As the newly appointed dean of Cal State Fullerton’s Pollak Library, Eric Hanson appears to be well-qualified to oversee an information hub that serves the largest student body in the California State University system.
Hanson brings years of administrative experience to his new post, working in college libraries, along with international experience as a librarian at the David Lubin Memorial Library in Italy, the main library of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
While continuing to assess all facets of the library, including its services, partnerships and infrastructure, Hanson sees plenty of opportunity to build on Pollak’s existing attributes along with launching new programming and expanding the library’s reach on campus.
“It’s a fantastic library,” Hanson said. “A big space. There’s a lot of opportunities I see to try to unite some of the services and to provide better service to students. I’ve met with the students and had an opportunity to hear from them. I’m meeting with my staff and team members and various partners. Our library has partners from across campus.”
Integrating new technology such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence is high on Hanson’s to-do list.
The library staff has already begun feeding frequently asked questions into an AI-driven Chatbot, which can provide quick and accurate answers to questions, he said.
Staff is also working with administrators of Alfredo H. Zúñiga Research collection to study the feasibility of using AI to translate from Spanish the collection’s documents and recordings chronicling the Chicana/o Community in Orange County and events of historical and cultural significance to that community.
“We’re testing it because a lot of the (collection) is in Spanish that may be in different dialects, and we don’t have someone who necessarily understands it clearly,” Hanson said. “So, we’re having AI run through and then having someone as a control to see whether it is accurate or not, and surprisingly it’s better than we thought, and that can save a ton of time and effort to get these materials transcribed and available to students.”
Along with the integration of new technology, another priority is to simply make the campus community aware of the library’s existing treasures.
For example, the library is the repository for the Frank Herbert papers.
Science fiction aficionados might know that Herbert is the author of the science fiction space opera, “Dune” and that the critically acclaimed “Dune: Part Two” is currently playing in theaters.
“I want people to know that we have this collection,” Hanson said. “And our students may be interested. We have a small display here in the library, but we haven’t been pushing that out further. We have film and TV majors that would be interested in that.”
The library currently has partnerships with Information Technology, the International Student Office, Faculty Development Office and other departments, and Hanson is hoping to explore the potential for new partnerships.
The first floor of the library is home to several affinity groups including the African American Resource Center, Asian Pacific American Resource Center, Latinx Community Resource Center, the LGBTQ Queer Resource Center and Titan Dreamers Resource Center.
“I’m gauging how we can all interact with them and work together more,” he said. “I’m not really clear on all of the connections just yet, other than that we share the space. And so, some of those meetings I’ve still yet to have because I’ve been meeting with all of my library people.”
Hanson oversees staff that includes two associate deans, 25 librarians and about 25 additional staff members.
Prior to joining the CSUF family, Hanson spent nine years at Glendale Community College as dean of the library, where he had numerous responsibilities aside from managing the library.
“Eric’s forward-thinking mindset and library experience will serve our Titan community well,” said Amir Dabirian, provost and vice president for academic affairs, in a Nov.28, 2023 article on the CSUF website. “I am thrilled we have the pleasure of welcoming him to Cal State Fullerton.”
The Pollak Library is made up of two interconnected buildings, Pollak Library North and Pollak Library South.
Before moving into its new building in 1966, the fourth permanent building on campus, the library was located in several temporary structures.
The library expanded in 1996 with the opening of a second building, Library North.
In 1998, the library was renamed The Paulina June and George Pollak Library in recognition of the $1 million donation from Professor Paulina June Saiz-Pollak and her husband, George Pollak.
At the time, the gift was the largest ever from a faculty member.
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