By Nancy Golz, CCL-EAR Committee Chair

Greetings from the CCL-EAR committee! The CCL-EAR committee is currently working on two reviews that we should have ready for you before the end of the semester. We are putting the finishing touches on a Quick Look Review of Ethnic News Watch, a database that provides access to large and small ethnic minority presses which contain both scholarly and popular content. This multi-disciplinary database provides access to articles that are written by and about people who are prominent in their own communities. The articles provide a diverse perspective from African American/Caribbean/African, Asian/Pacific Islander, European/Eastern European, Hispanic, Jewish, and Native Peoples. Ethnic NewsWatch has significantly more ethnic coverage than the databases discussed in our February 2023 review "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Databases that help Students Meet the California Community Colleges’ Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement and More." Look for the review to be published soon on the CCL-EAR page on the CCL website under Reviews.

The CCL-EAR committee is also working on an in-depth comparison review of several literature database including: Bloom’s Literature (Proquest), Literature Online Complete Collection (Proquest), Literature Resource Center (Gale), and Literary Reference Center Plus (EBSCO). In this type of comparative review, we consider the content and coverage in the databases, the relevance to community college libraries, the pricing modal and the cost and affordability for community college libraries, the interface and usability which includes mobile responsiveness, technical support, interoperability with Canvas and Alma/Primo, technical support, privacy and accessibility. I am pretty excited about this review because this is the first CCL-EAR review of literature datbases. We will let you know as soon as we have these reviews published on the website.

If you have any additional databases that you would like CCL-EAR to review, please let me know.

Unbelievably, we only have a few more weeks left in the Spring 2024 semester. We wish you a successful conclusion to the semester!

Dr. Nancy Golz
CCL-EAR, Chair
Faculty Librarian
Merced College
nancy.golz@mccd.edu

By Trevor Passage, Community College League of California

If you are a little fuzzy on what the LSP is, and how it relates to you, let’s have a brief synopsis. The Library Services Platform is a program brought to you in partnership between the Council of Chief Librarians, the Community College League of California, and the Chancellor’s Office.  The cost of each participating college’s library catalogs is covered by the state, freeing up resources for other important library expenditures.
 
Colleges control many aspects of their instance of Alma and Primo but, in cases where a system wide policy or procedure is required, the LSP Governance Committee will make determinations for the system as a whole. The Governance Committee is a Chancellor’s Office committee composed of members from LSP Work Groups, the Council of Chief Librarians, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, and other stakeholders.
 
When making a policy for the system, the process will usually originate from one of the eight systemwide Work Groups (Analytics, Cataloging, Circulation, Discovery & User Experience, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-racism, & Accessibility, Electronic Resources Management, Instruction, Systems) making a proposal.  That proposal is then discussed and voted on at the Governance Committee.
 
What this means for you is that there are several places to reach out for support with your Alma and Primo instances. The different work groups all have support forms for asking questions around their particular topic, and you can always reach out to me.  If I do not know how to help you, I will find someone who does.

By Amy Beadle, Consortium Director

Hello and happy spring! After a seemingly never-ending January, the last couple of months have sped by so quickly that my head is still spinning.

Fiscal Year Renewals/New Resources

A few important important upcoming deadlines for your attention:

The default invoice date will be July 1, 2024, and those invoices will be generated and sent by May 17th unless you request something different prior to that. To request an alternative date, please email Marissa (mjackson@ccleague.org).

Please remember to use the drop-down options under “Billing Cycles” to request any invoice groupings. FYI, you MUST click the checkmark to have your selection entered. Invoices may not be changed after they are issued and the ONLY way for us to see your request is via the dropdown as shown below:

Please also remember that if you are a Fiscal Year renewal for New York Times, you need to add either News Only or All Access as a new subscription as of July 1. There are no NYT “renewals” in the system due to our move to a direct agreement (no longer through Center for Research Libraries). Search “New York Times” under Publisher in the catalog and you should find the following options:

JSTOR sent out some confusing messaging regarding ArtStor being absorbed into the JSTOR collection, but it only refers to the platform, not the content. So please renew ArtStor if you still want access to the content.

ICOLC

Last week, the CCLC Library Consortium co-hosted the ICOLC (International Coalition of Library Consortia) North American Meeting in Anaheim. We shared the hosting privilege with the CSUs, UCs and SCELC. There were 120 attendees representing the United States, Canada and eight European countries. Topics included AI, Succession Planning, Open Access, Equity-based Initiatives, Resource Sharing between Consortia and more. Our consortium took part in a panel discussion regarding Demonstrating Consortial Value. Many attendees were intrigued by the idea of advocacy and education, such as the League provides, as a way to provide value to our members.

ELUNA and eCAUG (so many acronyms, so little time!)

We’re excited that many of you are attending the upcoming ELUNA meeting in Minneapolis. Pawel and Trev will be there and are looking forward to all of the great sessions, as well as spending time with those of you who are also attending.

We’re really excited to announce another opportunity to come together with Ex Libris users - this time limited to our California colleges. ELUNA California Users Group (eCAUG) is planning another meet-up in Long Beach on October 24-25. I don’t know much more than the date/location, so keep an eye on the listservs for more details to come. FYI, I’m not 100% certain that I’m supposed to share the dates out yet, so mark your calendars, but keep it quiet for now. ;-)

Important Dates

And with that, get out and enjoy this fabulous weather! But first please make note of these important dates:

Tom was hired as a full-time Associate Librarian at Oxnard College on Jan. 6, 2000. Prior service was as a public librarian in Oklahoma City and Los Angeles. He also worked in a private law library in downtown LA for eight years. Tom wishes to express his appreciation to his colleagues in the Ventura CCD, as well as to those statewide library faculty with whom he served on the CCL-EAR Committee. Also, as part of the Library Services Platform selection project. Best wishes to the CCL community at large. Retirement plans are a bit vague, but include travel and R & R.

By Claudia Rivas, Río Hondo College

As announced in the September 2023 Outlook Newsletter, Librarian Claudia Rivas began implementing her proposed Zine Outreach Project last fall, as approved and grant funded by UCLA (California Rare Book School’s Radical Librarianship Institute) via the Mellon Foundation.

Zine Fest

As proposed, Claudia spearheaded the launch of Río Hondo College (RHC) Library's first-ever Zine Fest which took place over two days in October 2023. Each day featured a line-up of stellar panelists—zinesters and artists/authors in their own right—each of whom presented for 15 minutes, speaking of their history as creators of zines, including their inspirations, passions, and process, and shared why everyone should make zines.

The Zine Fest was held inside RHC Library, where each presenter had a table to display and sell their work. After presentations concluded, there was time for attendees to browse the tables and speak with presenters. Since attendees were allowed to come and go as they pleased within a three-hour allotted time each day, there is no accurate count for attendance, but each day was well attended thanks to the support of RHC faculty who brought entire classes to the event. Even though the Zine Fest was made possible with grant funding, its success was thanks to cooperation from colleagues, including the collaborative support of RHC Library staff, faculty, and administration.

Purpose

The main purpose of the Zine Fest was to educate the RHC community about zines and the people who make zines (a.k.a., zinesters). It was also meant to serve as an inspiration point; Claudia’s vision was that by listening to presenters and viewing their work, RHC students, staff, faculty, and administrators would be inspired to make their own zines and contribute them to the RHC Library Zine Collection.

Prior to the Zine Fest, the RHCL Zine Collection held roughly 80 zines predominantly created by folks outside the RHC community, either obtained via donation or purchased through Etsy and other online retailers as well as at events and bookstores. In other words, the number of zines made by RHC community members was relatively small, and as such, the aim of the Zine Outreach Project was—and continues to be—to “flip” the collection so that the dominant contributions are made by the RHC community.

Workshops

Following the Zine Fest, to foster the goal of the Zine Outreach Project, Claudia led a series of workshops, including access to free materials, geared towards students but open to all of the RHC community. The first series of workshops, six total in October, included a presentation on a brief history of zines, what they are and why they are important, an overview of library resources related to zines, and a demonstration on how to make a mini zine and a booklet. The workshops included enough time to begin planning a zine or to make one. A second series of six workshops in November omitted the presentation and instruction components but rather were intended as a “drop-in” style where anyone could work on a zine with the supplies provided, get help, and/or ask questions about zines. A final, third series of six workshops in November and December also included time to work on and finish zines, but additionally served as an opportunity for those who had completed their zine(s) to make copies and catalog their zine(s) before donating them to the RHC Library Zine Collection.

Because community engagement was an important part of the project, Claudia collaborated with Whittier Public Library Teen Librarian Monica Roman to involve teens from the greater Whittier community in zine-making, too. Monica graciously hosted four zine workshops at the Whittier Public Library’s Central Branch on behalf of RHC Library, partly in the hopes of obtaining more zine donations for the collection at RHC Library. Two workshops in October had 13 teen patrons attend, and two in November had 18 participants, including a few repeat visitors.

Cataloging

Participants who completed and donated a zine to the RHC Library Zine Collection were asked to catalog their work via an online form created and developed by Claudia, and which took into account feedback provided by Dez Alaniz, an RHC Library Zine Fest presenter/zinester as well as a professional librarian/archivist; and also Cypress College Librarian and zinester Annette Young, who initiated a zine collection during her time at Chaffey College. Through regular feedback, along with trial and error, the cataloging form underwent many changes over several months, becoming more and more refined.

The form provides permissions for RHC Library on what can or cannot be done with a zine that is donated to the collection, but it also serves as a learning tool by which those donating their zines become more familiar with library cataloging. Having zine creators catalog their own work places the cataloging power in their hands, so to speak, as they provide the description, keywords, categories, and dimensions as related to their zine(s). Contributors’ responses serve as the stepping stone to do original catalog work for the zines in the RHC Library collection where the voice of the creator is the primary guide.

Funding, and Participation

Roughly half of the grant funding for the Zine Outreach Project went towards the Zine Fest presenters honoraria, food for the event, and a high resolution scanner; the remaining half was intended to primarily be used as stipends for students and/or RHC community members who made and contributed zines to the RHC Library Zine Collection. Originally, a stipend of $25 was offered per student for making and donating one zine to the Library’s collection, in the hopes that 100+ students would participate.

There were 38 students who attended the Zine Fest and expressed interest or intention in participation in the Zine Outreach Project in order to receive a stipend. In October’s workshops, a total of 35 students attended workshops and in the second series of workshops, 18 students attended. At that point, because only a small number of zines had been created and donated to the collection, Claudia increased the stipend to a limit of $100 per participant, allowing participants to donate up to four zines at a time (i.e., $25 each). For the final series of workshops, 21 students attended. At the conclusion of the Fall 2023 semester, a total of 15
RHC students had completed and donated zines to the Library’s collection.

Of Whittier Public Library’s 17 total attendees, two made and submitted a zine for a stipend.

Extension, and Workshops (Again)

One silver lining around a delay in funding was an extension for project completion. Originally, the project's final report was due in July 2024, but because of the delay, California Rare Book School extended the deadline to nine months from the funding date (i.e., November 2024). This was welcome news as much of the grant money intended as stipends for participants in the project remained unspent. So, with a new semester, Claudia could make a renewed effort to continue offering zine workshops towards this primary purpose.

As such, for Spring 2024, four workshops were offered in February and March, and another four workshops were offered in April and May, again with the same, revised stipend (i.e., $100 max per participant). This meant that those who had made only one zine in the fall could potentially make another three for the RHCL Zine Collection in the spring. Eleven total students attended the February and March workshops, and eleven attended in April. Claudia has yet to see what the last workshop, scheduled in May, will bring. As of today, five additional students have donated zines to the RHC Library Zine Collection. In total, approximately 50 zines have been added to the collection, all the result of the Zine Outreach Project.

Final Project—And What's Next

A requirement of the project grant will have all the zine productions reprinted in a commemorative monograph documenting the project and its outcomes. For those that granted permission, each zine donated for the project has been scanned with an Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner at 300 DPI. These images are being produced for the commemorative anthology, but they will also be made available in RHC Library’s Digital Zine Collection, which is accessible to any user. A physical copy of each zine has also been acquired for RHC Library's Archives, based on each creator’s preference.

RHC Library's goal for the current zine collection is to catalog, barcode, and circulate as many zines as possible to spread the stories, joy, creativity, heart, and hard work of the creators. Although participation was not as high as was hoped or anticipated, every person who participated in the zine-making workshops expressed how much they enjoyed the process and felt a sense of pride about what they created; but better yet, all were happy to share their work and stories through this library in our corner of the world. For this reason, and many others, there is great value in hosting zine collections in community college libraries, where students can not only experience and learn from the stories of others, but more importantly, contribute their own often overlooked and unheard stories.

By Daniel Slota, Riverside City College

The Riverside City College Library surveyed students, asking them what we could do as a library to help them in their academic journey. One of the most popular requests on surveys was to add food and drink vending machines and allow students to eat in the library. We heard them loud and clear. In late 2022, we added 5 vending machines, 2 microwaves, and created a mixed seating area where students are not only allowed but encouraged to eat and drink in the library.  

RCC does have a full-service cafeteria that serves student during the day. However, because it closes at 5pm, students don't have on campus options to sit and eat in the evenings. Since the RCC Library is open longer hours than anywhere else on campus, having a food lounge helps to compliment the other food services on campus during their closed hours. 

The food lounge has proved to be very popular with students. In the mixed seating area, students take advantage of a host of opportunities including: a collection of board games that RCC Librarians maintain through donations, self-locking charging stations for cell phones and tablets, whiteboards where students can study collaboratively, and comfortable seating where students can enjoy the view from our building’s 3rd floor windows overlooking beautiful downtown Riverside, California.

This exhibition explores how AIDS posters serve as highly adaptable, durable, cost effective, efficient tools in sharing public health messaging. Created by communities bonded together by illness and a desire to make change, these posters provide a gateway to AIDS history, illustrating how, in the face of illness, neglect, and, early on, the unknown, people came together to connect, create, and save one another's lives. Today, AIDS posters continue to be valuable resources for the ongoing epidemic. They teach us about community organizing processes and the ways that groups dealing with HIV heal, share fears, and strategize toward wellness together.

AIDS, Posters, and Stories of Public Health: A People's History of a Pandemic includes selected AIDS posters from Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture, the 2013 exhibition about the history of HIV/AIDS in the United States.

These are displayed on large, printed banners in the Library and Learning Center lobby (Building 1100). There is a concurrent digital exhibit available on the National Library of Medicine's website.

We hope you will visit, view and think about this exhibit which is still relevant today. According to HIV.gov, among individuals ages 13 and older:

Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S.A have HIV. About 13 percent of them don’t know it and need testing.

• HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
• In 2021, an estimated 32,100 new HIV infections occurred in the U.S.
• Estimated new HIV infections declined 12% from 36,500 in 2017 to 32,100 in 2021.
• In 2021, 36,136 individuals received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. and 6 dependent areas at 3,500 new infections per day.

The National Library of Medicine produced this exhibition and companion website.

California Conference on Library Instruction (CCLI) 2024
"Play & Playfulness in Library Instruction"
San Francisco, CA
May 31, 2024

Online Teaching Conference 2024
"Navigating the Digital Landscape: Setting the Course for Student Success"
Long Beach Convention Center
June 26-28, 2024

2024 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition
San Diego, CA
June 27-July 2, 2024

Cal OER 2024
Virtual
August 7-8, 2024

Open Education Conference
"It's About Time"
Providence, RI & Online
October 8-10, 2024

California Library Association Annual Conference
"Balancing Act: Self Care & Shelf Care"
Pasadena, CA
October 17-19, 2024

2024 COLEGAS Annual Conference
Sacramento, CA
November 4-6, 2024

Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums (ATALM)
ATALM 2024
Palm Springs, CA
November 12-14, 2024