Last March, SDSU students voted to add $10 to their student fees per semester so that the library could increase its operating hours and services. This fee is expected to generate an additional $600,000 annually to support the library. This action speaks volumes about the character of the students at this university. It says that many students are not only willing to pay extra for their education, but that they plan to spend more nights studying in the library, not watching television or partying. After all, the extent of their use of the SDSU Library is impressive. Last year, more than 2.6 million visits were logged at the SDSU Library and 359,000 items were checked out.

In a school year dominated by the SDSU mascot issue, the students' vote and their commitment to a quality education went almost unnoticed. However, as their vote pays off now with the new round-the-clock hours, we want to recognize this remarkable decision. Student leaders at SDSU, particularly the Associated Students Council, deserve much credit for strongly endorsing the fee. The student newspaper also contributed to the positive outcome. The Daily Aztec not only encouraged students to open their pocketbooks by voting for the fee, but spent much of a long editorial encouraging more university budget support for the library as well. SDSU students have demonstrated where their priorities lie.

Reprinted from The San Diego Union-Tribune, September 4, 2002

Aztec Parents Association Funds Media Equipment

The Aztec Parents Association made a gift of equipment that will enable students to not only create and record their own music, but also create analog-to-digital transfers in support of their multimedia class projects.

With this purchase, the library offers digitized audio and video to faculty and students through our Media Center. The equipment will enable us to record, copy, mix, digitize, and save audio tracks as WAV or MP3 files. The resulting audio studio will complement the existing digital editing and presentation equipment-also gifts from the Parents Association-that are currently available for student use in the Media Center.

"The gift of this equipment puts the library's Media Center on the cutting edge of digital technology. Our patrons, both students and instructors, will appreciate and make use of this addition to our existing digital presentation equipment. In addition, it will allow the library to offer a much-needed service by digitizing material to be offered on-line, available to students when and where they need it most," said Joan Freeman Goodwin, Media Center supervisor.

Instructors will be able to request that media items be digitized, and the resulting files would then be available online to students enrolled in their classes via the library's electronic reserves system. Students will be able to access this material remotely using the Web from their home, dorm rooms, etc., by simply entering a password.

In addition to recorded material being integrated into the curriculum, this equipment will enable students themselves to record, copy, mix, digitize and save audio tracks. Most of the equipment that students have access to is limited in scope. As presentations become more and more sophisticated, and the demand for them becomes increasingly commonplace, students are often at a loss as to how to meet that demand. This equipment will allow students to "raise the bar" by offering them the ability to create and edit memorable presentations that will project their ideas even beyond the classroom. This is especially important for students going into today's job market where the ability to present well is essential.

"Our new system will, at the very least, expose students to this high-tech digital recording equipment that used to only be accessible to major recording artists and engineers due to the cost and knowledge needed to run them. Now they have been made at affordable prices for both the novice and advanced users, which is very fortunate for us at the Media Center at SDSU," said student Mike Boidy.

These added services will have significant impact on students and will move the library another step closer to our goal of establishing a top-flight media presentation lab for all students to use.

New to Special Collections and University Archives:
The Jesus Sierra-Oliva Collection

Special Collections and University Archives received some wonderful archival collections last year. One of these was the alternative Hispanic theater collection of Jesus Sierra-Oliva, a successful and completely self-taught playwright and artist. The collection includes scores for his musical creations, original artwork, play scripts, photographs, programs, video and cassette tapes of his productions, and correspondence. The primary foci of his creative talents were Walt Whitman and his "Leaves of Grass," the Masonic music of Mozart, the soprano Maria Callas, Maximilian and Carlotta and the history of Mexico, the poet Garcia Lorca, and Mexican painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Archival collections such as this provide students in many disciplines with the opportunity to study from primary sources, which is information straight from the source, so to speak, which is essential for a well-rounded education.

If you would like to donate a collection or wish to make a gift in support of our preservation of these materials, please contact the library's director of development at (619) 594-2296.

(above): Jesus Sierra-Oliva's portrait of the soprano Maria Callas.