Thank you for your dedicated support of the University Library as we continue to work with students, staf, faculty, and partners to ensure that our SDSU community is prepared to meet the challenges of a swiftly evolving information environment on campus (and beyond).
In this report, you will see evidence of our commitment to student success through assistance and employment, enabling faculty excellence through instructional and research support, and promoting the distinctive character of SDSU as an R1 institution. All of this work is improved with the support of our friends and donors, and I hope you will see something in this report that means something to you. If you do, I hope you will reach out so that we can fnd ways to collaborate and make our work even better.
There is so much more to the University Library than what you’ll fnd here, though, and I encourage you to visit the Library News throughout the year to learn more.
Scott Walter, MLS, Ph.D. Dean, University Library
Propelling the SDSU Community Forward
Harold K. Brown Civil Rights Collection and Harold K. Brown Civil Rights Bequest
The University Library is an integral part of SDSU, and the diversity of its collections rightly refects the diversity of the academic experience.
The Harold K. Brown Papers provide a window into the local Civil Rights Movement through the correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, slides, radio interviews, and photographs of Harold K. Brown, ’59. Additional materials show his dedication to community economic development and his professional life (with a heavy emphasis on the Congress of Racial Equality), Brown's role in the School Integration Task Force, and his involvement with the Black Economic Development Task Force. The collection's extensive newspaper clippings include articles from, and full issues of, The Voice, The San Diego Light House, the San Diego Monitor, and Logan Heights' Independent. The majority of materials date from 1963 to 1966 and the mid-1990s.
Primary source materials, such as the Harold K. Brown Collection, allow student and faculty researchers to explore core materials on their chosen topic. They provide a frst-hand perspective and authenticity, as well as context surrounding the time and subject. This collection provides a unique view of a noted local civil rights activist and community and economic development leader who fought racial discrimination to bring social and economic opportunity to underserved areas of San Diego.
Subsequent gifts have enabled the Library to best preserve and present these materials.
The Harold K. Brown Bequest will enhance the Library’s existing Africana Studies Collection space with a permanent exhibit on the Civil Rights Movement. The Africana Studies Collection space was created on the third foor of the Love Library in 2023. This dedicated space houses books on topics related to Africana Studies and Black culture, as well as related art and decor. The exhibit will inspire curiosity about local eforts toward civil rights and serve as an entrance into the Harold K. Brown Collection and the many additional resources the library holds on this topic.
A page from the SDSU Magazine, Fall 1996
Thriving in the Aztec Experience
Alexis Petty, Class of 2025 Class Level: Master's Candidate College: College of Arts and Letters Major: History
Alexis fnished her master’s in history at SDSU this year, and her next step is attending the University of Washington to earn a Master of Library and Information Science degree.
Since she enjoyed working in the UCSD library as an undergraduate and decided she enjoyed studying history more than her undergraduate major of political science, Alexis waited for a student employee job opening in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), where she could work with historical documents. She said, “There, I realized I needed a library degree to pursue my dream of becoming an archivist.”
As a student employee, she stafed the SCUA front desk, helping users access primary sources. She prepared archival materials for display, organized the boxes of material, and updated the computer system with newly received additions to the J. Gordon Melton Vampire Collection.
Working in the library confrmed her passion for researching, organizing, and preserving archives. “Surfacing and upholding archival materials is important,” she said. “Now I know my dream job is working in academic archives or a museum.”
I realized I needed a library degree to pursue my dream of becoming an archivist. Surfacing and upholding archival materials is important to me, and now I know that my dream job is working in academic archives or a museum. — Alexis
Sierra Barahura, Class of 2021
Class Level: Alumna College: College of Arts and Letters
Major: History, Anthropology
Sierra Barahura graduated from SDSU in 2021 with degrees in art history and anthropology. At SDSU, she worked as an intern in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) and the library’s Content Organization and Management area (COM). The COM unit works behind the scenes to process incoming materials such as books, journals, media, and other additions to the collection, and to make sure they are available for use.
Through those jobs, she discovered her love of the library, especially the way the library helped people fnd knowledge and encouraged a love of learning. She decided to continue her education with a master’s in library and information science at San José State University. Now, she is the children’s librarian at the National City Public Library.
Sierra is a native San Diegan and grew up in Chula Vista. She was determined to be the frst in her family to earn a university degree. Like many of the library’s student employees, she found working in the library interesting and rewarding, and she was inspired by the fact that librarians served their communities.
Sierra says, “The more we learn, the more we can bring knowledge to our communities and make them a better place.”
The more we learn, the more we can bring knowledge to our communities and make them a better place. — Sierra
Celebrating Shared Success
Statistics of Interest
The library has 33 librarians, 50 staf members, and almost 100 student employees. Almost 1.5 million people visited the library in person, and there were 1 million website views. The library provides access to 1.7 million physical books, 1.2 million e-books, and over 450,000 ejournals.
Local digital collections, including SDSU theses and dissertations, number over 125,000. Librarians provided 4,636 in-depth research consultations and taught 422 classes, reaching 12,279 students last year.
Recent Highlights
Sustainability Certifcation
The library earned certifcation as a Sustainable Library from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. The Sustainable Library Certifcation Program provides a framework to help libraries—and ultimately communities—become more environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible.
CSU Library Conference
Over 650 library faculty and staf from across the CSU participated in the inaugural CSU Libraries Conference. SDSU Library faculty and staf were selected through a competitive process for presentations and shared SDSU initiatives in makerspaces, research services, sustainability, and community engagement.
SDSU Student Read-Out for Banned Books Week
The library hosted our second Student Read-Out in September. Over the lunch hour, students and faculty read excerpts from frequently banned books to show support for the right to read and to oppose censorship and book bans.
Podcasting
The Digital Humanities Center added additional facilities for recording podcasts. Students and faculty use these studios for class assignments or personal projects. Last year, more than 200 podcasts were created. Digital Humanities (DH) Librarian and DH Center (DHC) Director Pamella Lach, and DHC Programs & Operations Specialist Patrick Flanigan, continue to ofer expertise to local and national podcasting workshops. Flanigan received the Presidential Staf Excellence Award for Innovation and Creativity for his work to increase podcasting opportunities.
Faculty Achievements
Pamela Jackson, MLIS
Title: Comic Arts Curator, Co-Founder/Co-Director, Center for Comics Studies College: University Library Achievement: Library Journal honored Pamela as one of their 2025 “Movers and Shakers.”
Nominator Amy Brownlee, a K–12 Library Media Specialist in Sterling, Kansas, said, “I nominated Pam because she was instrumental to the success of the National Endowment for the Humanities K–12 Summer Institute on teaching with comics. She has an impressive depth of knowledge about comics, and her leadership and expertise in the feld impact others and further the scholarship of comics. I would describe Pam as a comics evangelist. She wants everyone to know about the power of comics to inform and instruct, as well as to entertain.”
In addition to her library role, Jackson co-founded the Center for Comics Studies with College of Arts and Letters professor Elizabeth Pollard. Beyond SDSU, she has served as an archivist for San Diego Comic Fest, written numerous articles about comics and pop culture, and presented at Comic-Con International, the Comics Studies Society, and the International Comic Arts Forum.
“Pam has shepherded the growth, development, and use of SDSU’s extraordinary collection of comics and graphic art while building critical connections with campus and community partners that place this collection at the center of innovation in teaching, impact in student employment, and engagement with the wider San Diego comics community,” said Scott Walter, SDSU University Library Dean. “I can think of few better examples of a library’s collections and services being at the ‘heart’ of teaching, learning, and scholarship at a research university.”
Pam shared, "I am particularly proud of the K–12 Summer Institute. These teachers were looking for age-appropriate comics that, at their core, could be used to teach about inclusion and understanding diferences. Many mentioned a desire to lower rates of bullying. We were also able to consider comics that address misinformation and disinformation, and those critical thinking skills are key to developing civically engaged, truth-seeking, and compassionate students. I am inspired to share that comics have always been examinations in justice, holding up a mirror to what it means to be human, to be fawed, and to be empathetic."
Faculty Achievements
Erika Esquivel, MLIS
Title: Latin American & Indigenous Communities Archivist College: University Library
Achievement: Erika is expanding the library’s outreach and helping students engage with Special Collections and University Archives, with a focus on Latinx and Indigenous communities.
Erika has partnered with the SDSU Latinx Resource Center and librarians Maria Amor and Erik Valenzuela to host events where students of all backgrounds can explore Latin culture and history. One highlight was a cartonera-making workshop. Cartoneras—small books bound with cardboard—became popular in Argentina in the early 2000s as a way to make literature and knowledge more accessible. That spirit refects Erika’s goal: connecting students to culture and history through creative, inclusive programming. She also helped students document the history of the Latinx Resource Center using archival resources, oral histories, and research support.
Erika is further expanding access through her leadership on Unearthing the Chicana/o Movement in San Diego: Digitizing the Education Movimiento, funded by a Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources and the Mellon Foundation. The project is digitizing archival materials on the Chicana/o education movement in San Diego—scrapbooks, syllabi, fyers, newsletters, and more—and preserving them for future generations. Erika recently met with the original donors of these materials to share updates and outline the project’s outcomes.
“The library’s place on campus is unique,” says SDSU Library Dean Scott Walter. “We sit at the nexus of the curriculum and co-curriculum, the border of the campus and community. Erika and her colleagues show how our collections can strengthen partnerships and broaden our impact.”
Erika shared, “Community and outreach are central tenets of my work. I believe that to be ethical stewards of our Special Collections and University Archives, we must strive to give our collections a life through use, engagement, and teaching. Special Collections and Archives can shed light on the past, afrm presence and identity, or even be used as a tool for advocacy. Our collections are only ‘special’ because of their connection to the people and the communities whose histories they document—therefore, it only makes sense I do what I can to maintain and foster that connection.”
Faculty Achievements
Sarah Tribelhorn, M.S., MLIS
Title: Sciences and Sustainability Librarian College: University Library
Achievement: Sarah and the Library Green Team earned certifcation as a Sustainable Library from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. The Sustainable Library Certifcation Program provides a framework to help libraries—and ultimately communities—become more environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible.
The certifcation marks the culmination of a two-year efort to evaluate campus involvement, community engagement, social well-being, resilience, fnancial sustainability, collections and services, and environmental stewardship.
Sustainability in the library supports community building and aligns with the strategic plans of the library, SDSU, and the California State University system. At the heart of all eforts is a commitment to student success. Hosting events that draw students into the library, modeling sustainable practices, and strengthening connections between students and librarians are key to this mission.
The library hosted events promoting sustainability, including workshops on eco-friendly gift wrapping and the benefts of digital decluttering. It partnered with the SDSU Biodiversity Museum to support participatory science. Staf members compost lunch scraps, use stainless steel water bottles, and rely on compostable cutlery and plates for events. Giveaway pens are made from recycled water bottles and use ecofriendly ink.
While Sarah highlights the importance of the Green Team and collaborations with Associated Students Green Love and the SDSU Ofce of Energy and Sustainability, her leadership is the driving force behind these accomplishments.
Sarah shared, "The SDSU Library's engagement in sustainability and related initiatives has transformed its role on campus. The library directly supports student success by providing essential academic resources, reducing costs, enhancing well-being, and creating engaging spaces and programs. Simultaneously, it serves as a vital partner in advancing the university's broader sustainability, diversity, and strategic goals, increasing its visibility, relevance, and value across the entire campus community. This would not have been possible without the input of all members of the Green Team, as well as the library."
Professional Development
From printed cards to online catalogs, maps and statistical tables to research data sets, and information retrieval to generative AI, few felds have evolved as rapidly as academic librarianship in the 21st century. To ensure SDSU Library faculty and staf are prepared to meet these challenges while supporting teaching, learning, and research, we prioritize continuing professional education.
While many programs are now available online—including the inaugural CSU Libraries Conference—we also support participation in premier national and international conferences. These opportunities allow SDSU librarians and staf to both learn from and contribute to the broader feld.
Allison Bailund exemplifes this commitment. Over the years, she has attended and presented at conferences to deepen and share her expertise in cataloging—particularly her nationally recognized work with comics, developed through SDSU’s world-class collection. Her leadership at the state and national levels, including with the Library of Congress, was instrumental in her successful transition from Monographs Cataloging Coordinator to Principal Cataloging Librarian.
Sciences and Sustainability Librarian Sarah Tribelhorn participated in over 10 conferences this past year, and she received the “Best Paper Award” for her study on sustainability in academic libraries at the 2nd Transatlantic Symposium on Sustainability. “Attending these conferences has been a privilege,” she said. “They’ve ofered professional recognition, knowledge sharing, and new ideas in AI ethics, sustainability, and participatory science.” Sarah applied these lessons in leading the SDSU Library to its successful 2025 certifcation as a “sustainable library.”
Professional education also supports career development and growth. Acquisitions Coordinator Tyler Rogers attended The Acquisitions Institute, where he learned strategies to address budget challenges. build IT Lead Mariah Finley-Gardner attended the American Library Association’s Annual Meeting and was inspired to pursue a master’s in library and information science. She recently completed her frst semester and is loving it!
We’re proud to ofer faculty and staf support for professional development—from tech training to webinars and conference participation—thanks in part to generous donor contributions to both dedicated and unrestricted funds. We are deeply grateful for this support and for the new skills it helps us bring to the SDSU community.
Online Learning Librarian
Rebecca Nowicki presenting at the American Library Association Conference
Special Collections & University Archives
Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) houses rare, fne, unique, and valuable books, periodicals, manuscripts, and documents, which require preservation, security, and care in handling. Other valuable historical items, such as photographs, prints, postcards, memorabilia, scrapbooks, and oral histories, are also held here. University Archives holds materials that document the history of SDSU since its founding as the Normal School in 1897. Special collections like these are the engine that powers original research in felds across the curriculum.
Anna Culbertson, head of SCUA, shares undergraduate and graduate students visit SCUA “for hands-on engagement with primary sources, opportunities to work with rare books and documents, and, in some cases, even develop new and unique scholarship around silences or gaps in the historical record.”
Through the years, many of SCUA’s materials have been given by generous donors who want to see their collections preserved and used in teaching and scholarship. Last year, we were privileged to add the archival collections of science fction authors Greg Bear and Vernor Vinge. These collections were only part of the additions to our special collections in 2024, with other areas of focus including Latinx and Indigenous communities, graphic design, and continuing additions to our most distinctive collections.
SDSU has one of the largest collections of comic arts used for academic pursuits. It has grown since its inception in 2011 through notable gifts, including the J. Gordon Melton Vampire Collection, Ted Adams and Robbie Robbins IDW Founders Collection, Donna Barr Collection, Richard Alf Papers, Comics and Science Fiction Fandom Collection, and 'Zines and Mini-Comics Collection.
Last year, these resources were featured in “Using Comics to Teach Social Justice,” a professional development program that brought 25 K–12 teachers from across the country to SDSU for a two-week seminar. The program's goal was to transform the teaching of timely and challenging social issues by incorporating comics into the teachers’ curricula and lesson plans. The impact of SCUA across campus has been magnifed thanks to SDSU donors, who have given books and collections, comics, original art, ephemera, and other materials, as well as the funds to preserve them. These gifts have allowed the library and
Students exploring some of the Comic Arts Collection in SCUA
Featured Areas
SDSU to become a center for teaching, learning, and scholarship in Comics Studies, Popular Culture Studies, and more.
Students enjoying a 'Zine making workshop in SCUA
Supporting Aztecs in Perpetuity
New Endowments
George and Judith Sunga Special Collections Endowment
Endowments (Active)
Adams Library Endowment
Africana Studies Collection Endowment
Alan J. Gruber Endowment
Albert W. and Susan G. Johnson Endowment
Charles S. Luby and Robin B. Luby Endowment for Library Excellence
Crouch Library Endowment
Edward E. Marsh Golden Age of Science Fiction Endowment
Eleanor Kingsbury Endowment
Elisabeth Kenney Ecke Endowment
Environmental Resources Endowment
Friends of Library Book Endowment
Friends of the Library Rare Books Endowment
Friends of the Library Unrestricted Endowment
Hartung Japanese Library Endowment
Helen Johnson Endowment
J.L. and Joann Tanzer Endowment for Art Education
James and Cecelia Allen Endowment
Jerome M. Sattler Endowment
John M. and Barbara M. Hood Library Endowment
Josephson Family Children’s Endowment
Judaic Materials Endowment
Kit Sickels Endowment
Library and information Access Professional Development and Research Endowment
Library Materials Endowment
Louis A. Kenney Endowment
Mary Gleason McLeod Memorial Endowment
Math and Engineering Education Endowment
Norland History of Biology Endowment
The Peoples Temple Collection Endowment
Tom and Marilyn Ross Library Endowment
Vencil T. Meades Endowment
To learn more, please contact Tammy T. Blevins at tblevins@sdsu.
