Special Collections and Archives

collection highlights Special Collections and Archives in the Oviatt Library is the home of CSUN's rare book and periodical collections, as well as its archival and manuscript collections. Archival and manuscript collections can consist of many different kinds of materials, including correspondence, diaries, maps, university records, organizational records, photographs, and audio or video recordings.

In Special Collections and Archives users can perform research, engage in classes using primary sources, or view exhibitions. Our collections are made available to researchers in a supervised reading room. We welcome users, and ask for understanding concerning our special procedures, which are designed to ensure these collections are available in the future.

Peek in the Stacks

California Water Collections

Posted on February 5, 2013

Water history, particularly the controversy surrounding water rights and access, has dramatically and incontrovertibly shaped the growth and development of Los Angeles. Nearly 100 years ago, the dedication and opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct on November 5, 1913 was the culmination of many years of work on the part of William Mulholland and others at Los Angeles' Department of Water and Power. More than any other ...

Agness M. Underwood Collection

Posted on January 29, 2013

Agness Underwood was a Los Angeles newspaperwoman for forty-two years. During the 1930s and 1940s she was one of the city's best-known court and police reporters. In 1946, she became city editor of the Herald Express, a post she held for seventeen and a half years. No man had ever held the job more than four years. At the time she was the only female city editor of a major American metropolitan newspaper. During her ...