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Spotlight on Faculty: Professor Tiffany López
Tiffany López is an inspiration not only on the University of California, Riverside campus, but regionally and nationally as well. She is dedicated to creating awareness of cultural history, and providing insight into the intersection of art and creative production’s role in personal and social change.
López is a professor in the UCR Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production, and Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS). She has been teaching at UC Riverside for nearly two decades, and her dedication to introducing students to Chicana/Chicano and Latina/Latino history and culture has been a driving force in her work.
As part of the UCR Library's Latino Americans: 500 Years of History programming series in March, López will lead a scholarly discussion and give a dramatic reading from the Segundo Jueves Latina/o Play Project. She will read an excerpt of "Y No Se Lo Trago La Tierra" by Tomás Rivera, past UCR chancellor and the first Mexican-American chancellor in the UC system.
The Play Project is a series of performances including dramatic readings, plays, music, and dance from Latina/o cultural writings and works that López has developed as living, shared artwork using the medium of theatrical performance. A Segundo Jueves Latina/o Play Project performance will be presented at the Culver Center in April, 2016.
Student Research Ignites a ‘Revolutionary’ Poster Exhibit
During winter quarter 2024, the UCR Library collaborated with Dr. Alejandra Dubcovsky and her History 197 students on a ‘revolutionary’ project.
From March 15 through March 28, 2024, a poster exhibit near the Information Desk in the Tomás Rivera Library was on display that offered different perspectives on the American Revolution.
Dr. Dubcovsky aimed to deepen students' understanding of the American Revolution by allowing students to explore it from diverse angles, with their research culminating in a poster exhibit.
“There are so many primary materials available and they cover all sorts of topics, from fashion to food, from warfare to everyday life, and from women's experiences to the role of political discourse,” Dr. Dubcovsky explained. “Students can always find something of interest in the American Revolution!”
Key to this exploration were the efforts of Social Sciences Teaching Librarian Michael Yonezawa and Arts and Humanities Teaching Librarian Robin M. Katz. They collaborated with Dr. Dubcovsky to design a library instruction session for the class that not only introduced students to valuable library resources but also helped them engage directly with primary sources.
Dr. Dubcovsky credited this collaboration as critical to the project's success, stating, "The library and librarians were instrumental in the success of the students' research projects. Michael and Robin then went above and beyond (as usual), and held individual meetings with each student; these one-on-one meetings allowed students to ask specific questions and resolve particular research queries."
Student Kasen Milhon-Martin appreciated the one-on-one session. “I met with Michael Yonezawa and he was incredibly helpful and walked me through using the databases…it was also really helpful to talk through my topic while looking for sources to use.”
Another student in the class, Jacob Spencer, expressed how the library’s resources proved invaluable. "The library was the linchpin in my work…giving me free use of internet databases like Gale's Sabin Americana and JSTOR were immensely helpful."
Jacob was unaware of how easy library services like Interlibrary Loan were to use until this project, noting how smooth the process was.
“I needed a book that UCR didn't have, but through the interlibrary loan system, I was able to get it without any problems,” Jacob said. “It's such a wonderfully useful facet of the library that I most definitely will turn to should I need something that I can't pick right off the shelf at Rivera.”
Another History 197 student, Bailey Hellman, shared their enthusiasm for the accessible presentation of historical research through posters: "It's really nice to be able to see something that you have spent so much time working on being displayed. A lot of academic papers are difficult to read, so something like a poster makes historical work more digestible and accessible."
Bailey was surprised by all of the databases accessible to the UCR community for free through the UCR Library, "There are so many sources in those that don't come up with a simple Google search––and I couldn't have written my paper without them. It made everything so much easier," Bailey said.
Haydn Marshall, another student in the class, successfully tracked down the full original text of the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act of 1746 in a book in the Rivera Library. There is a free online version from the UK Parliament’s website, but it only goes back to 1991 and not all of the original text is included. Haydn was able to leverage library resources to find the full original text version.
“I gave some advice, but I didn’t point out this specific title,” Robin M. Katz said. “This is just one example of the many students who had a chance to hone and demonstrate tremendous skill and initiative.”
Robin continued, “This story also shows how meaningful it is for us librarians to see students’ final projects – most of the time, we teach a session, or have a research consultation, or answer a question and we don’t know where the research leads. Getting to reconnect with Haydn and see his fantastic work and hear his insightful argument was a real highlight of the quarter for me.”
This exhibition not only showcased students' hard work but also underscored the library's vital role in fostering academic research and information literacy.
“Working with instructors to support students' information literacy development is one of our primary missions,” said Director of Teaching and Learning Britt Foster. “And being active creators of information, as with these posters, is the perfect example of this, as students are bringing together primary and secondary sources to tell these stories in new ways.”
One Day to Make a Difference
Save the date! On Tuesday, December 3, UC Riverside will host its second annual Day of Giving.
Day of Giving is a unique, online fundraising opportunity that lasts only 24 hours.
For Day of Giving 2019, the UCR Library will highlight these three funds:
There are two ways you can help.
First:
Post on social media about the Day of Giving. Tag us (@ucrlibrary on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook) and include the hashtag #GivingTueUCR in your post, so we can interact with you. (Hint: Also tag some fellow Highlanders who love the library.)
You can use the “Share” buttons (above right) to share this story easily by email, Facebook or Twitter.
Second:
Make your gift early using the button below (scroll down to "Library Development Fund"). All charitable contributions are tax-deductible and will directly benefit everyone at UC Riverside who uses the UCR Library.
National Library Week 2018
National Library Week will be observed April 8-14, 2018 with the theme, "Libraries Lead." The 2018 National Library Week celebration will mark the 60th anniversary of the event which is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA).
On Tuesday, April 10, in honor of National Library Workers Day, UCR Library invites UC Riverside students, faculty, researchers, staff, and community members to share a story about how our library has helped you with your study, research, or work.
Additionally, if you tell us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook how the UCR Library has led you to something of value in your life, your post may have a chance to win a $100 VISA gift card and a copy of “Firebird,” the Coretta Scott King Award-winning book by Misty Copeland, 2018 National Library Week Honorary Chair.
To be eligible for the gift card and book, please follow the ALA’s guidelines below:
You must include the hashtags #NationalLibraryWeek and #LibrariesLead on your social media post.
Please also tag us @ucrlibrary so we can see the stories you share.
Post to Twitter, Instagram, or on the I Love Libraries Facebook page during National Library Week (Apr. 8-14) for a chance to win. Entries can be a picture, video, or text. You can use this poster to help share your story. Creativity is encouraged!
(Note: The prize drawing and announcement will be done by ALA, not by the UCR Library.)
Eaton at the Movies
A celebration of science fiction film and television-related materials from the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
This exhibit takes up the themes of wonder and terror as it relates to SF film and television, and showcases a variety of materials from the Eaton Collection.
From periodicals to intimate photographs, rare books to concept art, many of these items are being exhibited for the first time, and represent holdings from multiple archival and print collections.
Visit Special Collections & University Archives to view the exhibit or learn more by downloading the exhibit guide here.
| Event | Eaton at the Movies |
| Location | Tomás Rivera Library, 4th Floor in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) |
| Dates | Monday, February 12, 2024 - Summer 2024 |
| Hours |
View this exhibit during SCUA's operating hours. Please note, SCUA will be closed on Monday, February 19 in observance of Presidents' Day. SCUA's normal operating hours are below: Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. |
| Parking |
Free Visitor Parking is available on Fridays, starting at 12:00 PM through 6:00 AM Monday morning in the unreserved spaces of the following parking lots/structures:
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Libraries
The Tomás Rivera Library serves as the main library of the campus providing access to materials in the humanities, social sciences, and arts.
Inyoung Shin
Inyoung helps faculty and students utilize AI tools effectively and ethically for their research. Her support covers from basic prompting to API integration and AI application development across STEM, social sciences, and humanities, in alignment with UCR safety standards.
Inyoung Shin holds a PhD in Communication from Rutgers University and an MS in Computer Science from Yale University. As a researcher, she has published more than 10 peer-reviewed journal articles on the social impacts of emerging technologies, ranging from AI to robots.
AI Research Librarian
