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The History of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement
In celebration of LGBT History Month and in partnership with the UCR LGBT Resource Center, the UCR Library will launch its new exhibition program with a poster display entitled The History of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement. Created by the ONE Archives Foundation located in West Hollywood, California the material "explores the incredibly inspiring journey of the LGBTQ Civil Rights movement" beginning in the 1940s. Accompanying the exhibit are books and scholarly work from UCR faculty in the area of LGBT Studies, and other related volumes from the UCR Library collection.
From the start of "gayborhoods," to the Lavender Scare, the Stonewall Riots, the national pride movement, and the AIDS crisis, The History of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement exhibition complements UCR's own history in supporting the LGBT community. In 1993, UCR was the first campus in the state of California to open a professionally-staffed LGBT resource center and, in 1996, the first to offer an LGBT studies minor. We are proud to be the first public university in the nation to offer gender-inclusive housing, to co-found T*Camp — the first intercampus retreat in the nation for trans/genderqueer and gender questioning college students, and to found the BlaqOUT Conference — the first college conference in the nation serving Black/African American students and students of African descent who identify on the LGBT spectrum.
The History of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement exhibition will open on October 12, 2015 in Rivera Library on the University of California, Riverside campus. For more information, please contact Sara Fitzgerald, Communications Stewardship Director for the UCR Library. *
New archival collections available for summer quarter 2017
Special Collections & University Archives staff are constantly working to process recently acquired collections and make those materials ready for use by students, faculty, and researchers.
Each quarter, we will provide a list of UCR Library's newly processed archival and primary source collections. Check out the list below to see if there are any items that fit your research area, or share with a friend!
Below you'll find brief descriptions and links to the finding aids or collection guides for each new collection. To use any of these materials, simply click the "Request Items" button at the top to submit a request, and log in with our Special Collections Request System. For more on conducting research in Special Collections, see this page.
SCUA is open to the public on weekdays from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. Check here for closures or other changes to our regular hours.
For questions, email specialcollections@ucr.edu.
Newly Processed Collections – Summer 2017
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains correspondence, science fiction convention programs, and a floppy disk from science fiction author Vernor Vinge. The correspondence mostly concerns other authors and publishers sending Vinge their works for his review or comments.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The Abbie Voorhies De Verges papers contain photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, certificates, and other material from Abbie Voorhies DeVerges, a nurse in the Air Force who worked at the Tuskegee Army Air Field during the Second World War.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains materials related to the publication and distribution of Dreams and Nightmares, a fantasy and science fiction poetry magazine edited by David C. Kopaska-Merkel. Items in the collection include original page proofs for a number of issues, art and poetry submissions, and correspondence and records related to some distributors of the magazine.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains signatures of British nobility and members of the British royal family and includes some signed letters and government documents. Notable signatures in the collection include those of Queen Victoria, Prince of Wales Albert Edward (later Edward VII), Princess May of Teck (later Queen Mary), and multiple Dukes and Duchesses.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection consists of correspondence from 19th century British politician Charles Philip Yorke to various family members and fellow politicians. The collection also contains letters from Yorke's brother, Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke, to Charles. Most of the correspondence concerns British political events of the early 1800s, most notably the ministries of Henry Addington and William Pitt the Younger.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains correspondence written by clergy members from the Church of England during the 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily from bishops of various dioceses. Correspondence in the collection concerns mostly regular church business.
18.35 linear ft. (45 boxes)
This collection consists of notes, proofs, manuscripts, and other material related to the written works of Patricia Beatty, an award-winning author of children's books including Lupita Manana and Charley Skedaddle. The collection also includes materials on books Beatty co-authored with her husband John Beatty.
2.5 linear ft. (2 boxes)
This collection contains administrative records, press clippings, and other material from the Riverside Youth Concert Series, an organization in Riverside, California that provided affordable fine arts performances to local children from 1962-1978.
2.25 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The Collection on Philip K. Dick consists of press clippings, publications, short stories and manuscripts regarding Philip K. Dick, an American novelist who has published almost entirely in the science fiction genre. His works have been published in numerous literary magazines, such as Galaxy, Amazing Stories, and Fantasy and Science Fiction. The collection also consists of newsletters from the Philip K. Dick Society, and photographs and press booklets from the film Blade Runner.
9.67 linear ft. (9 boxes, 2 flat folders)
This collection consists of the professional and personal papers of actor and science fiction writer George Nader, including manuscript drafts, photographs, financial information, audio cassettes, and a film poster. Notable manuscripts in the collection include Nader's unpublished work The Perils of Paul, and Trio of Forever Friends, an autobiographical work written by Nader's partner Mark Miller about their friendship with actor Rock Hudson.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection consists of documents, programs, and fliers from conferences and events on turfgrass management held mostly in California in the 1950s and early 1960s.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains publications written and co-written by Walton B. Sinclair, a pioneer plant biochemist who worked at the Citrus Experiment Station in Riverside beginning in 1932 and was a professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside. Publications in the collection focus on Sinclair's research regarding the biochemistry of various citrus fruits, as well as an article Sinclair wrote regarding the state of higher education in the Southern United States.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
The George A. Zentmyer papers is a collection of newsletters, monographs, and magazines related to UC Riverside professor emeritus George A. Zentmyer’s research on phytophthoras, which are a genus of plant-damaging molds that can cause damage to crops and natural ecosystems. The collection also includes obituaries for Zentmyer, and a booklet from his funeral service in 2003.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection includes documents, correspondence, photographs, and other material regarding Christena L. Schlundt, Professor Emerita of Dance and founding faculty member at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Materials in the collection include items pertaining to the UCR Department of Dance, the study of dance, and modern dancers and choreographers like Ted Shawn and Barton Mumaw.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains documents regarding Boysie E. Day, a former professor of Plant Physiology at UC Riverside. Items in the collection include a biography of Day, as well as an unpublished manuscript written by Day about a sailing expedition he took in the Pacific.
1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
The Riverside School Study collection is a collection of reports and newsletters that document the joint research performed in the late 1960s by the Riverside Unified School District and the University of California, Riverside on the relationship between the desegregation of public schools and emotional adjustment and academic achievements of children. The collection also includes publications and guidelines for educators placed in newly desegregated school environments.
2.5 linear ft. (4 boxes, 1 flat folder)
The George Boyce papers consists of the professional papers and manuscripts of George Arthur Boyce, a Native American historian and former Director of Navajo Education for the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. This collection documents his work with Navajo education and includes materials from his research and photographs depicting Navajo schools and students. Additionally, the collection includes oversize posters of day school budgets and Navajo translated newsletters.
2.92 linear ft. (8 boxes)
The John DeChancie papers is a collection of documents consisting of manuscripts, page proofs, and correspondence relating to the literary works of American comic fantasy and science fiction writer, John DeChancie.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection contains press clippings, letters, and other material related to the research of historian John Hunt, focusing on the people and landmarks of Desert Hot Springs, California.
1.58 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consists of an album of photographs depicting the Allison V. Armour expedition to the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico, a research expedition undertaken in 1895 by curators from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Photographs in the album focus mainly on the Mayan ruins visited by members of the expedition, with additional photographs of local scenery and the expedition group.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consists of a photograph album of nearly 200 black and white images taken by photojournalist Enrique Díaz Reyna of the festivities relating to the 1920 inauguration of Mexican President Álvaro Obregón.
0.5 linear ft. (2 boxes)
This collection contains lantern slides published by the London Missionary Society regarding David Livingstone, the noted explorer and medical missionary who traveled to Africa in the 19th century. The lantern slides in this collection depict Livingstone’s life in color illustrations and are accompanied by a pamphlet that provides descriptions of the slides. The collection also includes a handwritten piece on David Livingstone by an unknown author.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains several items related to composer William Berwald, including photocopies of several of his compositions, performance programs, articles, and a copy of a manuscript remembrance of Berwald written by his daughter.
4.67 linear ft. (4 boxes)
The collection consists of television scripts from Seasons 1-5 of the Canadian-American science fiction television series, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (2000-2005), also known as Andromeda, which was based on unused material from screenwriter Gene Roddenberry. The collection also includes a script of an unaired episode from Season Two. The majority of the scripts are rough drafts and written before their air date.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains programs, newspaper clippings, fliers, posters, and other materials related to minority issues both on and off the UC Riverside campus in the late 1960s. Topics addressed in the collection include information on ethnic studies, African American students, Mexican American students, protests, and related campus events. The collection also includes items related to civil and labor rights issues happening off campus affecting students, on topics such as housing discrimination, farm worker strikes, and politics.
From Competition to Conversation: ORCA Forum Debuts at UCR Library
The ORCA Forum highlights student research, creative projects, and open scholarship across disciplines.
What began as a Maker Week competition transformed into something new: the inaugural Open Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) Forum, held on Friday, May 9 at Orbach Library. This quarterly event, hosted by the UCR Library’s Research Services Department, celebrates student projects across disciplines and academic levels, with a focus on open scholarship and interdisciplinary research.
The shift from a Maker Week-related competition to a presentation-based forum was led by Dr. Jing Han, Digital Scholarship Librarian, who saw it as an opportunity to rethink student engagement. “The transition was driven by a desire to experiment with different models for student outreach and engagement, informed by my previous experiences as a student participating in various presentation events,” said Jing. She also identified a “growing need to promote eScholarship usage on campus.”
That insight connected with Jing’s discovery of Janeway, an open-source publishing platform that supports peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and other scholarly publications. “During a walkthrough of the Janeway platform with the eScholarship team, I noticed its potential for managing conference submissions and publishing proceedings, though there was no existing use case,” she explained. “As several of these elements aligned, the concept for the ORCA Forum naturally came together.”
The forum was designed as both a platform for interdisciplinary research and a pilot for integrating Janeway into UCR’s open publishing infrastructure. “While the Janeway integration is still in progress,” Jing noted, “the forum successfully offered a meaningful space for students across disciplines and academic levels to share their work and engage with the values and practices of open scholarship.” She added, “I was especially happy to see students bond with one another after the event, many of them forming new friendships and becoming research partners.”
Presenters covered a wide range of topics, from visual poetry to mathematics and political science. In the end, Angeliz Vargas Casillas, a PhD candidate in Mathematics, and Mst Shamima Hossain, a PhD candidate in Computer Science and Engineering, tied for first place. Vargas Casillas presented a project on multiscale mathematical modeling of keloid scar expansion, while Hossain showcased her research on developing an “electronic bee-veterinarian” system to safeguard honeybee populations using technology.
Looking ahead, Jing hopes to scale the event while maintaining its intimate format. “Each student retains the opportunity to present for 10 minutes and engage in meaningful feedback from both judges and the audience.” She also hopes to see Janeway “fully matured to manage submissions and publish proceedings directly to eScholarship, including the establishment of a clear review process.”
The next ORCA Forum is scheduled for summer 2025. In the meantime, Jing is preparing to launch a Digital Scholarship Certificate program and The Reference Desk, a biweekly podcast hosted by Jing and produced by KUCR, featuring UCR faculty and student researchers.
Stay up-to-date with all things digital scholarship at UCR by visiting library.ucr.edu/digital-scholarship.
New Cartier-Bresson photos exhibition debuts
An exhibition with selections from The Breck Collection of Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson is now on display at the UCR Library.
Free and open to the public, the exhibition, “Picturing the World: The Work of Henri Cartier-Bresson” is open in the Reading Room of the Special Collections and University Archives Department, located on the fourth floor of the Tomás Rivera Library. Visitors can attend Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 18 through December 17, 2021.
In November 2019, Special Collections received a generous donation from Dennis and Pamela Beck of thirty eight vintage prints created by the renowned French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson. The COVID-19 campuswide closure forced SCUA to delay the launch of this exhibition until campus reopened in fall 2021.
“UCR Special Collections & University Archives was privileged to receive the Beck Collection of Photographs,” said Cherry Williams, Director of Distinctive Collections. “Chronicling decisive moments of human life around the world, Cartier Bresson’s work epitomizes a clarity of vision and intellectual rigor that few can rival. We are delighted to be able to share these wonderful photographs in this exhibition.”
Cartier-Bresson, an early pioneer of wartime photojournalism in the 1940s, was also a seminal figure in the establishment of humane, spontaneous photojournalism as an art form. About his work, Cartier-Bresson wrote: “The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box… To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.”
All members of the UC Riverside community are invited to explore the work of this masterful photographer on the fourth floor of the Rivera Library.
Finding and Evaluating Information
Search Library Databases
UCR Library provides access to hundreds of databases across all disciplines. You can search for articles within them by author or topic and narrow down the results by using a number of criteria. Many databases have images, music, videos and other materials in addition to articles.
Most databases provide access or links to the full-text of articles - just click "view online," "PDF," or "UC e-Links."
New primary source collections available for spring quarter 2018
Special Collections & University Archives staff are constantly working to process recently acquired collections and make those materials ready for use by students, faculty, and researchers.
Each quarter, we will provide a list of UCR Library's newly processed archival and primary source collections. Check out the list below to see if there are any items that fit your research area, or share with a friend!
Below you'll find brief descriptions and links to the finding aids or collection guides for each new collection. To use any of these materials, simply click the "Request Items" button at the top to submit a request, and log in with our Special Collections Request System. For more on conducting research in Special Collections, see this page.
SCUA is open to the public on weekdays from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. Check here for closures or other changes to our regular hours.
For questions, email specialcollections@ucr.edu.
Newly Processed Collections – Spring 2018
15.29 linear ft. (30 boxes)
This collection contains photographs, negatives, and slides taken by Stephen J. Wayne, a local photographer from the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Images in the collection primarily reflect the landscape of Riverside and the greater Inland Empire during the later 20th century, and include depictions of local events, residents, architecture, and nature.
0.25 linear ft. (1 album)
The collection consists of approximately 200 photographs and photographic postcards depicting various places, people, and landmarks in Veracruz, Mexico, taken between 1910 and 1920.
9.17 linear ft. (8 boxes)
The collection contains materials created and compiled by LGBT activists Connie Confer, a retired assistant city attorney for Riverside, California and her partner, Kay Berryhill Smith, a retired social worker in Riverside County. Materials in the collection focus on local, state and federal LGBT rights issues and include organizational records, political campaign and lobbying efforts, research and publications on the LGBT community and discrimination, and legal records related to anti-discrimination cases.
0.83 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The collection consists of approximately 850 photographic slides, mostly of science fiction conventions, taken by well-known fan Don E. Ford in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Slides in the collection depict various parts of conventions, including audiences listening to performances and speakers, dinners, discussions, and other fan gatherings.
2.09 linear ft. (5 boxes)
The collection consists of materials related to various play-by-mail games collected and developed by John C. Muir and his daughter Shannon Elise-Muir Broden, including rulebooks, specification sheets, forms, newsletters, team rosters, turn results, reference manuals and play-by-mail publications.
5.86 linear ft. (14 boxes, 1 map case folder)
The collection consists of the papers of author, playwright, and screenwriter Michael Craft. Materials in the collection include manuscripts, notes, research materials, correspondence, promotional materials, reviews and other items related to Craft's career and creative works, most notably the Mark Manning and Claire Gray series.
2016 AACA Board Meeting
The African American Collections Advisory Board held its second Annual Meeting at Raymond L. Orbach Science Library on Saturday, October 22, 2016
University Librarian Steven Mandeville-Gamble and Associate University Librarian for Collections & Scholarly Communication Alison Scott welcomed AACA Board members and special guests at the start of the meeting.
The full-day program included panels and discussions on topics related to best practices in collecting and preserving the history of the African American experience and methods of documenting issues ranging from local to international impact, including:
- Community-Based Approaches to Documenting People of Color, led by Catherine Gudis, Director of the Public History Program at UC Riverside, University & Political Papers Archivist Bergis Jules, and Rose Mayes, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County
- Activism & Public Policy, led by Nemata Blyden, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University, Meredith Evans, Director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Alison Scott, and Alexander Wilson, Jr., Vice President of External Affairs for Black Student Union and African Student Programs Representative on UCR Diversity Council.
- Afro-Futurism / Post-Colonial Endeavors, led by JJ Jacobson, Jay Kay and Doris Klein Librarian for Science Fiction, and Cherry Williams, Director of Distinctive Collections
“Hosting a national-level conversation like this helps to make sure that these voices are present and heard in our research, teaching and learning,” explained Alison Scott, Associate University Librarian for Collections & Scholarly Communication. “This is how the library’s communities can help us ensure that we’re building the kinds of collections and programs that meet our community’s needs. It involves looking back to make sure we document history, understanding emerging needs, and being part of the community.”
The program concluded with closing thoughts and feedback from Bergis Jules, Steven Mandeville-Gamble, Alison Scott, and Cherry Williams.
Board members in attendance were Abdul Alkalimat, Hardy Brown, Tamar Evangelista-Dougherty, Ruth M. Jackson, Yolanda T. Moses, Kenneth E. Simons, Ralph W. Smith, and Patricia Smith-Hunt, in addition to the panelists named above.
Special guests included MJ Abraham from Riverside’s Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties, Director of Development for Campus-wide Initiatives Samantha Lang, and Milagros Peña, Dean of UC Riverside’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Imminent change to Elsevier access
TO: UCR Academic Community
FROM: Steven Mandeville-Gamble University Librarian
RE: Imminent change to Elsevier access
DATE: July 1, 2019
The University of California has been out of contract with Elsevier since January but, so far, the publisher has continued to provide access to new articles via ScienceDirect. Although Elsevier has not yet provided us with official notification, we now have reason to believe that the publisher will shut off that direct access in the first half of July, after the July 4 holiday.
When that happens, we will no longer have direct access to 2019 articles (in all Elsevier journals) and the backfiles of certain journals (download the list). Everything else will still be accessible on ScienceDirect. Once the shut off is confirmed, we will publish a notice on the Office of Scholarly Communication website as well as the UCR Library website.
Background
Last year, the University of California entered negotiations for a new agreement with Elsevier that would not only continue UC’s access to its online journals, but also achieve the faculty-supported goals of containing journal subscription costs and providing for open access publication of UC research. Unfortunately, in late February the negotiations stalled. In the months since, Elsevier has continued to provide access to new articles via ScienceDirect without a contract in place.
Other ways to access Elsevier articles
The library is prepared to help you access articles that are no longer available via ScienceDirect once our access is discontinued. Information about other ways to access Elsevier articles, which provides guidance on how to:
- Use tools like Google Scholar, Unpaywall and Open Access Button to quickly find open access copies, when available.
- Email the corresponding author listed in the abstract to request a copy.
- Use the interlibrary loan request form (any request for content no longer licensed through Elsevier will automatically be placed into a special queue).
- Contact our Interlibrary Loan staff so we can best meet your needs. We are always here to help.
We will be carefully evaluating the impact of losing access to new articles on ScienceDirect over the coming months, and will do our best to ensure that you have access to the articles you need. Meanwhile, UC is hoping to reenter formal negotiations with Elsevier if the publisher indicates that they are willing to discuss a contract that addresses our goals of cost containment and open access.
If you have any questions or need help accessing an article, please don’t hesitate to contact a UCR Collection Strategist at any time.
Steven Mandeville-Gamble, University Librarian
New archival collections available for spring quarter 2017
Special Collections & University Archives staff are constantly working to process recently acquired collections and make those materials ready for use by students, faculty, and researchers.
Each quarter, we will provide a list of UCR Library's newly processed archival and primary source collections. Check out the list below to see if there are any items that fit your research area, or share with a friend!
Below you'll find brief descriptions and links to the finding aids or collection guides for each new collection. To use any of these materials, simply click the "Request Items" button at the top to submit a request, and log in with our Special Collections Request System. For more on conducting research in Special Collections, see this page.
SCUA is open to the public on weekdays from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. Check here for closures or other changes to our regular hours.
For questions, email specialcollections@ucr.edu.
Newly Processed Collections – Spring 2017
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The Victoriano Huerta papers is a collection of three documents, which mainly relate to Victoriano Huerta's military history before he became the President of Mexico in 1913. The collection includes a ledger documenting donations to Huerta's forces during the Mexican Revolution in 1912, an account of his command of the 3rd Infantry Battalion from 1894-1901, and a brief overview of his military history and accomplishments until 1914.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection consists mainly of photographs, and negatives taken by R. W. Madison, a Los Angeles Record reporter, documenting the efforts of law enforcement and a local posse to capture Willie Boy, a Paiute Indian wanted for murder and kidnapping in San Bernardino County in 1909. The collection also includes Madison's account of finding Willie Boy's body, and a Newspaper Enterprise Association booklet.
1.00 linear ft. (1 box)
The Tuskegee Airmen Biographical Information collection contains biographical material related to individuals who served at Tuskegee Army Air Field and its predecessors, as well as material pertaining to Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., a non-profit organization. This collection contains biographical information, mainly in the form of completed biographical questionnaires distributed by the University of California, Riverside Library to Tuskegee Airmen regarding their personal and military history.
1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
This collection includes galley proofs, typescripts, and materials related to some works of science fiction author G.C. Edmondson, including Chapayeca, T.H.E.M., and The Ship That Sailed the Time Stream. The collection also includes typescripts and galley proofs for two western novels written under Edmondson's pen names Kelly P. Gast and J.B. Masterson.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The John Shirley papers consist of material related to Shirley's 1989 collection of short stories, Heatseeker, and includes galley proofs and annotated typescripts. Also included is the original introduction to the work written and printed out by author William Gibson.
1.04 linear ft. (3 boxes)
This collection contains prints of photographs from the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution of various Native American tribes from California. Photographs in the collection depict members of various tribes, tribal housing and artifacts, and the local environment.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence written by François Guizot, a French historian and statesman who served in multiples roles in the French government in the early 19th century.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains stories, articles, newspaper clippings, scholarly journals, booklets, and other material collected by D. Russell Parks on U.S. Native Americans and Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanche tribe. Parks was part of the same Comanche tribe as Quanah Parker and was interested in writing an accurate history of Parker and his contributions to Oklahoma and the Comanche people. The collection consists of information gathered by Parks for his research, as well as biographical information about Parks and his childhood stories from Indiahoma, Oklahoma.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The Dr. Robert V. Hine collection on the Kingdom contains documents, correspondence, photographs, audio reels, and press clippings collected by Dr. Hine from Mary Thomas and Arnold L. White, who were members of the religious commune The Kingdom. The Kingdom, informally known as Shiloh, was an evangelical Christian sect founded in Maine in 1897 by Frank Sandford. The majority of the collection documents Thomas' and White's recollections of the living experience within Shiloh, as well as their interactions with Dr. Robert V. Hine as part of his research on The Kingdom.
0.42 linear ft. (1 box)
The Elmer W. Holmes papers is a collection of documents about Elmer Wallace Holmes, a Civil War veteran and leading figure in the history of Riverside, California. The papers consist of correspondence between Holmes and his family (notably his mother and his second wife), a scrapbook, and documents related to Riverside County history. All items contained in this collection are reproductions of originals.
0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
The Maud H. Miller papers is a collection of personal documents and correspondence from Maud H. Miller, a Riverside resident and former employee of the United States Bureau of War Risk Assurance. Materials in the collection include Miller's correspondence with multiple politicians on issues important to her, editorials and autobiographical stories written by Miller, family photographs, and some personal correspondence.
Healthy Campus Initiative grant awarded to library staff
On Feb. 5, a team of library employees received a UCR Healthy Campus Initiative grant for a project proposal, #puppylove: a feasibility study for an on-site, year-round animal therapy program for the UCR campus community.
Their project will conduct a year-long feasibility study to determine whether creating an on-site, year-round therapy dog service at UC Riverside would improve the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of the entire UCR campus community.
#puppylove would differ from current Library programming in which therapy dogs visit campus once per quarter as part of the Finals Week Stress Relief events provided for students. However, its enduring popularity makes a great foundation for this research, according to project lead Patricia Smith-Hunt, Head of Preservation Services.
“Institutions like UC Berkeley and Harvard and USC have implemented programs like this,” Smith-Hunt said, who drew inspiration for #pupppylove from the therapeutic benefits she gained by acquiring a dog last year. “We as staff and faculty also have stressful days, so having access to that kind of unconditional love and interaction on a regular basis rather than just once per quarter – and having it open to everyone on campus – that would be the goal of the study.”
She shared this idea with library colleagues Financial and Acquisition Analyst Jacqueline Bates and Serials Assistant Andi Newman, who shared her excitement for the concept and helped to complete the grant application.
The team received notice in December 2017 that the Healthy Campus Initiative grant review committee had decided to green-light their study. Shortly thereafter, Circulation / Reserves Services Manager Sahra Missaghieh Klawitter and Access Services Desk Coordinator Elisha Hankins also joined the project.
After the grant recipients were announced on Feb. 7 in Inside UCR, colleagues from other UCR departments reached out to the team to ask how they could get involved.
Newman observed students interacting with the therapy dogs during Finals Week Stress Relief. “I was really surprised. Even with all these students surrounding them, the dogs remained calm, they were playing with the students, doing tricks, and allowing a number of people to pet them. The dogs loved it!” she said. “I myself was able to spend about 10 minutes holding, petting and just getting unconditional doggie love. After that, I went back to my desk and I truly felt better, all from being with a dog.”
“If I’ve had a really stressful day and I walk in my door and see my three dogs – whether they’re jumping on me or not – I feel better,” Bates commented. “I think everybody should have that opportunity because a lot of people can’t own dogs.”
The feasibility study will conclude in December 2018, and the team hopes that their research data will inspire the Healthy Campus Initiative review committee to implement the #puppylove program on a permanent basis.