Joanne R. Euster, University Librarian
Established in 1963, the UCI Libraries serve the information needs of students, faculty, staff, and community members at three major library facilities, the Main and Science Libraries on the Irvine campus and the Medical Center Library in Orange. The collection, carefully selected and developed in conjunction with the campus academic plan, is augmented by the 26-million-volume collections of the University of California library system, several systemwide cooperative acquisitions programs, and access to a growing number of electronic resources.
The UCI Libraries have approximately two million volumes and 17,500 active serial subscriptions that are available for study, teaching, and research. With the exception of certain special units, all books and periodicals are on open shelves and easily accessible to users. In addition, campus users may request library materials, including periodical articles, from other libraries around the world.
Technology has dramatically changed the way a research library acquires, processes, and makes available information. Modern methods for increasing the speed and efficiency of library services are in evidence throughout the UCI Libraries. The Libraries subscribe to a computer-based cataloging service that enables them to make materials available rapidly. UCI has its own local computerized system, ANTPAC (the Anteaters Public Access Catalog), that provides information about books, periodicals, and other materials at UCI, including whether an item is checked out, on-order, or in-process. The Libraries also provide access to a growing number of databases in CD-ROM format. In addition to local, in-house systems, the MELVYL® Online System connects users at UCI with the vast resources of the nine-campus University of California library system, as well as a growing number of bibliographic, abstracting, and full-text databases. Information about the Libraries may also be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.lib.uci.edu.
The UCI Libraries conduct an active instruction program to help users become familiar with rapidly expanding information resources and technologies. The program includes a formal course in library research techniques (Humanities 75, Library Research Methods), course-related and course-integrated instruction, instruction in the use of various online systems, e-mail and Internet access training, and general orientations to the libraries.
The newly renovated Main Library reopened in winter 1997. With collections and services to support teaching and research in arts, humanities, social sciences, and business and management, the Main Library features a state-of-the-art Multimedia Resources Center with 32 computer workstations and a video playback area, a Technology Enhanced Classroom for hands-on library instruction, and a Student Communications Room for easy access to e-mail.
A single combined service desk on the first floor serves the collections of the Main Library's Research and Instructional Services Department and of the Government Information Department. The Research and Instructional Services Department maintains an open-shelf collection of approximately 30,000 volumes and a growing number of computerized resources. Librarians assist in the use of materials and provide information on a variety of topics to campus and community users. The Department publishes a series of reference guides in paper and electronic format to aid in researching both general and specialized topics.
The Government Information Department contains over 400,000 publications issued by the U.S. government, the State of California, international organizations, and Canada, as well as the Orange County Public Affairs Collection, a resource for information on local topics issued by governmental and nongovernmental agencies. The Department also houses a large collection of government publications and primary research materials on microform, and microform reading and photocopying machines are available.
The Department of Special Collections contains noncirculating holdings of rare books and early printed works, noteworthy or finely printed editions, exceptionally fragile or costly items, and manuscripts. Special subject collections include French literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the René Wellek collection of the history of criticism, the Hans Waldmüller Thomas Mann collection, the Ruth Clark Lert Dance Collection and Archives, California history and literature, British naval history, contemporary poetry, dance, historical costume, political pamphlet literature, and the Emma D. Menninger collection in horticulture.
The Southeast Asian Archive documents the experiences of post-1975 Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. The archive includes materials relating to the exodus from the homeland, resettlement in the United States, community development, and history and culture of Southeast Asians in the U.S., with a special focus on Orange County and California. The archive contains materials in both Vietnamese and English, including books, dissertations and theses, refugee orientation materials, reports from government and private agencies, periodicals, newspaper clippings, audiovisual materials, and manuscripts.
Current Periodicals/Newspapers houses current unbound issues of humanities and social sciences journals and other periodicals, foreign and domestic newspapers, a wide variety of popular magazines for recreational reading, and back issues of newspapers and journals on microform.
Library Copy Service provides conveniently located copiers for patron use in all libraries (Main, Science, and Medical Center). For an additional charge, patrons may leave materials to be copied. A card system is used for photocopies, search print requests, and various other items, and card dispensers/regenerators are available in all libraries.
Reserve Services offers limited circulation of required or collateral reading materials that have been selected by the faculty.
Other Main Library facilities include individual and group study areas and a room containing study aids for blind and partially sighted students.
Opened to the public in mid-1994, the Science Library is the second major library on the UCI campus. The six-story building, with capacity for over 500,000 volumes, centralizes the science and technology collections formerly housed in four separate campus libraries and contains materials in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geosciences, mathematics, medicine, physics, and allied fields. The facility features a 6,000-square foot Interactive Learning Center, a reference consultation and user self-search room, 2,200 reader stations, a current periodicals reading room, a microcomputer laboratory, a 24-hour study hall, special reading rooms for faculty and graduate students, and the technical services operations for the entire UCI library system. The Science Library offers reference assistance, computer-assisted reference service, instruction in library use and information management, and CD-ROM user self-search workstations.
The Science Library is also home to the University Archives, the official repository for records having permanent value in documenting the history of UCI, including publications, manuscripts, photographs, and other records of administrative and academic units, student organizations, and campus support groups.
Located at the UCI Medical Center in Orange, the Medical Center Library serves the information and research needs of the Medical Center and supports the teaching activities of the College of Medicine. Its collection includes approximately 47,000 volumes and 1,000 clinical serials subscriptions. The Medical Center Library provides a full range of services, including reference service, CD-ROM user self-search workstations, and two computer technology facilities featuring an instructional laboratory and an Information Technology Center.
The Office of Academic Computing (OAC) provides telephone, network, and computing services in support of research and education. OAC provides central computing services, computer laboratories, departmental and research-group support services, and campuswide technical coordination. The campus network infrastructure maintained by OAC provides for ethernet and higher speed connectivity on campus and to the Internet.
OAC provides coordination and infrastructure for UCI's Electronic Educational Environment (EEE), a cooperative campuswide venture to enhance the educational experience using computer-mediated communications and electronic resources. As a part of EEE, OAC provides electronic access services to all UCI students which include Educational Access (EA) e-mail accounts, Internet access, and access to class information resources using the World Wide Web. For more information see the EEE World Wide Web page at http://eee.uci.edu.
Approximately 130 ASCII terminals, X terminals, MS-Windows computers, and Macintosh computers are available 24 hours a day in computer laboratories surrounding Room E1140 in the Engineering Gateway building. All common Macintosh and MS-Windows applications are available including word processing, spreadsheet, statistics, graphing, and presentation software. The X-terminals provide graphical interface access to all common UNIX-based software. Computer peripherals including flat-bed image and text scanners and laser printers are also available. While school is in session, OAC student consultants are available in Room E1140 to provide assistance to those using the facilities. An additional 80 Pentium and Power Macintosh computers are located in the Engineering and Computing Trailer (ECT) and are available for drop-in use when not scheduled for classes.
OAC also has system and network administrators who support UNIX-based research and instructional networks and laboratories around campus on a contract basis. A large UNIX software library, access to site licenses and operating system upgrades, and file backup services are also available.
OAC has a variety of additional services; see OAC's World Wide Web page at http://www.oac.uci.edu. Offices are located in the Engineering Gateway Building, Room E2130. The OAC Help Desk may be reached by sending electronic mail to oac@uci.edu or by calling (714)824-6116.
The 102-acre Irvine Ecological Preserve consists of several small hills and surrounding flatlands bearing remnants of coastal sage scrub flora and associated fauna. The Preserve is located on the campus and is set aside for use by the campus community. Additional information is available from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; telephone (714) 824-6006.
The University of California manages and maintains a system of 27 land and water reserves that are representative of the State's habitat and geographic diversity. These serve as outdoor laboratories for students, faculty, and staff, and are intended primarily for purposes of education and research. The reserves are administered by local campus management committees who control their uses. UCI is responsible for two reserves: the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve and the Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve. Additional information is available from the manager; telephone (714) 824-6031.
San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve
The San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve, one of the last remaining freshwater marshes of Southern California, is a 202-acre reserve adjacent to the UCI campus. The Marsh consists of a series of freshwater ponds and their attendant aquatic flora and fauna, and is especially known for its rich bird life, both resident and migratory. Researchers and observers have recorded more than 200 species of birds in the Reserve, a major stopping point on the Pacific Flyway. Periodic tours are conducted.
Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve
The Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve is located near the town of Yucca Valley in San Bernardino County. It is a 265-acre parcel of high-desert habitat representing an ecotone between montane and desert biota, with mixtures of Joshua tree, piñon pine, and juniper woodland. The Reserve has primitive camping facilities and is used primarily for overnight field trips and research by faculty and students from the School of Biological Sciences.
The UCI Arboretum is a botanical garden developed and managed by the School of Biological Sciences. It contains areas planted with floras adapted to climates similar to those of Southern California. The Arboretum maintains a gene bank devoted to the conservation of African monocot floras and contains several important collections of rare plants. Certain research and instructional materials are grown. The Arboretum collections are also used as an educational resource for the community at large. Volunteers and other interested parties are encouraged to participate in Arboretum activities. Additional information is available from the Arboretum Office; telephone (714) 824-5833.
The Laser Microbeam and Medical Program (LAMMP) was established at UCI in 1979 as a national user facility providing a unique set of laser microbeam biotechnologies to individual researchers. LAMMP functions as a research, training, and service facility, and provides interaction between the laser industry and the academic biomedical optics community. LAMMP provides laser microbeam technologies for optical manipulation and functional imaging of living cells, and for developing noninvasive systems for monitoring and imaging physiology in living tissue. The program is conducted in the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic and is funded through the Biotechnology Resources Program of the National Institutes of Health. Additional information is available from the LAMMP coordinator at (714) 824-3664 and on the World Wide Web at http://www.bli.uci.edu/lammp/lammp.html.
Financed through private and federal funds, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) began in 1972. Its goals are to create the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, a data bank of Greek literature from its Homeric beginnings to A.D. 1453; to conduct literary research using collected texts; and to apply technological innovation in these endeavors. TLG research activities combine the traditional concerns and methodologies of philological and literary study with the most advanced features of computer technology. Included among current research foci are the identification of ancient Greek literary and documentary materials from various literary-historical periods; the conversion of these materials into machine-readable form; the enhancement of automated text-verification routines; and the examination of criteria for the lexical analysis and categorization of the texts in the data bank. TLG staff have also established procedures to facilitate nationwide access to data-bank resources at UCI. The data bank currently contains some 73 million words of Greek text.
Close ties with the Department of Classics are evidenced by faculty participation in TLG research and TLG support of graduate students. The jointly sponsored TLG/Classics Research Laboratory offers faculty, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students access to a wide variety of the latest hardware and software resources. In addition, TLG's library holdings enhance those of the University Library, and TLG-related conferences and scholarly visits afford faculty and students contact with eminent classicists. The TLG has made UCI a major source of Classics research activity.
The UCI Medical Center is one of five teaching hospitals owned and operated by the University of California. It is located on a 33-acre site in the City of Orange, 13 miles from the UCI campus. UCI College of Medicine faculty and resident physicians are the professional staff for medical services at the Center. The hospital maintains inpatient and outpatient services in virtually all medical specialties and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The Center is the only designated Level I tertiary trauma referral center in Orange County.
UCI Medical Center serves as the principal clinical facility for teaching and research programs for the College of Medicine. Licensed for 462 beds, UCI Medical Center serves approximately 19,000 inpatient admissions, 161,000 outpatient visits, and 34,000 adult and pediatric emergency visits.
The availability of advanced technology and the nationally recognized expertise of members of the staff have made UCI Medical Center a regional referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of many medical problems. The Chao Family Clinical Cancer Research Center at UCI is the only facility in Orange County--and one of just a select group of centers in the nation--to be designated a Clinical Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
The hospital is also nationally recognized for its burn center and expertise in the surgical replantation of severed limbs. In addition, the Medical Center offers special programs for high-risk pregnant women and critically ill newborns. Other services include a multidisciplinary cardiology program, state-of-the-art neurosurgery services, and a comprehensive psychiatry program for adults, adolescents, and children.
Basic research in neurobiology combined with clinical expertise in neurology and neurosurgery are placing College of Medicine faculty in the forefront in the understanding and treatment of many neurological disorders, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, and Alzheimer's disease. UCI Medical Center is also one of the primary centers for the comprehensive management of diabetes. In addition, the Medical Center has received federal approval for the use of lasers in the treatment of cancers of the head, neck, and female reproductive system, and for a variety of eye disorders. Programs in research and patient care using laser technology are coordinated by the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, located on the UCI campus.
Comprehensive outpatient services are available on the UCI Campus adjacent to the College of Medicine, through the Louis A. and Helen G. Gottschalk Medical Plaza. The facility offers primary care and multispecialty services, including cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pediatrics, weight management, and physical therapy. The Plaza also provides an Executive Health Program for the business community.
UCI's network of outpatient facilities also includes three UCI Medical Pavilions which house multispecialty patient-care services, the UCI Family Health CenterSanta Ana, and the UCI Westminster Medical Center.
Further information about other University-operated clinical facilities is found in the College of Medicine section.
In 1980 the University established occupational health centers in Northern and Southern California. The purposes of these Centers are (1) to train occupational health professionals, (2) to conduct research on occupational health issues, and (3) to provide clinical evaluation of the worker/patient for work-related disease. The Centers have strong ties to the University's Schools of Medicine and Public Health.
The Center is comprised of health professionals from UCI. Faculty research is concerned with identification of causal association between disease and occupational exposure as a basis for prevention of occupational disease and injury. The Center's primary areas are occupational medicine, toxicology, and epidemiology, and it also is concerned with the prevention of disease due to environmental exposures.
The Center houses a referral clinic, faculty and staff offices, and facilities for research and teaching in industrial hygiene and toxicology, a classroom, a library, and study space for residents in occupational medicine and other graduate students. Additional information is available from (714) 824-8641.
