Bird's Eye View May 2026
Bird's Eye View
April/May 2026
With the spring semester winding down, your dedicated Library team is delighted to share an update on our activities and accomplishments. In this semester’s issue, you will find:
- Librarian Retirement
- Fresh Faces
- Rural Campus Spotlights
- Nutrition Workshop and CalFresh
- Follow the BC Library's New Tik Tok Account!
Librarian Retirement
Joey Merritt, OER Librarian & Instructional Designer
As the spring semester draws to a close, we are preparing for a bittersweet transition
within our library team. After three years of dedicated service and advocacy, our
current OER librarian is retiring to embark on a new chapter beyond academia.
We will greatly miss her expertise and energy, especially the genuine warmth and dedication she brought to the library team and the faculty she supported so tirelessly.
Please join us in wishing our retiring colleague the very best in her next adventure!
Fresh Faces at the Library
We’ve got some new librarians who are eager to serve BC students on all of our campuses. Stop by and say hello to them next time you’re in the library!
Rachelle Ehteshami - OER Librarian
Rachelle Ehteshami will be stepping into the role previously held by Joey, carrying
forward the vital work of expanding OER initiatives and faculty support across our
campuses.
Rachelle is a familiar face at BC, having been with the college since 2024. A proud alumna of both Bakersfield College and California State University, Bakersfield, she earned her MLIS and a certificate in Strategic Management of Digital Assets and Services from San Jose State University.
Rachelle is deeply committed to the mission of open education, stating:
"I am passionate about supporting student learning and advocating for equitable access in education. As the OER librarian, I will have the rewarding opportunity to advocate for the use of open educational resources that improve student access and strengthen learning in their courses. I will also have the exciting opportunity to build partnerships with faculty to support collaboration in finding open educational resources for their courses and increase OER utilization in their instruction."
Please join us in giving Rachelle a warm welcome as she leads our efforts toward becoming an increasingly OER-focused campus!
Jasmin LoBasso - Adjunct Reference Librarian
Jasmin LoBasso is an Adjunct Reference Librarian and proud alumna of Bakersfield College.
She earned her Bachelor of History with a minor in Communications and a Master of
Business Administration locally from CSUB. She later earned a Master of Library and
Information Science from San Jose State University. Her professional experience includes
public service roles in public libraries, recreation management, community relations
and marketing within local government. Her professional interests include outreach,
connection development and instruction. Beyond work, she is an avid reader, board-game
collector, travel enthusiast and advocate for the arts.
Rural Campus Spotlights
As we approach the end of another school year, our rural libraries have much to celebrate. Each site has experienced meaningful growth — more librarian coverage, more orientations, more programming and more books added to the shelves. Arvin saw a notable expansion this year with additional librarian hours. A librarian is now on site every Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., increasing support for students and faculty. Delano broadened its programming with the launch of a new Chess Club, which has already begun drawing enthusiastic participation. Across all three locations — Delano Campus, Arvin Educational Center and BC Southwest — staff have been steadily strengthening their collections to better serve our students. To make browsing easier, we’ve also created new Library Guides highlighting two of our rural sites:
All rural library locations will remain open during the summer. Please visit the library website for updated dates and hours. We invite you to stop by any, or all, of our sites soon.
Find out this semester’s happenings at our rural campuses.
Delano: Live from the Library. True Stories: Moments that Mattered
The Delano Campus Library recently hosted its first Live from the Library storytelling
event, bringing students, faculty, and staff together for shared stories, food and
connection. Inspired by the format of The Moth story slams, seven storytellers, including
four students, two faculty members, and one campus administrator took the mic to share
short, personal, true stories centered on the theme “Moments that Mattered.” The stories
ranged from heartfelt to humorous, and the audience responded with attention, laughter
and a great deal of support. We’re looking forward to continuing Live from the Library
this fall, so stay tuned for upcoming storytelling events at the Delano Library.
Shafter Library & Learning Center
The Shafter Library and Learning Center (SLLC), in partnership with the Independent Living Center of Kern County, hosted a community storytime as part of the Shafter Colours Festival on Saturday, February 27th. The storytime, conducted in spoken English and Spanish as well as American Sign Language (ASL), celebrated the diversity in the Shafter Library’s collection and Shafter community at large. In ASL and spoken English, Bakersfield College faculty members Martha Mendez, Jerome Lagaya, and Ariel Dyer read the picture book Monster Hands by Jonaz McMillan and Karen Kane, a story about two best friends who use ASL to scare away the monster under the bed.
Historic BC Building Blueprints Donated to BC Southwest Library
The BC Southwest Library is pleased to announce the addition of three newly donated architectural blueprints to our local history collection. Gifted to us by the BC Archives, these framed originals date back to 1953 and depict proposed buildings for the Panorama Campus.
The set includes plans for:
- the Theater and Music Building
- the Agricultural Building
- the Administration and Business Building
These blueprints were shared with our library in recognition of the strong architectural program on our campus and will serve as valuable historical and educational resources. They are now available for viewing during regular library hours.
2026 Healthy Eating & Cal Fresh Workshop
This March, the library was proud to host the Healthy Eating and CalFresh Workshop, a collaborative event focused on nutrition and food security. In partnership with Heather Baeza (Program Coordinator from Human Services) and Alexis Moran and Alexandra Apatiga (from the Renegade Nexus and Basic Needs Center), the event provided students with essential information on CalFresh benefits and practical strategies for maintaining healthy eating habits during high-stress periods.
Follow the BC Library's New TikTok Account!
This semester, the BC Librarians launched a new TikTok account and everyone is invited to follow at @bc_library. From book display drops to tips and tricks on accessing research resources, it's a fun way to connect with your campus library.
