrons in fall quarter 2021. Patrons frequently want contactless drop-off, convenient drop-off hours, and reduced cost through not needing to pay for parking to return items.

This drive-up book return will provide a user-friendly and simple way for all UCR faculty, students, and staff to return library materials, even after the campus reopens.

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More News August 31, 2018

When Gustavo Correa’s Honors Principles of Civic Engagement assignment in fall quarter 2016 was to “find a way to be civically engaged,” that task could have unfolded very differently in the hands of another student.

As it happened, the Creat’R Lab owes a part of its inception to Correa, a fourth year electrical engineering major and project manager for the UCR chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), who saw the need for a campus-wide makerspace.

“I was at a coffee shop in downtown Riverside and thought, ‘What if I create this space?’” Correa explained. “We had a space for electrical engineering students, but when it came to having a space for everyone to create, we didn’t have that at all. It helps us to apply the concepts we learn, so why not give this opportunity to everybody else, too?”

As the saying goes, great minds think alike. In a stroke of serendipity, in fall quarter 2016 the UCR Library had formed a committee comprised of representatives from the Library, Research and Economic Development (RED), and other campus stakeholders whose intent was to explore building a makerspace on the UCR campus. When committee member and UCR lecturer Jeff McDaniel heard that Correa was also considering that idea, he invited Correa to help shape the vision and identify the initial equipment needed.

After the Creat’R Lab launch, Correa’s workshops in the Lab were some of the most highly-attended. More than 60 students attended his first Arduino workshop, 80% of whom had never before worked with the tool (an open-source electronic prototyping platform that enables users to create interactive electronic objects).

“It was my first time teaching workshops and being a leader in an organization. It was a really cool experience, giving back to the community, to have a big impact on a lot of people at one time,” Correa reflected. “We had everyone from first years to graduate students from all majors, and the majority of them had no experience whatsoever with anything that I was showing them.”

With such a strong start, it’s no surprise to learn that Correa has even bigger hopes for what the Creat’R Lab could become, with additional community involvement and development funding.

“The school has recognized that we have a need. They made the space, they made it happen,” he said. “If nobody would have used it, then we wouldn’t need it – but we have demonstrated that there obviously is a need for this space. If we scale it up, it will be used more and more for many other things.”

Correa would like to see more of UCR’s student organizations get involved with Creat’R Lab, more collaborations with the individual colleges, more professional workshops, industry speakers, and of course more space and tools to accommodate the increased demand on resources.

“A lot of other schools have a whole building dedicated to this. What if we had a whole building?” Correa mused. “If we could take over that whole wing on the first floor of Orbach Library, with big glass windows and lots of lighting, a lot of huge tables, all the machining tools, things to build at any scale, huge animatronic sculptures, and then we could be as loud as we want in there.”

Beyond building, Correa would also like to see professional development workshops offered, including “soft” skills workshops such as how technical majors can better express themselves in writing or speech. “Let’s say we had a professional teaching advanced techniques on how to use a laser printer, or Garner Holt teaching us how to build animatronics, or someone from NASA!” Correa added. “A lot of them come from humble and diverse backgrounds so we’re able to relate to them.”

Before the Creat’R Lab can expand, however, Correa recognizes that there needs to be more direct involvement from the colleges. “When it’s one student trying to do it, it’s harder. If the school is trying to push it, it’s easier. We need to see emails from the faculty saying, ‘We want all you guys to work together to do these things – in the Creat’R Lab.’”

More Past Exhibits March 23, 2023

The University of California, Riverside Library invites you to celebrate the opening of a new exhibition, titled, “Orange Roots: The Remarkable Story of Two Trees, a Pioneer Town, and the University of California, Riverside.”

The welcome reception in honor of the exhibition’s opening will be held at the library, from 2-4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so we encourage you to register if you wish to attend.

The reception will include a talk by Susan Straight, professor of creative writing at UCR, and a citrus-tasting station where guests can sample different varieties of citrus fruits. The citrus-tasting station will be organized by Tracy Kahn, UCR’s Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection Endowed Chair. Free parking will be available. Those interested in attending should RSVP using the link below.

In honor of Homecoming and Discover Day, the University of California, Riverside Library invites you to join us for a curator-led tour of the "Orange Roots" exhibition. This tour will be held at Rivera Library from 12-1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, and led by exhibit curator and librarian Krista Ivy. The tour is free and open to the public, but space is limited so we encourage you to register if you wish to attend.

The exhibition will showcase the remarkable history of Riverside’s citrus heritage, from its early, pioneer days to the establishment of UCR. It will feature photographs, historical documents, and other memorabilia from the UCR Library Special Collections & University Archives, the UCR Citrus Variety Collection, the UCR Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, and the Riverside Public Library.

The exhibition will remain on display at the Tomás Rivera Library through June 2017.

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More News January 08, 2019

This month in 4 to Explore, your Special Collections librarians and archivists have selected four new items and placed them on hold in the reading room.

Items featured this month will tie in with the UCR Library's celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Here's what you can see this January in 4 to Explore:

Girl Genius Volume 8:

Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones

The Galaxy Game

Named one of the best books of 2015 by NPR

Redwood and Wildfire

Winner of the 2011 James Tiptree Jr. Award

Binti

Winner of the 2015 Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella

Why you should try 4 to Explore:

Special Collections materials are kept in closed stacks, which means you can’t see the shelves and browse. You also can’t check things out and take them home. So, 4 to Explore is a great way to experience first-hand some of the collections that truly make the UCR Library unique.

4 to Explore will give you the chance to visit a reading room, like the ones that are used for archival research or by rare book scholars, and to get a sampling of our collections without having to submit a request ahead of time.

You’ll be asked to show photo ID and to check your bags – but don’t worry! Our UCR Library staff will explain everything to you when you arrive.

We will also have rotating exhibits of items from the collections on display.

Where to find 4 to Explore:

Department: Special Collections & University Archives

Where: Take elevators to 4th floor of Rivera Library

Hours: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday

Bring: Photo ID

Don’t bring: Food or drinks

Who: Everyone is welcome. 4 to Explore is more of an individual experience, but we can usually accommodate up to two people using the same item at the same time, so feel free to bring a friend.

What to expect: Staff will help you sign in and feel comfortable in the reading room. It should take about 5-10 minutes for you to get up to the 4th floor and get settled. Then you can stay and enjoy as long as you like!

Want to receive updates each month with more details about our 4 to Explore items? Sign up here.

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