Welcome to the Spring 2020 Library Update! Although there have been disruptions to the work of the Libraries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued to serve the students, faculty, and staff of the University through our extensive online services and collections. In this newsletter, you will read about how the Libraries transitioned rapidly to support teaching, learning, and scholarship during these difficult times. You will also read about one of our librarians, Jesús Alonso-Regalado, Subject Librarian for History, Latin American Studies, and Romance Languages, who won the prestigious and highly-competitive American Library Association’s “I Love My Librarian” Award. Jesús also features in another article in the newsletter, as he recounts his experience attending the Cuban National Meeting of Library Science.
In this newsletter, you will also read about our Anna Radkowski-Lee Graduate Assistant, Keerthi Padamata, who is nearing the end of her year-long work supporting the Libraries’ scholarly communication efforts. We are able to hire skilled graduate assistants for cutting edge work thanks to donors who support the University Libraries through their gifts. One such donor, Regina Testa, was recognized at a University event this year for 25 years’ of giving to the Libraries. Gifts from donors also support many of the popular events and programs that the Libraries offer every semester, and you will read about many of these events in the newsletter, such as Preservation Workshops, Open Education Day, Campus Conversations in Standish, Welcome events, and Stress-Less events (moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Please let us know what you think; we would love to hear from you!
Rebecca L. Mugridge
Dean of University Libraries
University at Albany