Spotlight: Building a Quiet Study Lounge

The goal of the University Library’s Quiet Study Lounge as advertised is, “a tranquil place for individual study.” With proper selection of furniture that discourages conversation and allows for a single student to focus on their studies, that goal will continue to be realized.

Spotlight: Students Talk Back to the Library

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.

Spotlight: Eating the Archives

The latest exhibit from Special Collections & Archives, “Eating the Archives” opened in August 2023. The exhibit explores the way food-related archival materials “preserve community memories while reflecting and engaging with broader societal issues related to identity, representation, and daily lived experiences.”

Spotlight: Everlasting Inspiration - Inside the Library Student Employee Scholarship Program

At the very heart of campus life stands the University Library—a mecca of knowledge, innovation, and collaboration. Beyond being an intellectual cornerstone at CSUN, it also serves as one of the largest on-campus employers, providing meaningful opportunities for nearly 100 student assistants each year. These students don’t just work behind the scenes—they are integral to the University Library's daily operations, from helping patrons to coordinating key resources for the academic community.

Spotlight: Behind the Scenes of the Library's Creative Maker Studio

The Creative Maker Studio (CMS) is a unique department in the University Library that brings together students from all corners of the campus with the shared objective to learn, create, and collaborate. In July 2022, the rebrand from Creative Media Studio to Creative Maker Studio affirmed the department’s status as the Library’s official Makerspace.

This fall, the CMS debuted five brand new services including a vinyl cutting station, creative scanning station with a photo/film and 3D scanner, sewing machine available for checkout and inside a reservable room, multipurpose production room with high-end lighting equipment and backdrops, and a virtual reality room where students can experience VR and work on game development. Back by popular demand, we will also be offering virtual and in-person creative workshops, too!

Library Spotlight: An Update on the Documenting COVID-19 Project at CSUN

As previously reported in the Fall 2020 Library eNews, the University Archives, part of the Special Collections and Archives department in the University Library, launched the Documenting COVID-19 project in spring 2021, which, like many academic libraries, endeavors to capture CSUN Matadors’ experiences during this crisis and preserve them for future generations. As the prevalence of COVID-19 appears to be waning, Archivist April Feldman provided the following project update.

Library Spotlight: The University Library Reopens for Fall 2021

In a recent survey of CSUN students that asked what having the University Library reopening this fall means to them, one commentor summarized the other respondents’ sentiments:

It would mean that I could have a place away from home to study. During the pandemic, it was hard to concentrate at home. Having the option of a quiet area at the library would be a stress reliever for me. I would also get to feel like I am a part of my campus.

So, what is the Library doing to provide quiet study space, that sense of community, and access to resources and services this fall?

Library Spotlight: Online Resources and Books by Mail: The University Library's Response to COVID-19

As CSUN began rapidly moving on-campus instruction to virtual modalities in response to the COVID-19 virus in March 2020, the University Library faced many challenges, including how to continue to provide resources and services to support student learning and faculty pedagogy and research while Library staff and faculty were required to telecommute. Early on, the Library’s millions of electronic articles, e-books, streaming media titles, digitized archival and scholarly materials, and online research and support services proved invaluable to supporting these needs.

Oviatt Spotlight: The Richard Cross Collection

In this Oviatt Spotlight, we’re zooming in on a significant project in the Library's Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, where the talented team is digitizing thousands of images by American photojournalist Richard Cross. This Q & A with Dr. José Luis Benavides takes us behind the scenes of this project.

Oviatt Spotlight: Special Thanks to our Library Student Employees

Contributed by Gina Flores

The CSUN Library, fondly known as the heart of the campus, is tremendously thankful for the amazing student workforce dedicated to supporting our operation during the 2019/2020 academic year. Not only did our student employees make use of the Library's resources themselves, but they also helped to make these resources available to their fellow students, staff, faculty, and community members.