What's New - Portico Project: Paving the Way to a Grand Transformation
eNews Edition: Fall 2023
The iconic University Library at California State University, Northridge is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It sits in the center of campus and the Library’s Mission, Vision and Values describe it as “the intellectual heart of the CSUN campus.” Learn more about our Portico Project and how the Library is improving every day!
Featured - Fifty Years of Resilience and Innovation: A Retrospective on the CSUN University Library
eNews Edition: Fall 2023
As the calendar marks another year, the CSUN University Library (formerly known as the Oviatt Library) approaches a historic milestone—the 50th anniversary of its opening on October 24, 1973. From its inception to its current status as a dynamic hub for learning, innovation, and collaboration, the University Library has seen significant transformations, triumphs, and challenges. This retrospective provides a lens into the Library's rich history and architectural growth, its recovery from natural disasters, and its continuous innovation over the last half-century.
Message from the Dean: Diversity, Innovation, and the Preservation of History
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
The CSUN University Library is a hub of information and activity, constantly evolving and expanding to meet the diverse needs of our students, staff and faculty. This issue of the University Library eNews is a testament to that diversity, as it covers a wide range of topics that demonstrate the breadth and depth of the resources and services available to the CSUN community. The articles also show a clear alignment with CSUN’s mission and strategic principles that permeate all aspects of our work.
We Would Like You to Meet: Lisa Cheby
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
In July 2022, Lisa Cheby joined the Library as the first Dr. Karin J. Duran and Richard Nupoll Education Librarian. In addition to her librarianship, Lisa has worked as a high school English teacher and a poet. She has published two poetry chapbooks, the latest being Buffy Averts a Mid-life Apocalypse. Lisa holds an MLIS from San Jose State University and an MFA from Antioch University. We sat down to talk with her about her experiences.
Thanks & Recognition: Jannette and Cameron Carothers for the Baldwin-Shaffner Archives
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
The Baldwin-Shaffner Collection contains archival materials that document parts of the Baldwin, Sackett, Bishop, and Bacon families' stories as they made their way west from Ohio and Colorado to settle in Los Angeles in the 1890s. The family of Earl and Jennette Shaffner and their children Maybelle (Bishop), Rosalia (Bacon), and George are especially well-represented. Processing Archivist Claire Gordon is currently arranging, preserving, and describing the collection. As part of this, she's creating a finding aid, or guide to the collection, that will be available and searchable online. Once processing is complete, the collection will be available for anyone to use in person in the Special Collections & Archives reading room.
Spotlight: Students Talk Back to the Library
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
Every two years, the CSUN University Library sends a survey to current CSUN undergraduate and graduate students. Recently Dr. Laura Wimberley, Assessment Librarian and Chair of the Research, Instruction and Outreach Services Department, shared key findings from the most recent November 2022 survey at a Library employee town hall. We are pleased to share selected highlights from the presentation.
The survey was conducted on the Qualtrics platform, with an alternative ADA-compliant version made available. The survey link was emailed directly to a randomly-selected subset of the student body, 10,928 undergraduate and 10,072 graduate students. Of those, 13% responded – the highest response rate yet in the history of the survey – with the response proportionally a bit higher from graduate students, for a total of 1,586 responses.
What’s New: Interactive Group Study Rooms
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
New technology is blooming in the Library this spring! Two new interactive group study rooms, each equipped with a 75-inch ViewSonic touch-screen 4k display, allow students to collaborate in many ways. The display features 20-point touch to allow multiple users to write or draw on the display with a stylus. The slot-in PC gives students the ability to log in to access web browsing and the webcam can be used for Zoom meetings. Screen mirroring using Ditto lets users mirror up to four personal devices to the display, with a handy user guide included.
Featured: Sights and Sounds of Black History Month
eNews Edition: Spring 2023
This year’s Black History Month event lineup coordinated by the University Library and the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center was met with much anticipation and excitement, as the featured events were fully in-person for the first time since 2019. Musical group The Cookies and photographer Dr. Tara Pixley cherished the opportunity to share their talent with the community.
Thanks & Recognition - In Memoriam: Dr. Harry Stone
eNews Edition: Fall 2022
The University Library is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Harry Stone, a dear friend and supporter. As a revered Victorian literature expert, Dr. Harry Stone taught at the CSUN Department of English for 32 years from 1960 to 1992.
Dr. Stone died on December 17, 2021 at the age of 95. He is survived by his daughter Ann Melanie Stone, son Jonathan Bernard Stone, daughter-in-law Nancy Warwick, grandson Zachary Stone, and long-time partner, Dr. Pamela Krochalk.
Message from the Dean - Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: Yesterday’s Gone (But Not Forgotten)
eNews Edition: Fall 2022
Many of us (myself included) have a sentimental view of the past. We romanticize it and forget that the world is a different place now – and we forget that trying to hold onto the past is often counter-productive. But British author and mathematician Lewis Carroll (and his unforgettable protagonist Alice) was a bit more clear-eyed about the past and the present, and the difference between the two. He wrote in Alice in Wonderland, "It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
University libraries aren’t exactly falling down the rabbit hole, but they continue to evolve, sometimes in subtle ways, other times in more substantive ways. This issue of the CSUN Library eNews includes three articles that demonstrate some of the changes that we in the University Library are experiencing, and how these changes fit into our overall mission.