Category Archives: Library News

Is This Ebook Going to Disappear?

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Guest post by Karen Kohn, Collections Analysis Librarian 

Faculty and students may remember the confusion that occurred in September 2023, when 1,379 ebooks published by Wiley disappeared from our catalog. After international protest, including voices from Temple University, Wiley reinstated these books in October 2023. At the time, Wiley announced that access would be temporary, with the intention of giving faculty time to redesign courses to use alternate materials. 

This past spring, we received the following update from Wiley, sent via our representative at ProQuest: 

Previously we communicated a number of Wiley etextbooks titles were scheduled to be removed from Academic Complete in the June 2023 bi-annual title subscription removal process. Wiley has agreed to extend this timeline and ProQuest will continue the existing terms including retention of all existing Wiley titles in Academic Complete through December 31st, 2023. Should any titles be removed after that you will be made aware of those publisher requests in our normal semi-annual subscription removal process. 

This is good news! The books will be available at least until December, and the wording suggests they may remain available into 2024 as well. 

When Ebooks Disappear 

The mention of a “normal semi-annual removal process” might sound concerning, but in fact librarians at Temple University Libraries have a prepared response to this situation. We subscribe to several ebook packages from ProQuest and EBSCO, and books are removed from these packages in June and December – in other words, not in the middle of a semester. The vendors notify us which books are going to be removed, and a librarian checks to see which have been heavily used. If an ebook was used above a certain threshold and is available for a reasonable price, we will purchase a copy. Because this copy is a purchase rather than a subscription, we have perpetual access, and it won’t disappear. 

There are cases when an ebook is unavailable for purchase, as with the Wiley ebooks. This is a problem for libraries! Even when a publisher sells an ebook for individuals to read on their Kindle or another ereader, they can opt to withhold it from library platforms. Sometimes the ebook is for sale but is unaffordable to libraries at four or five times the cost of the print. 

How Legal Changes Might Help 

An advocacy organization called Library Futures has drafted model legislation related to ebooks that has been introduced in several states. Such legislation would require that if a publisher offers an ebook for sale to the public, that publisher should also be willing to sell the same ebook to libraries on reasonable terms. As Library Futures’ policy statement says, “Often, eBook licenses offered to libraries come with many restrictions on use and/or are prohibitively expensive, or worse, sometimes are not available to libraries at any price.” The legislation is not yet in effect in any state, though librarians are eager to follow its progress. 

What Faculty Can Do 

In the meantime, there are a few ways you can ensure that students will have access to their course texts. Please notify the bookstore of what texts you are adopting, even if you can see that the library has them. The bookstore shares this information with us, and it helps us to know which ebooks to purchase if subscription access disappears. You can also consider adopting an open textbook for your course. Temple’s Textbook Affordability Project offers grants to support faculty in making their courses more affordable for students by replacing expensive texts with open educational resources. Look for the Libraries’ call for applications in spring 2024. In the meantime, we encourage faculty to sign up for our quarterly open education newsletter, Owls for Open Ed! 

Findings From Temple University’s Affordable Course Materials Survey 

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In the spring 2023 semester, Temple University Libraries participated in the Affordable Learning Pennsylvania (ALPA) student course materials survey. In addition to obtaining results from Temple students, the survey provided both state and national comparative data. Surveys of this type provide insights into how textbook costs impact our students and their behaviors related to purchasing or obtaining course materials. 

Students Concerns About Textbook Costs 

Students responded to 20+ questions about their experience with course materials, mostly textbooks they are required to purchase. We learned that 49% of our students indicated they were moderately or extremely worried about the cost of their course materials. That is a greater percentage of respondents than either the state or national results for that same question. **

When asked if the cost of required course materials ever caused them to not purchase a textbook, 57% of our students indicated that they occasionally or frequently did not purchase required course materials. That exceeds both state and national responses by several percentage points.  

Compared to a national sample of undergraduate students and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities, Temple students spent about the same amount on their textbooks. More Temple students reported spending $100 or less on their course materials. Temple students may be spending less owing to more instructors adopting open educational resources or licensed library materials, or fewer faculty may be assigning traditional textbooks. Approximately 37% of our student respondents still reported spending $200 or more on their course materials for the spring 2023 semester. 

Strategies for Avoiding Textbook Costs 

A more revealing question asked students to indicate what strategies they use to reduce the cost of required course materials throughout their college career. Only 2% of Temple students reported that they do not attempt to lower their costs. Rather, based on these responses, significant numbers of Temple students use multiple strategies to reduce their costs, including purchasing used textbooks, searching for free online versions (often pirated PDF copies), and sharing with classmates. In many of these cases, Temple students engage in these practices, especially “Do Without” at numbers that exceed both national and Pennsylvania rates. 

Comments Reflect Difficult Circumstances 

Students shared numerous comments on the impact that the cost of their course materials has on their academic and broader life experience. Among them we found students sharing: 

  • The cost of course material has had a major influence on my educational progress…when high expenses are required it has been a worry that seeped into my class performance. 
  • [It] has caused me to be worried about how I would pay for necessities such as food, rent, etc. 
  • I try to not buy textbooks unless absolutely necessary. I really appreciate the professors that don’t assign a textbook.  
  • I have chosen courses and professors that specifically don’t make me buy textbooks 
  • At $150-$200 per book, it’s very difficult to afford as a student. If you cannot afford to buy the materials you will miss the assignments which will hamper your grades. 
  • I dislike the fact we students have to pay extra for assignments. The textbook I can deal with because there’s alternative ways to get the textbook for the course. But paying $100+ for the course assignments/exams is unreasonable. 

Next Steps 

ALPA is offering the opportunity to participate in the survey in the fall 2023 semester. Temple University Libraries has already expressed its desire to repeat the survey so that additional student responses and voices can be heard. A random set of students will receive the survey between August 28 and September 11, 2023.  

When the fall results are processed and analyzed, Temple Libraries will share a final survey report with the Temple University campus. What can we, as a community, do to alleviate the challenges our students face because of high course materials costs? Here are several suggestions: 

Together we can take action to lower the cost of course materials for our students in order to advance learning and student success. We invite you to contact us with your thoughts and suggestions or to receive additional information. 

** Disclosure statement: The charts, tables and data presented in this blog post were prepared for Temple University Libraries by Bayview Analytics. Bayview Analytics was contracted by Affordable Learning Pennsylvania to conduct a statewide student course materials affordability survey, including data analysis and presentation of the survey results.

Charles Library Hosts IASSIST 2023 Pre-Conference Workshops 

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Guest post by Olivia Given Castello, Head of Business, Social Sciences, and Education 

Poster for workshops of IASSIST conference

On May 30, 2023, Charles Library buzzed with activity as it hosted a day of pre-conference workshops for the 48th Annual Conference of IASSIST (International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology), which took place in downtown Philadelphia May 31–June 2. 

IASSIST is a global organization of social science information and data professionals from various sectors who advocate for responsible data management and use, open science, and excellence in social science data service delivery. 

The pre-conference workshops attracted 53 librarians and data specialists representing 37 different organizations from 11 countries, highlighting the international reach and significance of IASSIST. 

This diverse group came together at Charles Library to explore a range of topics related to data literacy, management, and archiving. Staff members from Temple Libraries’ social science unit and research data services team worked with colleagues from library facilities, technology, and access services to organize logistics for the event. 

The day started with a warm welcome as Olivia Given Castello, head of Temple Libraries’ social science unit, and IASSIST 2023 Workshops Committee Chair Deb Wiltshire, of GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, staffed a welcome table with information on the event, the new library building, and the local neighborhood. 

Welcome desk in Charles Library, staffed by three people
Welcoming IASSIST attendees to Charles Library

In the morning session, attendees had the opportunity to participate in two workshops. “A Friendly Introduction to Python for Absolute Beginners,” presented by Kara Handren and Kelly Schultz from the University of Toronto, provided a hands-on introduction to Python programming, equipping participants with essential concepts and practical skills. Simultaneously, Kristi Thompson from Western University conducted a workshop on “Understanding Data Anonymization,” shedding light on the mathematical foundations and practical techniques of ensuring data privacy. 

The afternoon session continued with three more engaging workshops. Ericka Menchen-Trevino from American University led a workshop on “Analyzing Donations of Digital Trace Data,” which explored how researchers can collect and analyze individual digital trace data for both quantitative and qualitative research projects. Sonia Barbosa from Harvard University facilitated hands-on training in managing and sharing research data using Dataverse repository software. Subhanya Sivajothy from McMaster University delved into data visualization pedagogy, showing participants how to incorporate data justice, ethics, and accessibility into their teaching practice to educate students on approaching visualizations with a critical lens. 

Operations Specialist John Pyle and volunteer workshop assistants Adam Shambaugh, Fred Rowland, Van Tran, and Will Dean made sure the workshops ran smoothly in Charles Library’s instruction rooms. To enrich the experience further, staff members led tours of the state-of-the-art Charles Library and John Oram revved up live demonstrations of the BookBot. 

Workshop participants expressed their appreciation for a well-organized pre-conference event and the opportunity to tour our amazing building. 

This year’s conference in Philadelphia was organized by local partners University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Rutgers University, and Temple Libraries was a co-sponsor. Temple Libraries and all those who contributed to the success of the pre-conference were recognized and thanked during the conference’s closing ceremony. 

See Temple Libraries’ Support for Researchers page to learn about library services for finding, analyzing, managing, and sharing data. Submit an Instruction Request to schedule an educational session on data literacy or other data-related topic for a Temple class or research group. 

Thanks to the dedicated Temple Libraries staff members who helped make the day a success. It was a phenomenal team effort: 

  • Olivia Anton, Library Technology student staff member 
  • Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian 
  • Olivia Given Castello, Head of Business, Social Sciences and Education 
  • Will Dean, Research and Data Services Librarian  
  • John Oram, ASRS/Stacks Supervisor 
  • John Pyle, Senior Operations Specialist 
  • Fred Rowland, Arts, Humanities & Media Librarian 
  • Cynthia Schwartz, Assistant Director for Library Technology, and the Library Technology Services team 
  • Adam Shambaugh, Business Librarian 
  • Van Bich Tran, Public Health and Social Sciences Librarian 
  • Stuart Whisnant, Event and Tour Coordinator, and the Charles Rooms team 

Celebrating This Year’s Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award Winners 

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Award winners pose with sponsor Jack Livingstone
From left to right: Brianna Kline-Costa; Allyson Grace Yu; Jack Livingstone, SBM ’49; Samantha Marie Padilla; Angela Cirelli; and Jenna Zenouzi. Award winner John L. Nori is not pictured. All photos by Heidi Roland Photography.

In April, we held a luncheon to celebrate the winners of this year’s Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards. The Awards celebrate excellence in undergraduate work and recognize outstanding achievement in a wide range of subjects and disciplines, highlighting the importance of undergraduate research at Temple and the way the Libraries support that process. 

It was the first time since the spring of 2019 that we were able to meet to celebrate the winners in person—and the first time ever celebrating the Awards in Charles Library. It was wonderful to gather together in the Charles Library first floor event space to mark the occasion and celebrate the achievements of this year’s recipients. 

Photo of sponsors
From left to right: Bob Livingstone; Jack Livingstone, SBM ’49; Theresa Danks, Senior Account Executive at Gale, a Cengage Company; Daniel Berman, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies

The event began with a welcome from Joe Lucia, Dean of University Libraries. Lucia spoke about the history of the Awards and acknowledged the many people that play a role in their success. We also heard from sponsors John H. Livingstone, SBM ’49, who has generously supported the awards for almost two decades, and Theresa Danks, Senior Account Executive at Gale, a Cengage Company. Gale sponsors the Awards in Diversity and Social Justice and General Education and the luncheon. Daniel Berman, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, then spoke about undergraduate research at Temple. 

During the luncheon, the attendees had the opportunity to talk to the winners about their projects. This year’s winners were Angela Cirelli (Creative Works and Media Production), Brianna Kline-Costa (Social Sciences), John L. Nori (STEM Disciplines), Samantha Marie Padilla (General Education Courses), Allyson Grace Yu (Diversity and Social Justice), and Jenna Zenouzi (Humanities). You can learn more about the winners and their projects on our Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards website. 

Photo of attendees enjoying luncheon
Attendees enjoy luncheon

Congratulations to this year’s Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award recipients as well as all our past recipients. We look forward to continuing to support undergraduate research and to celebrating the achievements of future recipients of this signature award. 

Photo of laser cut award
Giveaways created in the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio

New Exhibit on Display in Ginsburg Library: “The History of Temple’s Health Sciences Schools”

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Guest post by Janeen Lamontagne, Ginsburg Reference Librarian 

Come check out the new exhibit “The History of Temple’s Health Sciences Schools,” on display in the Ginsburg Library. The exhibit—immediately to your left when you walk in the library’s doors—contains photographs, yearbooks, and artifacts representing all of Temple’s Health Sciences Schools from the late 19th century until recent years. Some highlights from the collection include an antique compounding scale lent from the School of Pharmacy, photos from the early 1900s of medical students at work, and a page from a mock medical journal titled “The North Philly Journal of Medicine” found in a 1978 yearbook.

Compounding scale lent from the School of Pharmacy with other exhibit items 

All of the photos on display in the exhibit were found in our Special Collections Research Center, either through the digital collections or in the physical collections during on-site research in the archives. Accompanying the exhibit is a survey where students can vote for their favorite photo in the exhibit, which can be accessed through a QR code posted on the main display case.   

Playbill for “The Fantasticks”-put on by the School of Pharmacy, 1969, from the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 

Gateway to the Chiropody School (now the Podiatry School), 1948, from the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 

Physical therapy student Dorothy Johnson works with her patient Joy McHenry, date unknown, from the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 

It is my hope that when students view the exhibit they will feel a sense of camaraderie with Temple’s history and the Health Sciences students of the past, which will in turn ease some of the stress brought on by the intensity of their studies. Special thanks to Dr. Susan Dickey from the school of nursing for lending the exhibit some of her personal artifacts and to Margery Sly from the Special Collections Research Center for her research advice.

Celebrate Love Data Week with Temple Libraries!

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Guest post by Will Dean, research and data services librarian

We know what we’re crushing on this Valentine’s Day: data! Love Data Week (February 13–17) is an annual celebration of data, learning data skills, and the people who work to understand data all year long. Our Research Data Services team is proud to present a week of virtual workshops and events that teach data skills and showcase the research and work of our academic community. 

Events

This Love Data Week we’re hosting two different speaker events from different—but important and pressing—areas of the world of data. First, get an intro or refresher on data privacy. Then, learn about community-based participatory research and how Temple researchers are working to address health disparities in Hepatitis B and liver cancer care. 

Center for Asian Health demo

Tuesday, February 14, 10 am 
Data Privacy

Most people spend at least part of their lives online and interacting with digital systems, but understanding how your data is tracked, and the legal underpinnings to data privacy is a challenge. Learn about data privacy from Dina Gayanova, a data privacy and cybersecurity attorney in Holland & Knight’s Philadelphia office. After the presentation there will be a moderated Q&A, so bring your data privacy questions! 

Tuesday, February 14, 1 pm 
Addressing Health Disparities in Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer Through Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Data 

Join researchers from Temple’s Center for Asian Health to learn about their Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project on addressing health disparities in Hepatitis B and liver cancer. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and liver cancer disproportionately affect Asian Americans and other medically underserved minority populations in the US. Barriers to information and healthcare services for HBV and liver cancer prevention, screening, monitoring and treatment exist on multiple levels: individual, community, healthcare system, and societal/structural. After the presentation there will be a moderated Q&A, so bring your research questions! 

Workshops 

Love Data Week workshops help you learn data skills applicable to your work and research interests and provide opportunities to explore a new skill in an approachable way. This year we’re offering sessions that will get you started on statistical analysis, data visualization, mapping, text mining, and finding public data. 

Monday, February 13, Noon 
Introduction to Data Visualization with Tableau 

In this hands-on workshop, Research and Data Services Librarian Will Dean will show you how to take a humble dataset and present it in a variety of colorful, informative, and interactive visualizations using Tableau. Tableau is one of the most widely used data visualization programs available, and can generate graphs, stories, and interactive dashboards. You can download Tableau and get a free student or teacher account. 

Tuesday, February 14, Noon 
Basic Statistical Methods with JMP 

Learn about the basics of statistical analysis for clinical research using a free tool available to all Temple students, faculty, and staff. Dr. Huaqing Zaho of the Department of Clinical Sciences will lead a hands-on workshop demonstrating how to use the JMP statistical software for basic clinical statistics. No need to bring your own computer, but you can familiarize yourself with JMP by downloading it from ITS’s download site. 

Wednesday, February 15, 11 am 
Intro to Text Mining with Proquest TDM 

This workshop will introduce the basics of text mining, with a focus on Proquest’s text data mining portal (TDM Studio), available to Temple University faculty, staff, and students. TDM Studio offers a vast range of textual resources, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Black Historical and international newspapers. Users can ingest open access and user-generated content as well. Take advantage of user-friendly visualization tools or the more advanced Jupyter Notebooks to analyze your datasets. Join us to learn more about this innovative research and classroom tool. 

Thursday, February 16, 11 am 
QGIS 

Creating maps with data can be an excellent way to share your findings and illustrate complicated results. QGIS is an open source program for building maps and is freely available at: https://www.qgis.org/. From designing amazing maps to analyzing spatial data, this workshop will show you the basic tools on a Geographic Information System as well as some interesting spatial data sources available. Join Temple Libraries’ Geographic Information Systems Specialist Felipe M. Valdez for this in-depth three-hour workshop. 

Friday, February 17, Noon 
Finding Public Data for Research and Grants 

Wrap up Love Data Week with this workshop! At this workshop for researchers and community groups, you can learn how to access publicly available data from national and local Philadelphia sources such as the U.S. Census, Pew Charitable Trusts, OpenDataPhilly and the Community Health Explorer. Join Research and Data Services Librarian Will Dean to explore sources of public data that can be used for research or grant applications. 

New Semester, New You 

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Welcome back for the spring 2023 semester! No matter what this semester brings, the Libraries have the services, resources, materials, and expertise to help you succeed. 

Check out our website to browse materials, access resources, or to contact us with questions, and review our hours page if you’re planning to visit us in person. And read on for a refresher on our services, collections, and opportunities, as well as some of our top tips to start the new year off right. 

Photo of Charles Library exterior
Charles Library photo by Betsy Manning, Temple University

Help with research 

Our friendly staff members are here to offer personalized assistance as you work on your research papers and projects. No matter what you are studying or what major you pursue, we have a subject specialist in your field. 

Getting in touch with your subject specialist is easy: you can chat 24/7, email, or schedule an appointment. For more ways to get in touch, visit our Contact Us page. 

Access books, journals, archives, and more 

We provide access to a broad range of physical and online materials—from books, databases, and journals to ebooks, archival materials, and movies—all searchable through our website: library.temple.edu. 

Each semester, we also compile a list of digitally available textbooks and reading materials, based on Temple bookstore information. Check out if your etextbook is on the list! 

Interested in doing archival research this semester, or just curious what we have to offer? Learn more about our special collections housed in the Special Collections Research Center and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. 

Apply for research and creative writing awards 

Through February 27, we will be accepting applications for the Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards, in which we recognize the best scholarly and creative work produced by Temple undergrads. There are cash prizes for the winners, and you can view past winning projects on our awards website. 

Learn more and apply now at guides.temple.edu/livingstone. 

Photo of audience at library event
Audience photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg, Temple University

Attend free workshops and events 

Do you know the Libraries host a range of free workshops and events? Our offerings include readings, concerts, workshops, our beloved Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection series, and more, and are always open to everyone.  

In the spring, our Beyond the Page public programming series explores the experience of making a home in a new place. We’ll look at the stories of immigrants, refugees, and others who have left one home for another, and consider what it means to belong—and to be welcomed into new spaces. 

We also have a full slate of virtual workshops scheduled for the spring on everything from video recording and editing to using citation managers to getting started with 3D scanning and printing. We hope you’ll join us for any or all of these specialized online learning opportunities! 

Even more tips! 

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through Purchasing Award-Winning Books

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Guest post by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subcommittee of the Collections Strategy Steering Team

People studying
Photo by cottonbro studio

When searching the library catalog, patrons may notice a new filter listed under “Collection Name” on the side menu: the Award Winners Honoring Diverse Voices Collection. This recently created collection is a project of the Collections Strategy Steering Team (CSST), and it will grow annually. 

While Temple University Libraries has always valued diversity in our collections, a recent survey showed that subject librarians were looking for additional tools to identify works by or about underrepresented groups to enhance the work they already do. In response, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sub-committee of CSST worked with subject librarians to develop a plan for purchasing award-winners annually.  

Using the University of Western Florida’s Diverse Book Awards LibGuide as a starting point, the sub-committee gathered information about each award, including criteria, eligibility, and type of organization granting the award. Subject librarians were given the opportunity to select which of these awards to include and to suggest additional awards. We had expected that about half the winners would be titles we’d already purchased in print, and this proved to be the case. If we only owned an ebook copy, a non-circulating copy, or did not own the title, we ordered print for the Charles Library circulating collection. Cataloging librarians have been adding the collection name to catalog records for award-winners that the Libraries already owned and will be doing the same for new purchases. 

The awards included in this program cover a wide range of disciplines and populations. There are awards specific to Black political scientists, women in history, sociology of disability, Jewish fiction, LGBT memoir, among others celebrating and documenting diversity. 

The award-winning books will be housed in Charles library and shelved in the stacks. We expect to buy 150–200 books a year through the award winners program. To view the full list of what the Libraries own so far, you can search Library Search by collection name. 

The Ebooks are Back: Wiley Reverses Decision to Remove Library Access…For Now

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High Angle Photo of Person Reading an E-Book
Photo by RF._.studio

Early in the fall 2022 semester some faculty discovered, after informing students that their textbook was available as an ebook through Temple University Libraries, that the title had disappeared. This was due to the publisher Wiley’s removal of 1,379 ebooks from various subscription packages. The removal of these books affected libraries around the world, some of whom have spoken up forcefully.  

In response to criticism from libraries, including an article in Inside Higher Ed and a statement by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), Wiley has agreed to temporarily reinstate access to these books. You can find the reinstated ebooks in Library Search, accompanied by a note stating that they are only available through June 2023. 

Temple University Libraries will lose access to this book at the end of June 2023. The publisher, Wiley, will no longer be making it available to libraries as an ebook. Faculty, please contact coldev@temple.edu if you are or will be assigning this text for a class.

Like many libraries, Temple University Libraries subscribes to ebook packages that allow us to access items that we don’t technically own. Publishers have the right to remove their books from the subscription package, causing them to disappear from the library’s collection. Typically when this happens, library staff review the books to see which have been heavily used, and the library purchases replacement copies, which we then own and can access in perpetuity.  

The situation with the Wiley books was different in that there was no option for us to purchase these particular books as ebooks in order to guarantee future access. The timing of the removal compounded the difficulties it caused, as our access was terminated at the end of August, the second week of the semester. 

We at Temple University Libraries agree with those at other libraries who have spoken out against Wiley’s removal of these books. After next June, the texts will only be available via print copies or through so-called “inclusive access” packages, which require students to pay for temporary access to a set of ebooks assigned in their courses. Preventing libraries from buying course texts as ebooks shifts the financial burden from the library onto students, many of whom are already struggling to pay for textbooks. As a statement from George Washington University says, “Publishers who manipulate the academic market in order to maximize their profits at the expense of students’ financial well-being hinder the university’s ability to create an equitable learning environment for all.” 

We regret the inconvenience this has caused to our faculty and students. If you would like to put a print copy of your text on reserve, see our Reserve Materials for Your Course page for instructions. If you are interested in using zero-cost materials so that your students won’t need to pay for textbooks, read more about affordable course materials on our website. 

Introducing Felipe Valdez, Temple Libraries’ New GIS Specialist

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Temple University Libraries is pleased to welcome Felipe Valdez to our staff as the Libraries’ new GIS specialist. Felipe joins the Libraries from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) in Quito, where he was a professor and researcher. 

The GIS specialist position is a new addition to our Learning and Research Services department. I recently had the opportunity to check in with Felipe and ask him about his background, his new role at Temple, and why GIS and mapping services are important for the Libraries to offer in support of students, faculty, and researchers.  

Beckie Dashiell (editor for Temple Libraries): Can you tell us about your educational and professional background? 

Felipe Valdez: My educational background is more like a journey of discovery. I have studied in three different countries with three different languages: Ecuador, France, and the United States. I have a bachelor’s degree in geography from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador where I also obtained a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Development. This was an international program in cooperation with the French Institute for Development and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. During this time, I started working for the Ecuadorian National Planning Agency as a Geographic Information Analyst. The institution was undertaking three big data gathering projects that would improve spatial and economic planning nationwide. My job was to analyze data for the national planning objectives and expand local governments’ skills to use this data for their own planning.  

While working on these important projects, I realized that professionals from different disciplines needed to use data to support their decisions. I also identified the need, for a country like Ecuador, for more research in certain areas related to development. As a result, I decided to continue my education abroad to acquire more skills and expand my network. I received a grant from the French government to pursue a master’s degree focused on research for developing countries at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. During my stay in France, I collaborated with faculty members undertaking research worldwide. In connection with my original motivation, I focused my thesis on the effects of big projects in Ecuadorian cities.  

Right after finishing my studies, I was invited to teach in the geography department of my alma mater. I began by teaching introductory courses to Geographic Information Systems for students majoring in geography. Over time, I started designing new GIS courses for non-geographers as a strategy to increase the use of these technologies in other disciplines. As a result, I developed and participated in several interdisciplinary research groups and projects related to environment conservation, public health, rural development, urban and economic studies, spatial inequality, among others. Also, I started the first interdisciplinary center for spatial and social analysis at this university.  

In 2017, I received a Fulbright grant to pursue a doctoral degree in geography at Northern Illinois University. My research is on the social and spatial factors that influence residential satisfaction in Ecuadorian cities. I am looking forward to defending my dissertation soon.  

BD: Wow, that is a fascinating educational journey! We’re so glad you are now with us at Temple University Libraries. What kind of work will you be doing here? 

FV: I am the Geographic Information Systems specialist. I am here to support GIS and mapping for research, teaching, and learning. I will be helping students, faculty, and staff discover how a spatial framework can improve their work and contribute to their goals, whether it is by analyzing spatial data or by developing a creative way to communicate better with maps. As many things happen somewhere in space, it is possible to map these events and processes. Most of the time, space gives context to what we are trying to understand or solve. GIS is the main technology that allows us to collect, store, manage, analyze, and visualize spatial data. The use of these technologies has undergone an important expansion in the last decades; however, there is still more space to grow.  

At Temple University, there are a variety of current and future GIS users. In this sense, I will be helping these users to find and access the technology and the data they need for their GIS projects through discrete consultations or extended project collaboration. I will also teach workshops to introduce students and faculty to Geographic Information Systems and other web mapping platforms at different levels. For those advanced users, I can assist with spatial data analysis tools and processes as well as with advice on strategies to incorporate a spatial framework into their projects. I will be exploring and suggesting ways to incorporate GIS and geospatial data for areas and disciplines that are not familiar with these technologies. My goal at Temple University Libraries is to help students, faculty, and researchers get the most out of GIS and mapping technologies regardless of their level of experience.  

BD: This is a brand-new position at the Libraries. Can you speak to the importance of such a position in an academic library? 

FV: The use of geospatial data has increased in the last decades—not only because we gather more data than ever before and because of the advanced technologies that help us manage this data, but mainly because of the enormous potential of using it across disciplines. Mapping has been a basic source of learning and research for geographers for a long time, but almost every discipline can benefit from the use of maps and geospatial data. Currently, there is an important use of geospatial data in business, public health, engineering, education, and the digital humanities, just to mention a few.  

Temple Libraries is a hub for making interdisciplinary connections. Having a GIS specialist in the Libraries helps library users bring a geospatial approach to their research regardless of discipline or level of expertise, and it helps bring disciplines together across Temple University to work collaboratively to find better solutions through GIS and mapping. 

BD: Is there a particular project or initiative you are looking forward to working on here at Temple?  

FV: Many things attract me to Temple. Being such a diverse institution, from an academic perspective but also a demographic one, as well as being at the heart of such a vibrant urban environment are among the most important. I would love to work on projects that focus on inclusion, community participation, and the use of spatial data for enhancing the urban environment and people’s quality of life. I think that understanding our spatial context and getting to be part of the decisions about the future of the city give us a sense of belonging and have a positive impact on our wellbeing.  

This semester, I have started holding consultations with researchers who contact the Libraries for GIS and mapping help. I’m also looking forward to GIS Day on November 16 at Charles Library, which the Libraries co-organize every year with Temple’s department of Geography and Urban Studies. I’m helping plan the event and will be teaching a GIS workshop as part of the festivities.  

See our webpage for more information on support for GIS and mapping at Temple Libraries, and to get in touch with Felipe.