The Walter W. Stiern Library (WSL) website has observed a surge in usage, from January to July this year, attracting tens of thousands of users from all over the world. The website received 126,863 pageviews, the total number of times a page was viewed on our site, a 43% increase from the 88,350 pageviews compared to the same period last year. Among the users, 26,871 visited our website for the first time this year, a 17% increase from the 22,939 new users from January to July last year. 

The majority of the website users are from the USA, while 2% are from over 50 countries including the United Kingdom, Mexico, India, Germany, Canada, China, Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Kenya. Sixty-six percent of the website access took place on laptops, 33% on mobile devices, and 1% on tablets. The iPhone is the most popular mobile device used to access our website, followed by the iPad and Samsung Galaxy. Safari, Chrome and Edge are the top three web browsers that have been used. 

The largest number of users accessed our website on May 8, 2023, the Monday of CSUB’s final week of Spring 23. On that day, 732 users visited our website, including 238 new users. These users viewed pages on our website 1,030 times. Users accessed the online catalog, e-book collection and research databases, highlighting the importance of digital resources provided by the WSL. 

We use Google Analytics, a popular web analytics tool, to collect aggregate web access data. Google Analytics provides real time data on page views, user retention, sessions by country, sessions by device, etc. By analyzing web access data, we can better understand our user and make informed decisions to enhance the user experience on our site. 

The library is excited and ready to begin the 2023-2024 academic year. We can’t wait to see you all in the library as you use library services, attend library events, research sessions, and check out library books and articles. If you have not stopped in yet, please do so, we anxiously await you! For those that would rather visit us virtually, we have you covered with 24/7 live chat help, online article/book requests, locker pick up, limited digitization and mail delivery options and research appointments on zoom/phone/email. Come check out our new graphic novels and popular fiction/nonfiction collections and a new reservable conference room for students. 

Let’s make it a great year, `Runners! 

Sincerely, 

Sandra Bozarth, Dean of University Libraries 

New to the library in 2023 is the graphic novels collection. This new collection includes both fiction and non-fiction and many of your favorites from the Marvel and DC universes, author Neil Gaiman and many more. This collection is a work in progress, and we hope to add additional manga titles this year. 

Other new and updated collections include popular fiction and popular non-fiction. 

Popular fiction has replaced our beloved bestsellers collection with a greater variety of fiction in different genres and interest levels. Look out for more science fiction, romance, young adult and contemporary fiction amongst fan favorites in the action, mystery and suspense categories. This collection will continue to grow this year; to submit a recommendation, please use the “Recommend a Resource” link on the library’s home page and note that the recommendation is for this collection.

Popular non-fiction is a brand new pop-up collection to highlight popular biographies, memoirs, and not- so-academic reads. Here you will find biographies and memoirs from celebrities and public figures along with popular science titles and true crime. 

The library now has a smart conference room! The conference room is called The Research Corner and it is now open in WSL 107. The Research Corner can hold 3-10 people and is reservable by students on nights and weekends. 

Other library spaces include the Library Fab Lab Annex, an extension of the CSUB Fab Lab, which is available for use by the campus community. The Annex is staffed by trained Fab Lab workers and equipment includes 3d printers, a vinyl cutter and a sewing and embroidery machine. The library also has a variety of study areas throughout the library, from study carrels and booths to reservable group study rooms. 

Are you a student majoring in Biology, Nursing, Kinesiology or Public Health? Then check out this upcoming workshop on PubMed this Fall.

PubMed is a free interface for searching MEDLINE, the most popular bibliographic database in the health and medical sciences. It contains references to millions of daily updated articles from biomedical journals. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintain the database. 

WSL users can use PubMed to access the links to millions of open-access articles and the full text of articles in subscribed journals. Users will continue to have the access to this free resource for their whole professional career. 

Ying Zhong, NSME librarian, will be providing a workshop on how to search PubMed like a Pro in Fall 2023. Tips include how to search for MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), how to obtain articles in full-text, and how to construct an efficient search strategy. 

The Writer in Residence program started in 2015 and has included various authors from different backgrounds over the years. They have shared their writing processes, read from their works  and provided engaging hands-on workshops for our students and the community. We are looking forward to our next Writer in Residence to join us in Spring 2024 for another great opportunity. Please check back soon for the announcement and registration information.

The Dean of Students Office and the Library will be hosting a series of Academic Integrity Workshops designed to help students learn more about academic integrity and ethical writing. We will hold three workshops in the fall and three workshops in the spring, with both in-person and virtual (Zoom) options. All workshops are interactive, introducing students to the different types of plagiarism, the guiding principles and policies of CSUB, and the various academic and professional consequences of plagiarism. Additionally, we will discuss the value of information and provide tips for writing ethically to avoid unintentional policy violations. 

Back by popular demand is our annual author talk in support of the Kern County Library’s One Book Project. This year we have the pleasure of hosting Kansas City author Rebekah Taussig whose most recent publication, Sitting Pretty: The View from my Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body discusses ableism and accessibility within the context of her identities as a writer, teacher and woman. Stiern Library Associates, campus faculty and award winners will be invited to attend her talk on October 26th from 3:30 – 5 p.m. 

The Historical Research Center’s upcoming exhibit, titled America’s Newest Cities: Housing and “Red Lining” in California’s Central Valley, will discuss housing discrimination in Bakersfield and Kern County. The Gallery Group is currently made up of students, alumni, staff and even a high school student intern! Our volunteers are tasked with researching BIPOC lived experiences in Bakersfield and Kern County from 1866 to the present. Other topics researched include local Indigenous histories, the local Chinatowns, the development of Oildale and policing as it relates to race and housing. 

This semester the HRC staff has been researching and uploading primary sources to “Redlining in Bakersfield,” a companion website to the exhibit (https://hrc.csub.edu/housing-history/), which includes racially restrictive covenants, and information about suburbanization, eminent domain and buying on contract. 

Exhibit hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. 

The exhibit will open this fall and run through August 2024.

Gloria Dikeogu

On September 18, Dr. Gloria Dikeogu will be appointed to the role of Associate Dean of Libraries. Dr. Dikeogu joins us from Kansas where she serves as Director of Library Services and Professor of Library Science at Ottawa University, Gangwish Library and has been in her current position for 20 years. 

Dr. Dikeogu received her bachelor’s degree in library and Information Science, with majors in English, Library Science and Information Science and a High School Teacher’s Diploma from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She worked in Cape Town as a public librarian, high school teacher-librarian and English teacher before coming to the US to continue her education. She received a master’s degree in Library and Information Management from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas; a master’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Human Resources from Ottawa University, Overland Park, Kansas; and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas with an emphasis in Online Learning and Instructional Design. 

A few years later, she received a Graduate Certificate in User Experience and Usability from the University of Missouri in Columbia, and a master’s degree in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her research and scholarship focuses on the application of library practice to the field. She serves the global library community through active participation in international librarianship. 

Kirstin Lattimore

Kirstin Lattimore will be serving as a Senior Assistant Librarian in the OER/ OA Coordinator position and subject specialist for SSE. She is from Madison, Wisconsin and has worked in academic libraries for over five years in a variety of roles. Kirstin graduated from the University of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee with a BA in Sociology and minor in Japanese Language and later obtained her MA in Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison with concentrations in Information Organization and Academic Librarianship. Her roles in academic libraries and volunteer work are broad and include reference and circulation desk experience, archival processing, and collection survey work at the University. 

Bre Parks

Bre Parks joined us at the beginning of Spring Semester 2023, as a Media Production Specialist II. She will be working in Library Services providing technical support for events, support for library social media and marketing, and back up assistance in Library Services. Bre began her work at CSUB as an Assistant in the Media Production Lab from 2019 until completing her BA in Digital Media Communications in 2022. She also has over 10 years of freelance graphic design experience, working with several local businesses and organizations. In addition to her background in graphic design, she has experience in web design, photography and game design.

Rebecca Penrose

Rebecca Penrose is assuming a new role on campus as a Senior Assistant Librarian for the Walter W. Stiern Library, serving as the library instruction coordinator. She has taught writing and research courses since 1999 in CSUB’s Department of English, completing a second master’s degree (MLIS) at San José State University and currently pursuing a PhD in Library & Information Management from Manchester Metropolitan University. In her new librarian position, Rebecca is excited to partner with faculty colleagues in all disciplines to develop curricular tools and resources to promote information literacy across our campus, especially targeting high-impact courses in support of student success. Her most recent research interests and campus committee activities involve  educational  technology,  disability  services, accessibility efforts and institutional data analytics. 

Walter Stiern with former CSUB President Romberg

By HRC Staff

Walter W. Stiern

Dorothy Donahoe

This tale comes from the “morgue.” This is not to say that these tales and files have been put to rest.

The “morgue,” is a term that journalists use to describe their archives of unparalleled collections of photographs and news clippings. The Historical Research Center acquired a decade of newspaper clippings in 2017 from the Bakersfield Californian. This index includes news clippings ranging from 

1983 to 1993. Since its acquisition, students have researched the collection for term papers, master’s theses and even some of our own student-led exhibitions. 

Senator Walter W. Stiern, the namesake for ourc library, retired in 1986. In 1958, Walter Stiern was elected to the California State Senate for District 34 (now District 16). He initially served on the agriculture and education committees. In his early years, he was a supporter of Assemblywoman Dorothy Donahoe’s Higher Education Act (1960), legislation that eventually established the UC, CSU, and the California community college systems. In 1965, Walter Stiern authored and proposed Senate Bill 75, which created a state college in Kern County. The bill established what would later become California State College Bakersfield. Subsequently, the name changed to California State University, Bakersfield, in 1986, when the college achieved university status. The bill was co- authored by assembly members Williamson and Casey.

There are many other stories waiting to be uncovered. Come visit us! You never know what you’ll discover! 

Frank Aguirre

Systems Analyst

Bianca Baldonado

Cataloging, LSS

Nikki Crane

Night-Weekend, LSS

Donato Cruz

Processing Archivist, LSS

Ebony Harrison

Night-Weekend, LSS

Mario Hernandez

Circulation and Billing, LSS

Bre Parks

Media Production Specialist

Monica Mendez

Acquisitions, LSS

Johanna Alexander

Librarian Emerita

Kristi Chavez

Cataloging and Metadata Coordinator

Elijah Enos

Research & Instruction Adjunct

Kristen Gallant

Outreach & User Engagement Coordinator

Amanda Grombly

Collection Development & Management Coordinator

Kristine Holloway

Distance Services, Antelope Valley

Kirstin Lattimore

OER/OA & Social Sciences Coordinator

Christopher Livingston

Archives, Special Collections, Scholarly Communications and Digital Initiative

Matthew McCoy

Access Services & Government Documents Coordinator

Rebecca Penrose

Instruction Coordinator

Brenda Scobey

Research & Instruction Adjunct

Ying Zhong

NSME & Web Services Coordinator

Thank you to our current donors who support the library! For more information on giving to the library please visit csub.libguides.com/giving.