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Dear Friends of the UCLA Library,

The Library recently published the 2020–2021 UCLA Library Impact Report. It was gratifying to revisit UCLA Library’s vital role in making each researcher’s work richer and their experience at UCLA more fulfilling despite 18 months of remote learning triggered by a pandemic. Students and faculty shared with us that when they needed the Library, we were there. An art history major even told us she is “more resourceful now in terms of being able to look for the information I need.”

We know the pandemic, inflation and other factors will continue to have an impact on Library operations. A lot more work is going to be done remotely, even on a campus like UCLA’s that is about the in-person experience. Looking ahead, UCLA Library will be guided by lessons learned during the pandemic, evolving people-centered services and technologies to empower communities of scholars to create and share knowledge, wherever they are.

The Library also has prioritized expanding the number of subject-area experts to elevate teaching and collections development. In January, Alexandra Solodkaya became the first Rothman Family Food Studies Librarian, an endowed position funded by a generous anonymous donor that will accelerate the vision of the new UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies. Alexandra is curating a broad scope of food-related research, teaching services, materials and collections.

It’s no wonder that the top universities in the nation are also home to the top academic libraries, including UCLA and UCLA Library. Together — with donors like you — we are moving knowledge forward, which is an essential part of the innovative spirit that makes UCLA the best public research university in the country.

Best regards,

Virginia Steel

Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian
P.S. You can read the 2020–2021 UCLA Library Impact Report at: library.ucla.edu/impact/2020