University Libraries Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Report
October 5, 2026
"Together, we are creating a Library that welcomes our community, responds to its needs, and remains an essential part of the Wright State experience."
On this page:
- University Librarian's Note
- Dunbar Library by the Numbers
- ReyRey Café Brings New Energy to Dunbar Library
- Improving Discovery and Access
- Expanding Access to Wright State Research
- Celebrating Our Library Student Employees
- Investing in Special Collections and Archives
- The Archives Goes Viral
- Special Collections and Archives at the Ohio Book Awards
- Friends of the Libraries: Supporting Students and Community
- Welcoming New Colleagues
- Recognizing Staff Service and Achievement
- Thanking Our Retiring Colleagues
University Librarian's Note
I am pleased to share the Wright State University Libraries’ 2025–2026 Annual Report. As I look back on this year, I am struck by how much the Libraries have accomplished because of the people who work here, our connections with students, and the partnerships we build across campus.
The University Libraries are much more than books, databases, or a building on campus. We create spaces where students can study, connect, and find a sense of belonging. We help students and faculty discover and use the information they need, preserve the history of Wright State and the communities we serve, and support learning, teaching, and research across the University.
That commitment was reflected in the many ways we supported our students, faculty, and staff throughout the year. With OhioLINK’s support for open access publishing, Wright State authors made their scholarship more widely available while saving nearly $160,000 in Article Processing Charges in calendar year 2025. We celebrated our student employees with monetary awards, welcomed new staff, recognized staff achievements, and said farewell to colleagues who retired after years of dedicated service.
Our partnerships continued to strengthen the Libraries. The student-run Raj Soin College of Business ReyRey Café partnership brought new energy to Dunbar Library and created a welcoming gathering place for the campus community. The Friends of the Libraries continued to connect us with alumni, retirees, and the broader community while providing valuable support for our programs, student employees, and staff.
This was also a year of transition. Following our move to a new library system in June 2025, staff spent the year helping users navigate it to improve access to library resources. Change takes work, but it also gives us opportunities to rethink how we serve the Wright State community.
This report highlights just some of the work accomplished during the year. Behind every accomplishment are Library staff who care deeply about Wright State and the success of every student, faculty member, and staff member we serve. I am grateful to our Libraries team for their creativity, flexibility, and commitment, and to our campus partners, Friends, donors, and supporters who help us make more possible. Together, we are creating a Library that welcomes our community, responds to its needs, and remains an essential part of the Wright State experience.
Jane Wildermuth
University Librarian
Dunbar Library by the Numbers
853,250
Electronic & digital resources
45
Open-access articles in 2025
~$160K
APC savings in 2025
The University Libraries’ electronic and digital collections reached 853,250 resources in 2025, including e-books, electronic journals, digital media, and databases. The accompanying chart traces the growth of these collections over the past decade.
Explore more library statistics in Dunbar Library by the Numbers and the Library Data Dashboard.
ReyRey Café Brings New Energy to Dunbar Library
ReyRey Café moved from Rike Hall to the first floor of Dunbar Library in August 2025, bringing the student-run coffee shop into a space where students study, meet, and spend time between classes. The partnership with the Raj Soin College of Business adds another reason to visit the library and another place for the campus community to gather.
With coffee, snacks, and seating close to library resources and services, the café has become part of daily life in Dunbar.
Read more about the partnership in ReyRey in Dunbar: A Brew-tiful Friendship.
Improving Discovery and Access
Following the June 2025 transition to a new library system, staff continued refining QuickSearch and borrowing services. SearchOhio borrowing resumed in March 2026, restoring access to materials from participating Ohio public libraries. Users can include these materials in their QuickSearch results through the “Beyond My Library” search option.
Staff also prepared for the next version of QuickSearch, Primo’s Next Discovery Experience. This work included testing features, reviewing terminology, and incorporating staff feedback ahead of a planned July 2026 launch.
Expanding Access to Wright State Research
OhioLINK’s open access publishing agreements help Wright State authors share their research more widely while avoiding article processing charges. In calendar year 2025, Wright State authors published 45 articles through these agreements, saving nearly $160,000. Combined with 56 articles published in 2024, the two-year savings totaled $324,000.
The agreements cover eligible journals from six publishers: the American Chemical Society, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, IOP Publishing, Springer Nature, and Wiley. They allow qualifying authors to publish open access without paying article processing charges or creating additional costs for their institutions.
Eligibility and procedures vary by publisher. Learn more through the Libraries’ OhioLINK Read and Publish Open Access Agreements guide and OhioLINK’s Open Access for Authors.
Celebrating Our Library Student Employees
9
Awards
$500
Each
3 Fall / 6 Spring
2025–2026 Academic Year
Fall 2025 Award Recipients
Spring 2026 Award Recipients
Student employees contribute to nearly every aspect of library service, from welcoming visitors and helping with research to maintaining collections and supporting archival projects. The Library Student Assistant Awards recognize the initiative, reliability, and care they bring to this work.
During the 2025–2026 academic year, the Libraries presented nine $500 awards: three in the fall and six in the spring. Funding comes from the Campus Scholarship Innovative Campaign, library staff and other donors, and earnings from the Friends of the Libraries endowment.
Meet the recipients and learn about their contributions in the Fall 2025 Awards and Spring 2026 Awards articles.
Investing in Special Collections and Archives
$500,000
Ohio Community Investments Grant
15,000 sq. ft.
Broader vision for archival space
A $500,000 Ohio Community Investments Grant is supporting improvements to collection storage and public spaces in Special Collections and Archives, with completion scheduled for December 2026. The project includes high-density shelving designed for archival materials, updated furnishings, and reading room improvements to better serve researchers, classes, and visitors.
The shelving will replace aging equipment, increase storage capacity, and improve access to collections. These upgrades address immediate needs within a broader vision for modernizing approximately 15,000 square feet of archival space in Dunbar Library.
The project builds on preservation improvements completed in September 2025 through a National Aviation Heritage Area Large Grant. That work enclosed the collections area from the open atrium, replaced fluorescent lighting with LEDs, added UV-filtering window film and shades, and updated reading room furniture. Read more about the completed preservation project.
The Archives Goes Viral
~19K likes
6,200 shares
193 comments
An unexpected discovery in the Frigidaire Historical Collection brought Special Collections and Archives to a wider audience this year. While assisting an eighth-grade student with a National History Day project, Reference and Outreach Archivist Grace Ethier discovered a “Frigidaire Decorator Color Selector,” a sample guide to appliance colors.
Grace shared the item in an Instagram video on June 12, 2026. By September 21, the post was approaching 19,000 likes and had received 193 comments and 6,200 shares, introducing thousands of viewers to a piece of design history preserved at Wright State.
Take a closer look at the item and its story in The Archives Goes Viral!.
Special Collections and Archives at the Ohio Book Awards
Wright State’s archival collections helped connect history and fiction at the Ohio Book Awards on October 15, 2025. Author Amanda Flower received the Reader’s Choice Award for To Slip the Bonds of Earth, a mystery featuring Katharine Wright, whose life is documented in the Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives.
Reference and Outreach Archivist Grace Ethier joined Flower onstage to discuss the novel and the role of historical women in contemporary mysteries. Flower described how she used Wright State’s digitized collections in her research, drawing on photographs and letters to understand Katharine’s world and personality.
Read more about the conversation and the collections behind it in Special Collections & Archives at the Ohio Book Awards.
Friends of the Libraries: Supporting Students and Community
Through fundraising, programming, and volunteer service, the Friends of the Libraries continued to support students, library staff, and connections with the broader community. Their support included the Top Scholar program, which recognized seven graduating seniors in 2026. Each honoree received a certificate, and the Libraries added a book selected in the student’s field of study to its permanent collections with a commemorative bookplate.
2026 Top Scholars
Meet the 2026 Top Scholars and explore more of the Friends’ work in Friends of the Libraries Fiscal Year 2026 Highlights.
Welcoming New Colleagues
The University Libraries welcomed colleagues whose work supports research, technology, preservation, and daily library operations:
Amber Horner
Library Operations Specialist 2
Danni Grottla
Research and Instruction Librarian for Social Sciences
Anna Helmig-Sampson
Digital and Preservation Archivist
Rebecca Tyler
Systems Librarian
Their experience and perspectives strengthen the Libraries’ ability to serve students, faculty, and researchers.
Recognizing Staff Service and Achievement
At the 2026 Annual Recognition Ceremony, the Libraries honored five colleagues for milestone years of service. Additionally, Shannon Michalak and Grace Ethier received Staff Achievement and Recognition (StAR) Awards for their contributions to library services and the campus community. Their nominations highlighted resourcefulness, collaboration, and a commitment to helping others.
Service Milestones
- 30 years: Lisa Bleeke
- 25 years: Desirée Loewit
- 25 years: Richard Perry
- 20 years: Chris Wydman
- 10 years: Matt Shreffler
Read more about the honorees in the 2026 Staff Recognition Ceremony article.
Thanking Our Retiring Colleagues
The Libraries celebrated three colleagues who retired in spring 2026, recognizing their years of service and the many ways they supported our work.
Linda Daniels
Linda Daniels retired in April after serving as Coordinator of Administrative Services since 1999. Her work included travel coordination, Management Advisory Council records, library communications, and the annual report. She also devoted many years to the Friends of the Libraries, including organizing the annual luncheon.
Barb Conklin
Barb Conklin retired in May after joining the Libraries in 2007. As Office Assistant 2, she coordinated student hiring and supply orders. She also shared her enthusiasm for games and puzzles through the library’s game collection and her work on the Social Committee.
Donna Bobb
Donna Bobb retired in May after joining the Libraries in 2013. As an Administrative Specialist in Special Collections and Archives, she supported reference services, research appointments, student employee training, and collection processing, including work with the Dayton Daily News Archive.
We thank Linda, Barb, and Donna for their dedication, expertise, and lasting contributions to the University Libraries.