Featured: Sights and Sounds of Black History Month
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.
Featured: Inside the Politics of Low & Slow
Fall 2022
Artists, club members, family and friends gathered October 9 at the opening reception for “The Politics of Low & Slow,” an exhibition of lowrider history, art and culture in the Los Angeles area. The exhibit features car club memorabilia, representations in media, paintings commemorating the lowrider car enthusiasts, and much more. We spoke with our guest curator, Professor Denise M. Sandoval, for an inside perspective on the exhibit.
Featured: Black Deaf Life in California
Spring 2022
The Library is collaborating with Deaf Studies Professor Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton to bring the project Black Deaf Life in California online. Black Deaf Life in California is a collection of oral histories conducted in American Sign Language (ASL) with Black Deaf community members. The interviews were developed and conducted by CSUN students. We talked to Dr. Ramirez-Stapleton to find out more about it.
Featured: History Speaks
Fall 2021
Contributed by Elizabeth Altman
Special Collections & Archives launched its online exhibit, Past / Personal: Examining Oral History Narratives, presenting a curated selection from oral histories of “individuals who lived through significant historical events, participated in social movements, or experienced cultural trends that have shaped modern sociocultural perspectives.” We asked the curators to give us an overview of the project.
Featured Article: Los Angeles: On Film and On Record - The Library’s First Virtual Exhibit
Spring 2021
For its first all-virtual exhibition, the Special Collections & Archives department presents, Los Angeles: On Film and On Record, now through July 30, 2021, which examines a selection of popular films that feature Los Angeles in the storyline and/or setting, and using film clips and digital images of archival and other primary sources, compares their vision to the documentary record of the “real” Los Angeles. Since opening August 22, 2020, the exhibit has had over 3,000 views. In keeping with its virtual genre and the Library’s support of student learning, the exhibit includes links to podcasts created by English students focusing on specific films in the exhibit for their final research assignment in their Honors Seminar class.
Featured Article: Reflections of a Virtual Librarian
Fall 2020
Librarian Liz Cheney was ready and responsive to a quick adaptation when the CSUN Library closed the building under pandemic guidelines in March 2020. She thoughtfully shared her perspective on the transition to serving the CSUN community virtually.
Featured - Diversity Check: Removing Dehumanizing Language from the Discovery System
Spring 2020
Ordinarily one might not find library subject headings particularly fascinating, but the Oviatt Library’s OneSearch discovery system has a new story to tell that radically changes the way students engage with information on critical topics. Thanks to the collaborative work of Luiz Mendes, chair of the the Library’s Collection Access and Management Systems department, and Israel Yanez, a cataloger at CSU Sacramento Library, in the display of certain library search results, illegal aliens has become undocumented immigrants.
Featured: Study Shines Light on Library Impact on First-Year Students
Fall 2019
In a revealing study titled, “Impact of Library Use on First Year Retention and Success,” assessment librarian Laura Wimberley examined two research questions as part of the CSUN Data Champions* initiative:
- Are first-year students who use library collections and services more likely to return for their second year?
- Do first-year students who use more library collections and services earn more credits than comparable students who don’t use the library?
Analysis of the records of all 5,214 first-time freshman who entered CSUN in fall 2017 showed highly statistically significant relationships between these variables – in short, yes!
Local Elementary School Students See a Future at the Oviatt Library
Spring 2019
One of the many delights we have the privilege to enjoy in the Oviatt Library is the awe and spark of imagination that ignites every time students from local community schools visit us for a field trip tour. Over the last five years, the Oviatt has conducted 302 tours welcoming 5,435 visitors.
Featured Article: Creativity has a Home in the Oviatt Library
Spring 2018
One of the wonderful things about libraries is that they transform to meet the needs of the community, embrace and experiment with new ideas, and provide spaces for research, culture and collaboration. In this issue of our eNews, we explore the Oviatt Library as a space for creativity, and how important the creative process is towards fostering student and community success. See Dean Mark Stover’s article [link] The Oviatt Library has undergone tremendous changes over recent years, and its Mission, Vision and Values reflect those changes. The Library as a creative space is reflected in our mission as creating “innovative physical and virtual spaces,” and providing “diverse education and cultural programming in support of student success.”