More News September 27, 2023

In an effort to support the assessment and preservation of map collections in libraries, Janet Reyes, UCR Library’s Geospatial Information Librarian, developed a comprehensive workbook titled Conducting a Map Collection Review. This resource, made freely available through the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), aims to assist librarians and library staff, regardless of their level of familiarity with maps, in conducting comprehensive map collection reviews.

Map collection reviews play a crucial role in evaluating the current state of map collections and making informed decisions regarding retention, cataloging, and preservation. By undertaking such reviews, librarians can identify valuable items, ensure accurate catalog representation, and address any preservation needs.

Janet took great care to write in a manner that anyone could understand, breaking down complex map-related concepts and terminology to help ensure that people from diverse backgrounds can benefit from the workbook and enhance their assessment processes.

“The inspiration for this workbook came in late 2017,” Janet said. “We learned the School of Medicine planned to repurpose the space that was housing our map collection for a simulation lab. I had already been thinking of doing a map collection review, so the upcoming relocation gave me a great reason to proceed.”

Janet completed the review project in June 2019. Janet’s supervisor at the time, former UCR Library Director of Research Services Brianna Marshall, encouraged her to share her experience through an article. However, in light of the extensive amount of content, the idea soon evolved into the creation of a comprehensive workbook.

Despite Brianna's departure, her connections within ACRL proved invaluable. Janet connected with an editor at ACRL through Brianna. ACRL recognized the workbook's value and potential impact on the library community.

Since its release, the workbook has received widespread praise. Librarians have found it immensely useful in their work. 

“I’ve sent the workbook link to relevant listservs and have received a lot of great feedback,” Janet said. “One person reached out from Canada saying they’d recently found out that their map collection would be moving, so they were thankful to have the workbook when they start their review.”

Conducting a Map Collection Review bridges the gap between librarianship, geospatial expertise, and project management. This resource equips professionals with the necessary tools to undertake successful map collection reviews. Librarians seeking to improve their map collection management strategies will find this workbook an excellent resource.

To download the workbook courtesy of ACRL, visit https://bit.ly/ACRLMapReview.

More News February 08, 2019

Access Services Desk Coordinator Leslie Settle recently received her certification as a systemwide facilitator for the University of California.

She joins an elite group of ten people who are certified to provide UC systemwide professional development programs, including the award-winning University of California Women’s Initiative (UCWI) CORO.

At present, Settle is the only UC Riverside-based certified UC Facilitator for the UC Women’s Initiative.

In spring 2018, Settle first participated in CORO UCWI, which aims to establish a pipeline for advancement and to promote women in leadership at the university. CORO exists to open doors to women in any stage of their careers, not just in senior-level positions within the university, Settle explained.

After completing CORO UCWI, Settle was one of four applicants chosen to become a UC facilitator, trained at UCOP through a partnership between CORO and Systemwide Talent Management.

“The biggest transformation, personally, was learning to break my imposter syndrome and value my skills and abilities,” Settle said. “To be put on the same playing field as women whose titles held more prestige than mine, and then realize that they wanted to learn from me, was an honor.”

During CORO, Systemwide Talent Management staff remarked on Settle’s charming use of colloquialisms in facilitating, something she felt would not have been a factor if she had equal professional status to those in management. “This experience helped me to learn that taking constructive feedback means knowing what to adjust and what not to fix, so it doesn’t change who I am,” she explained.

CORO UCWI also helped Settle to achieve greater confidence and skill as a trainer, and increased clarity on her career goal: to become a national leadership program facilitator.

From April to June at UC Riverside, Settle will co-lead CORO’s UCWI 2019 southern cohort, a group of 30 mid-career women from across the UC system who have demonstrated potential for advancement in staff, faculty or academic roles. Topics will include growth mindset, intersectionality, balancing advocacy and inquiry, emotional agility, negotiation, writing professional narratives, and more.

Professional development and mentoring student employees are high priorities for Settle, who also served as the first chair for the UCR Library’s Professional Development Committee. “At work, I get to bring joy to the students I serve and the people I work with. Outside of work, I love to pay it forward. I’m a giver at heart.”

As a UC facilitator, Settle’s role is also to educate people on who is eligible and how to apply for programs like CORO UCWI. “All UCR women employees who have been working in a career position for seven to 10 years – not just at UCR – should be encouraged and welcomed to apply.”

CORO UCWI is sponsored by the Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women (SACSW) and the UC Office of the President, and administered by Systemwide Talent Management.

More News March 06, 2019

It’s hard to believe that Winter Quarter 2019 is already drawing to a close, but suddenly we find ourselves with Finals Week only days away.

UCR Library is committed to creating a supportive atmosphere for our students, as final exams can breed a lot of stress. That is why we present our Finals Week Stress Relief event series at the end of every quarter.

These events give library employees an opportunity to get to know our students better, and for our students to let off steam together in a safe and fun way.

This quarter, we have crowd favorites returning to the line-up, such as the Therapy Fluffies, R'Finals Study Jam, and Surprise Snack Giveaway, as well as a few new activities.

Finals Week Stress Relief will kick off on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. The full event schedule will include:

Wednesday, March 13

• Therapy Fluffies with The WELL & Active Minds (Rivera & Orbach) – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Need a Hand (Warmer)? with the Creat'R Lab (Orbach) 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Thursday, March 14

• Pi Day (Rivera & Orbach) - 3:14 p.m. *while supplies last

Friday, March 15

• Surprise Snack Giveaway (Rivera & Orbach) *while supplies last

Saturday, March 16

• Cookie Break (Rivera & Orbach) - 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Sunday, March 17

• R'Finals Study Jam  with the Academic Resource Center  (Orbach) - 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
• Late Night Snacks with the Provost & Student Wellness (Orbach) - 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Monday, March 18

• Burritos Fix Everything with ASPB (Rivera) - 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Snack Wagon with ASUCR (Orbach - 5:30 p.m. & Rivera - 6:00 p.m.) *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the Provost & Student Wellness (Orbach) - 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Tuesday, March 19

• Finals Are Nacho Problem (Orbach) - 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Snack Wagon with ASUCR (Orbach - 5:30 p.m. & Rivera - 6:00 p.m.) *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the Provost & Student Wellness (Orbach) - 9:00pm *while supplies last

Wednesday, March 20

• Crochet Your Stress Away (Orbach) - 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Snack Wagon with ASUCR (Orbach - 5:30 p.m. & Rivera - 6:00 p.m.) *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the Provost & Student Wellness (Orbach) - 9:00pm *while supplies last

Thursday, March 21

• Snack Wagon with ASUCR (Orbach - 5:30 p.m. & Rivera - 6:00 p.m.) *while supplies last

​In addition, there is a contest to win a VIP Study Room for Sunday, March 17 from 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Details for the contest are available on the UCR Library's Facebook page.

Volunteers are always welcome to help run the events.

Any library staff that are interested in volunteering should contact Sahra Missaghieh Klawitter or Elisha Hankins to find out how to get involved.

More News November 06, 2020

Who could have predicted that a connection between two scholars would one day establish a crucial pillar of the Sikh Studies program here at UC Riverside.

Considered one of the greatest historians of his time, New Zealand scholar Dr. William Hewat “Hew” McLeod (1932-2009) demonstrated a life-long commitment to critical scholarship that set him aside from his contemporaries. He was dedicated to research on the dissimilar areas of Sikh history that gave the discipline an international recognition in the present-day globalized world.

McLeod was always generous with his time and did whatever he could to help younger scholars find their own paths. McLeod’s contribution to Sikh Studies included mentoring students who now hold positions of prominence within the field, including UCR’s Dr. Pashaura Singh, Endowed Chair of the Department of Religious Studies since 2008.

As a result, thanks to McLeod’s long-standing professional relationship with Singh, upon his passing in 2009 McLeod’s widow gave UC Riverside the first right of refusal to acquire his personal collection of more than 3,000 books, manuscripts and other materials devoted to Sikh Studies. Other universities and Sikh organizations from New Zealand to the UK also coveted McLeod’s library.

In 2011, the UCR Library, the Department of Religious Studies, the Holstein Family and Community Endowed Chair, the Sikh Studies Endowed Chair and Dr. Singh himself all contributed funds toward the acquisition of McLeod’s personal collection. The W.H. McLeod Collection of Sikh Studies is now held in the Tomás Rivera Library.

Possessing the McLeod Collection has helped to elevate UCR’s Sikh Studies program above all other universities in the U.S., according to Singh. “It’s a very important collection. Certain items are quite rare and not available anywhere else in the world. It’s widely known to scholars that we have the collection, and they envy us. At this stage, ours is the leading Sikh Studies program in North America.”

A highly controversial scholar, McLeod authored more than 20 books, introducing Sikhism to both academic and popular audiences in the English-speaking world. “He single handedly introduced, nourished, and advanced the field of Sikh Studies in the western world for more than four decades,” Singh explained. “His writings have become the yardstick for scholarly works; anyone who wants to work in Sikh Studies must handle McLeod’s arguments.”

In the late 1980s, during a five-year term as a visiting scholar from his native New Zealand, McLeod supervised Singh’s research at the University of Toronto as Singh sought to become the first-ever Sikh Studies PhD candidate in Canada.

Being McLeod’s protege meant that Singh also became a target for controversy; but leadership at UCR has been supportive, he explained. Singh invites critics and scholars from across the globe to contribute to scholarly discourse every other year at UCR’s Sikh Studies Conference. Next year, the 7th Sikh Studies Conference will be held online from May 7-8, 2021. The information about the conference will be posted on the website of Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair.

More News February 10, 2017

Many hands make for light work – and when the job is sorting more than 21,000 comic books, you need a lot of hands.

Jim Clark, Head of the Database Management and Authority Control Unit, and Erika Quintana, Acquisitions Unit Supervisor were tagged as team leaders and charged with tackling the project of sorting 142 boxes, each containing approximately 150 comic books.

Jim explained, “We took all the boxes, looked at what we had, and tried to come up with how best to attack it.” He and Erika knew right away that they needed help, and all it took was the lure of free pizza to entice the rest of the team to join. Perhaps library employees are not so different from the students they serve, after all.

“It was a lot of fun,” Jim added. “Erika Quintana and I just organized all the boxes, gathered everybody, and we just went to town.” There were three big sorting ‘parties,’ during which Metadata Cataloger Sompratana Creighton and Asian Languages Cataloger Min Yu came on board as permanent team mates. Other floating team members included Acquisitions Assistants Sean Andress, Christy Brown Anderson, and Deborah Snow, Serials Assistant Andi Newman, Engineering Librarian Michele Potter, Head of Metadata & Technical Services Manuel Urrizola, Digital Assets Metadata Librarian Noah Geraci, Metadata Cataloger Julia Ree, as well as Associate University Librarians Diane Bisom and Alison Scott.

During the first phase of sorting, the team got through about one-third of the boxes when a surprise delivery arrived. “Special collections discovered a bunch more comics that they didn’t know we had, so those got merged into the project,” Manuel explained.

“If Erika and I had been the only ones doing it, we’d still be working on it,” Jim said. “But having that many people work on it, it saved us so much time. It really was a big help.” In whole, the sorting project lasted more than six months, even with several members of the team working on it daily.

“Not only could we work faster and more effectively, but we could also get to know each other more,” Sompratana commented. “When we worked together as a group, I got to know them really well and I liked that.”

Min agreed, “We worked mostly as a team and we had a happy time working together. We had fun and learned a lot.”

Most of the 21,000-plus comic books that the team organized will become part of the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, adding a wide variety of new and different assets to the UCR Library’s extensive array of materials devoted to this field of scholarly research.

Some of the comics were given to the library by donors who asked for special attribution, so those were kept separate from the rest.

In addition, the team also had to sort out duplicates and process them separately from the comics that the library planned to retain in our collections. According to Min, there were approximately 40 boxes of duplicate issues culled from the collection.

“My favorite part was seeing everyone work together,” Jim stated. “They really got into it! It was really great teamwork.”

Now, the project is moving into its next phase: cataloging, which could take a year or more to complete. “We could use as many people as we can get,” Jim said. “If anyone is interested, if they would enjoy doing that, they should reach out to me or Erika to see how to get involved.”

More News March 21, 2023

Christopher Queen and Brandy Lewis were the first two SCUA graduate student interns and both of their experiences provide excellent examples of how these internships can benefit students and enhance their academic and professional goals.

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 News November 15, 2019

November is drawing to a close, and with it the end of fall quarter of the 2019-2020 academic year. Finals week is only days away.

The UCR Library is committed to creating a supportive atmosphere for our students, as final exams can breed a lot of stress. That is why we present our Finals Week Stress Relief (FWSR) event series at the end of every quarter.

These events give library employees an opportunity to get to know our students better, and for our students to let off steam together in a safe and fun way.

This quarter, we have crowd favorites returning to the line-up, such as the Therapy Fluffies, R'Finals Study Jam, and Surprise Snack Giveaway, as well as a few new activities.

Finals Week Stress Relief will kick off on Monday, December 2, 2019. The full event schedule will include:

Monday, December 2

• Get Tested Before Your Tests (free HIV testing, results in 1 minute) with The WELL & TruEvolution (Rivera) – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 4

• Therapy Fluffies with The WELL & UCR Active Minds (Rivera & Orbach) – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Cookie Break (Rivera) – 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Thursday, December 5

• Spin It to Win It (Orbach) – 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Squish Away Your Stress: Make Your Own Stress Ball (Rivera) – 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Friday, December 6

• Mindfulness Jars (Orbach) – 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Surprise Snack Giveaway (Rivera & Orbach) *while supplies last

Saturday, December 7

• If You Give a Brain a Brownie… (Orbach) – 3:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Sunday, December 8

• VIP Study Rooms (Rivera & Orbach) – 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (contest info below)
• R'Finals Study Jam  with the ARC (Academic Resource Center)  (Orbach) – 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Monday, December 9

• Breakfast Sandwiches with ASPB (Associated Students Program Board) (Rivera) - 2:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Tuesday, December 10

• Elote Bowls / Esquite (Orbach) – 2:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Wednesday, December 11

• Chicken Soup for the Soul (Orbach) – 2:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

Thursday, December 12

• Donut Worry, Be Happy (Rivera) – 2:00 p.m. *while supplies last
• Late Night Snacks with the WELL (Orbach) – 9:00 p.m. *while supplies last

​In addition, we will also have two “pop-up” events at unannounced times: Snack Wagon with ASUCR (Associated Students of UC Riverside), and Little Helpers with MESC (Middle Eastern Student Center).

***

Enter to win a VIP Study Room for Sunday, December 8 from 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm! Contest details are available on the UCR Library’s Instagram profile. The contest will begin on Wednesday, November 20.

Volunteers are always welcome to help run the FWSR events.

Any library staff that are interested in volunteering should contact Sahra Missaghieh Klawitter or Elisha Hankins to find out how to get involved.

More News May 02, 2018

Riverside, Calif (library.ucr.edu) – The University of California, Riverside Library is delighted to announce that we have recently completed a six-month project to digitize the Fujimoto family diaries.

On March 11, 1942, the life of one Riverside family was shattered when US government officials took local farmer Toranosuke Fujimoto into federal custody. His son, George Fujimoto, age 21, wrote in his diary that day about his father’s arrest: “Went to school as usual….Came home about 5 p.m. and was shocked to learn that Pop was taken into custody by federal officials today.  28 Riverside Japanese aliens were rounded up in today’s raid; Mr. Sanematsu & Pop included.”

Insight into the lives of this family will now be readily available since the UCR Library has completed digitizing 45 Fujimoto family diaries with more than 24,000 pages. Many of these pages are already available online through Calisphere, a UC-wide digital collections archive system. Complete access is expected within a couple of weeks.

Highlighting the voices of these two men from an immigrant family, this collection documents the daily experiences of the Fujimoto family’s life from 1913-1968, including the events surrounding the family’s forced removal from their farm and home in Riverside to their relocation to and incarceration at a camp in Poston, Arizona.

“The Fujimoto diaries are among the treasures of the UCR Special Collections and University Archives. They provide an unforgettable insight into a turbulent chapter of life in California and beyond,” said Cherry Williams, UCR Library’s Director of Distinctive Collections.

Digitizing the dairies, which were donated to the UCR Library more than 20 years ago, is a major step forward in preserving this piece of history for future generations, said Eric Milenkiewicz, Digital Initiatives Program Manager.

“Complete digital versions of the diaries are now available online, providing a worldwide audience with a glimpse into the Japanese-American experience in the US during the early to mid-twentieth century, from the personal perspectives of a father and his son,” Milenkiewicz said.

Toranosuke Fujimoto’s diaries are written in Japanese while George Fujimoto’s are in English. Milenkiewicz explained that by making the diaries available online, “We hope to further enhance this digital resource by unlocking the text contained within each diary entry through translation/transcription, which will lead to even better access and discovery.”

“We the family are happy at the work and care that UCR has given toward these diaries,” said Shanti Taka, Toranosuke Fujimoto’s granddaughter and George’s niece. “I look forward to reading them online myself.”

Library staff in Special Collections and University Archives frequently use the Fujimoto diaries in their teaching activities. UCR Library’s Primary Source Literacy Librarian Robin M. Katz believes that the ties to Riverside make the Fujimoto diaries especially poignant for members of the UCR community: “Here is a Japanese-American family that had established their life in Riverside and thought, ‘This is the American dream’ and then their lives are turned upside-down, and their property seized.”

The diaries themselves are available for use by the UCR community and the community at large, in the UCR Department of Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

To request additional information, please contact specialcollections@ucr.edu.

More News August 08, 2019

The Sherman Indian Museum digitization project now has more than 9,000 items available online through Calisphere; at the completion of the project, this figure will surpass 13,000.

The Sherman Indian Museum holds the archives of the Sherman Indian High School, an off-reservation boarding high school for Native Americans, with students from grades 9 through 12 who represent 76 federally recognized tribes from across the United States. Originally called the Perris Indian School when it opened in 1892 in Perris, California, it was moved to Riverside in 1903 under the name of The Sherman Institute. Then in 1971, it was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and renamed as the Sherman Indian High School.

Over the past two years, the UCR Library’s Digitization Project Coordinator Charlotte Dominguez has worked with four UCR students and 12 student workers from Sherman Indian High School to make items from the museum’s archival collections available online worldwide. Project completion is set by fall 2019.

“Native Americans were a big part of Southern California history that people don’t know a lot about, outside of academia,” explained Dominguez, who has worked with the Indigenous community for about 10 years, including her time with UC Riverside. “The native community is very active, very present. People with indigenous heritage only make about 1-1.5% of the population, but their culture is strong and thriving.”

The digitized collection spans more than a century of the school’s history: from the early years of the Perris Indian School in the 1890s, the Sherman Institute in the early 1900s, to when Sherman Indian High School was founded in the early 1970s, up to contemporary students in 2009.

“It has been a dream come true to have this project come to reality. Our boarding school story needs to be told, shared, and available to the world. That story has impacted our tribes in many ways, good and bad,” said Lorene Sisquoc, Director of the Sherman Indian Museum. “Now the photos and documents our museum holds can be accessed in a safe way. The alumni, families and researchers who are seeking this information can now have it at their fingertips. These records of our school’s history are now preserved for future generations to know this story.”

“Even though what we’re showing is mostly history, it’s still relevant to the present,” Dominguez added. “They’re living in modern times, but still keeping their history, traditions and culture relevant.”

Early on, Digitization Program Services Manager Eric Milenkiewicz knew that having this collection available digitally would have a deeply rewarding impact for the Native American community and researchers worldwide.

“Successful projects like this demonstrate what can be achieved when academic institutions and local community archives join forces,” Milenkiewicz added. “Not only does this help to preserve and increase access to these cultural heritage collections, but it also helps to strengthen the bond between the university and the community it serves."

The project’s goals went beyond purely digitizing the collection and publishing it on the Internet. Dominguez also spent time teaching the students and Sherman Indian Museum Director Lorene Sisquoc how to use their newly-acquired tools and equipment, how to create metadata, and how to research using the internet to cross-reference details, so that the museum could continue the work independently after this project’s term ends.

The computer and scanning equipment used for the project will remain on-site at the Museum, and Dominguez added that Sisquoc intends to have Sherman Indian High School students continue scanning photos and documents, though they may not be published immediately on Calisphere. Even with the projected 13,000 items published online at project’s end, Dominguez said that there are still several thousand items remaining to be digitized, which were not part of the original project.

After digitization, a lot of behind-the-scenes work still remained before the team could publish this massive collection on Calisphere, which is where Digital Assets Metadata Librarian Noah Geraci made significant contributions to the project’s success. Geraci’s work transformed the collection from a group of files on a hard drive to a publicly accessible online resource. “It’s been really wonderful to work with the Sherman community and be part of such a meaningful project,” he said.

"The Sherman Digital Project has already had an incredible impact on Native American individuals, families, and tribes who have accessed the collections online. Until the digital project, many American Indians had been unable to visit Sherman Indian Museum to access records germane to their families and people.  Now they have easy access to documents, and they are able to learn about their friends and relatives who were former students of Sherman Institute,” explained Dr. Clifford E. Trafzer, Distinguished Professor of History and Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs. “In addition to supporting new scholarship, digital access has opened new research opportunities to Native Americans. The project is a major contribution and welcomed by many researchers, including student researchers of all ages."​

Milenkiewicz originally collaborated with Dr. Trafzer to write and submit the grant proposal in April 2016. In January 2017, the library received the grant totaling $376,191 from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.