University Library E-News

What's New: Exploring Pseudoscience

The Special Collections & Archives exhibit Pseudoscience: Authority, Bias, and Humanity in the Long 19th Century, opened In August 2024. The exhibit explores the history of science as a practice, highlights selected pseudoscientific trends, and makes us think about how we evaluate and use what we presume to be authoritative knowledge. Special Collections & Archives Head Ellen Jarosz and Librarian Mallory Furnier provide insights that will help visitors get the most out of the displays.

What’s New: The Malcolm X Tape

In May of 1963, Malcolm X (later El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) graciously sat down to be interviewed by Fred Hardon in the back room of his family’s home on Dalton Avenue in Los Angeles. In honor of the centennial of Malcolm X’s birth (May 19, 1925), the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center would like to announce that Mr. Hardon has donated the audio and copyright to CSUN’s Bradley Center/University Library. Malcolm X’s daughter, Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz represented the Shabazz family in their support of the donation of Mr. Hardon’s recording to CSUN.

What's New: AI Working Group Bridges the Gap Between Mystery and Utility

Tools integrating artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have been widely available for over a decade. Siri appeared in iOS products starting in 2008, and music streaming apps started predicting our preferences around the same time. OpenAI made its Generative AI ChatGPT service available in late 2022, and we are by now familiar with the “AI Overview” Google provides in response to most searches. AI’s ability to process, generate, and present information at a superhuman pace has prompted a group of CSUN librarians to explore its implications for research and instruction, and help students and faculty to engage its rapidly growing presence in education.

What's New: Navigating the Information Age — How LIB 290 Is Empowering Matadors

Every day, CSUN students scroll, swipe, search, stream, and submit. They move seamlessly between social media and scholarly articles, between AI tools and academic databases. But in a world overflowing with information and misinformation, knowing how to navigate that landscape thoughtfully is more important than ever. That reality inspired LIB 290: The Information Ecosystem, a one-unit course developed by Dr. Ahmed Alwan, Dr. Eric Garcia, and Christina Mayberry to help students better understand the digital world they inhabit both inside and outside the classroom.

What's New: Journeys of the Imagination Explores the Meaning of Fictional Worlds

The University Library’s newest Special Collections and Archives exhibition invites visitors to consider what imaginary journeys can reveal about real life.

Journeys of the Imagination examines the enduring human tradition of creating and sharing stories about unfamiliar places, remarkable people, and extraordinary events. The exhibition connects ancient epics, including stories of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Odysseus, with modern fantasy and science fiction, demonstrating how imagined worlds continue to shape the way people understand themselves and their communities.