It is hard to believe we are approaching the end of 2020. I know all of us will look back on everything that has occurred for many years to come. However, the year has been so intertwined with COVID-19 that, in some ways, it doesn’t feel like 2020 is ending. We are still experiencing the worst of the pandemic. The continuation of pandemic-driven challenges has made it somewhat difficult to properly reflect on all that has passed. You might be feeling the same. It is for this reason we launched our Archiving Our COVID-19 Stories project. Regardless of our capacity to process in the moment, we’re capturing personal experiences during COVID to be parsed and analyzed by researchers in the future. 

At this time, I mostly feel grateful. The River Campus Libraries has come through a lot. Thanks to countless individuals and teams employing their hearts and souls, we contributed to creating an environment where teaching, learning and research could safely flourish, under extraordinary, and sometimes, crushing circumstances. This would not have been possible without our on-site staff. These are the individuals who you see working at the Q&i desk in Lam Square. They are part of the stacks crew. They offer consultation services in Robbins Library and Rare Books and Special Collections. They work in the mail room, maintain our physical spaces, and order, check-in, and catalogue our physical materials. All these individuals allowed us to serve library patrons day in and day out—and for libraries that’s seven days per week, from 8:00 am to midnight. And we were able to be sure patrons were safe thanks to the painstaking efforts, which included student input and feedback, to ensure our learning and study spaces adhered to physical distancing protocols. To be ever better in our service, we recently held a Collaborative Study Design Challenge to determine how to better accommodate and allow for safe, collaborative work in 2021. 

When thinking about the highlights of this past year, I think about our commitment to service excellence, creative problem-solving, demonstrated expertise, and endless compassion.  

I will always be proud of how our team quickly pivoted from in-person to virtual services. We also contributed to the University-wide shift to remote learning by delivering a series of faculty workshops to help them use innovative tools and technologies and open educational resources. During the summer, iZone, in collaboration with a number of other University partners, held a COVID-19 Challenge, in which 150 students worked in teams to solve real problems facing four not-for-profit organizations in the Rochester community. We also worked to address course textbook affordability that many student face through the Access to Course Textbooks (ACT) Commitment. 

Our team contributed to University’s the cultural and intellectual offerings through Behind the Scenes—Inside the Honorable Louise M. Slaughter Congressional Papers Collection; a webinar on Suffrage Stories in the University of Rochester’s Special Collections to help mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment; and Women Who ROC: Voices of Our Leaders. And we were thrilled to receive grants that recognized the importance and national impact of the AIDS Poster Exhibition project, in collaboration with the Memorial Art Gallery, and for the Middle English Text Series, in collaboration with the Department of English.  

It takes a village to do what we do, which is why I am not only indebted to the libraries staff and University partners, but also friends and donors for their counsel, volunteering, and gifts. One exciting example of support is the Carol Karp ’74 and Sarah Karp ’11 Endowed Library Fellows Fund, established to give undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities.   

I know we are all desperate for days where we can be together, hug friends and loved ones, and return to normal life. We are almost there. For now, stay safe and stay focused on better days.  

I wish you the best in this holiday season.  

Mary Ann Mavrinac
Vice Provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean
University of Rochester Libraries