Monday, February 2, 2026

University Libraries highlights shared by the Dean of Libraries at the President’s Lunch-n-Learn held on Feb. 3rd.

 

The University Libraries (UL) Serve:

Students through teaching research skills and providing research experiences.

§  This past fall, the English Department and UL faculty, guided by the University’s commitment to the liberal arts, re-envisioned the information literacy program and are placing a greater emphasis on teaching foundational research skills and tools during the UL information literacy sessions.

 

§  At USD-Sioux Falls, the UL is helping students download LibKey Nomad by providing hands-on guidance and support during the installation. This interactive approach ensures that students can immediately use LibKey Nomad to easily access full-text articles for their coursework.

 

§  As part of the UL’s expanding portfolio of data services, students (and staff, faculty) can earn the  Data Ready! Badge by completing three workshops focusing on R, Python, and Data Visualization with PowerBI.

 

§  Through the UL’s special collections and digital humanities services, students can gain experience in editing, research, using AI applications, and collaborating with other students and faculty. Workshops such as the From Archive to Exhibit: Project-Based History Education Institute, credit-bearing internships, graduate assistantships, and UDiscover scholarships are available.

Faculty by supporting teaching, publishing, and research.

§  The Summer 2026 and Fall 2026 course material adoption window will soon open, and Charlie’s Bookstore and the UL will be collaborating to increase faculty awareness about the UL’s ebooks that can be adopted as required texts for courses.

 

§  To both advance open access to USD scholarship and mitigate publishing costs, faculty can search the UL’s SciFree Journal Search Tool to determine if the Article Processing Charges (APC) associated with the journals in which they wish to publish are paid by the UL’s subscription agreements with publishers.

 

§  The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the UL are collaborating to make the Web of Science Research Intelligence platform, an AI-native software solution, available to USD researchers who are seeking grant opportunities, collaborators, and more. Coming soon!

 

Healthcare partners, South Dakotans, and tribal nations in South Dakota.

§  Physicians, faculty and students who receive UL services through the Wegner Library can now use Dyna AI in patient care, teaching, and learning.

 

§  South Dakotans can virtually engage with USD’s archival collections through FromThePage, a crowdsourcing transcription platfom.

 

§  On April 9 and 10, the Institute of American Indian Studies, the Office of the Provost, and the UL will host Tribal Historic Preservation Officers from South Dakota and Nebraska for conversations and planning related to the curation of indigenous oral histories at USD, research that supports both tribal communities and USD students, and the preservation of archival materials.