Two key developments in 2007—a historic endowment and an expanded collaboration—underscored the enduring and evolving presence of the UCSD Libraries as a campus and community resource. A $1 million gift from longtime university friend and supporter Audrey S. Geisel established the Audrey Geisel University Librarianship, with University Librarian Brian E. C. Schottlaender as the inaugural holder. The librarianship is the first of its kind in San Diego County and one of only a few such university positions on the West Coast. The gift will provide discretionary funding in perpetuity for the ten campus research libraries.
The year also saw the expansion of the San Diego Circuit to include, for the first time, the San Diego County Library as an active member. Established in 1997, the innovative consortium of libraries links UCSD, California State University at San Marcos, San Diego State University, and University of San Diego libraries with the county library system.
The Circuit, one of the first such consortia in the nation, creates a virtual lending collection of several million books. It provides quick and easy access to library resources for many thousands of students, educators, and the reading public. Titles in the online Circuit catalogue can be requested by borrowers from all member libraries and delivered free to their nearest county library branch or university library within a few days.
Previously, public library customers had to either drive to a university library and purchase a library borrowing card (at a cost of $30 to $80), or rely on interlibrary loan services, which can typically take weeks for delivery. At the same time, university borrowers looking for non-university items had to visit a county library branch to apply for a card.