HSLIC News

Every week a librarian will be set up at a different location around campus to assist you with any questions you might have. Not sure how to save your searches? Unsure on what the methodology of that article is really telling you? Need assistance with citing your sources? We're here to help with all of that and more!

• Wednesday, September 14th from 12-1 at the Happy Heart
• Monday, September 19th from 12-1pm at Rio Rancho
• Tuesday, September 27th from 12-1 in Domenici
• Monday, October 10th from 5-6pm in Domenici
• Thursday, October 20th from 12-1 at Rio Rancho
• Tuesday, November 8th from 12-1 at the Happy Heart
• Monday, November 14th from 5-6pm in Domenici
• Monday, November 21st from 12-1pm at Rio Rancho

Shayna Kymes is a Student Assistant in Public Services who has worked at the library for almost 4 months. She is a Biology Major with minors in both Chemistry and Psychology. After graduating from UNM she plans on pursuing her doctorate in occupational therapy. 

According to Shayna, one of her greatest academic accomplishments was passing both Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 with high A's. She also received a 100% on one of her exams after being told that organic chemistry is the hardest class a person can take.

 When working at the library, Shayna loves to clean the whiteboards and shelf-read. While shelf-reading, she enjoys looking at all the books at HSLIC and seeing what they are all about. She has even found books that she can use for her studies.  

In addition to her academics and working at the library, Shayna also likes to watch baseball, try new restaurants, and go to country music concerts. She has also volunteered for a special needs vacation bible school camp for the past 9 years.

 Shayna has 4 dogs who are all rescue animals. They are named (from oldest to youngest) Millie, Henry, Olive, and Finn. Her favorite food is her mom’s green chile enchiladas. She also enjoys baking chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

Three teams recently completed projects as part of HSLIC's inaugural year of its new Seed Funding Grant Program. The purpose of this internal mini-grant program is to help foster a variety of research and innovative projects by HSLIC employees. This supports the library’s value of Innovation, fostering an environment that values creativity, flexibility, open-mindedness, and informed risk-taking. This program also provides a supportive environment for those who wish to gain experience conceptualizing, writing, and administering grant projects. 

This year's winners were:

Wellness Room, Varina Kosovich, project lead, with Kelleen Maluski

Creating a Web Archives of the HSC Newsroom, Jonathan Pringle, project lead, with Lori Sloane 

Reading is Healthy Book Club Kits,  Amy Weig-Pickering, project lead, with Kristin Proctor and Allison Cruise

“It was amazing to be able to dream big and utilize seed funding to make a positive impact on library services,” said Kosovich. Pringle added, “Seed funding provided us with the opportunity to learn about HSC-wide challenges and needs that exceeded the initial scope of the project; with the appropriate tools now in place, we quickly responded to unanticipated and critical web preservation requests that lent additional weight and significance to our work.” HSLIC’s Operations Management Team plans to continue offering this opportunity next fiscal year and in future years, as funds are available.

The killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque between November 2021 and last week (August 5, 2022) is a reprehensible act of racial and religious violence and should be condemned in the loudest, most collective manner possible. At a time like this it is important to keep in mind the systems of oppression that lead to these acts of violence. On the heels of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, in October of that year the American Public Health Association issued a policy statement: Structural Racism is a Public Health Crisis: Impact on the Black Community. While the policy highlights (necessarily) the relationship between structural racism and record high poor health outcomes in the Black population, the policy's Problem Statement drives home the role of racism among all communities of color:

Racism is a pervasive system of power based on the social construction of race, that is, ideological notions of the inherent superiority of non-Hispanic “Whites” and inherent inferiority of people of color (i.e., Native Americans or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, Latinx/Hispanic Americans, Blacks and African Americans [hereafter referred to as Black], and Asian Americans) that operate across multiple levels (internal, interpersonal, institutional) to unjustly advantage Whites and unjustly disadvantage persons of color.

The UNM Health Sciences Library and Informatics Stands with the Albuquerque Muslim community in condemning these hateful acts of violence on members of our community. We support the families of those we have lost:

• Mohammad Ahmadi, 62
• Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27
• Aftab Hussein, 41
• Naeem Hussain, 25

We would also like to share the message from the UNM Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Center (AAPIRC):

Dear AAPIRC Community,

We were unable to send out weekly newsletter last week due to receiving grave news and working with the UNM and the wider Albuquerque community on this situation. I am sending out a special message today. 

Last week began with the heartbreaking news that one of our UNM alumni, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, was killed by gun shots near his home close to campus on Monday night. During his tenure, Muhammad Afzaal was very active at UNM and held the position as the president of GPSA. 

Soon after, we learned the disturbing news that the killing was connected to a pattern of killings of Muslim men from South Asia. Following Muhammad Afzaal’s funeral services on Friday, there was yet another Muslim man found killed with gun shots – totaling 4 murders. Statements have been issued by Mayor Tim Keller, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and President Biden. 

We are grateful for the leadership and work by UNM international students from South Asia. We also appreciate the response, concern, allyship and solidarity of the UNM leadership and community. 

Some ways to be involved: 

• There will be a UNM safety forum today Monday August 8th at 2pm on Zoom. Please see UNM correspondences below for important information on safety and resources. 
• Please stay informed through local and national media, and look for ways to support the local impacted communities. Latest info is in this article: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/08/us/albuquerque-muslim-men-killings-monday/index.html  
• Student groups and alumni are organizing to explore ways to honor Muhammad Afzaal. Let us know if you are interested and we will forward your interest along. 
• Join us for yoga this Wednesday 2pm. We will focus on breath and poses to relieve anxiety. 
• Sign up for the Fall AAPIRC reading group of Edward Said’s “Orientalism”, a seminal text that furthers the understanding of the roots and history of Islamophobia. The reading group will also provide a space for discussion. 
• Let us know how AAPIRC can serve AAPI students during this time. 
• Let us know if there are any resources that you would like us to pass along. 

We will continue to keep you posted. We will send out our regular newsletter with our Fall programs in the next day or two.  

Sincerely in gratitude, 

Farah