Delmar T. Oviatt Library
- Dean: Mark Stover
- Email: mark.stover@csun.edu
- (818) 677-2271
- Fax: (818) 677-2676
- http://library.csun.edu (mobile site available)
The Oviatt Library (OV) is located in the center of campus. Librarians and other library personnel are dedicated to helping students achieve their educational goals. The Library has extensive collections and services, both in-house and online. Reading, study, and collaborative areas as well as computers are located throughout the building. In Fall 2013 the Library opened the Learning Commons, a large open area on the first floor of the building. The space is dedicated to collaborative learning and group study in a relaxed and friendly environment. The third floor of the Library features the Learning Resource Center offering a variety of learning programs including reading and writing skill workshops, one on one and group tutoring, and supplemental instruction classes. The Library also houses the popular Freudian Sip, a café located in the Library’s lobby. In Fall 2014 the Library will open the Creative Media Studio, a space dedicated to the creation of multimedia.
Library hours vary by time of year, are posted at the Library’s entrance and can be found on the Library website.
Oviatt Library Resources
As of Fall 2013, the Oviatt Library had a physical collection containing more than 1.4 million volumes. The Library has access to more than 72,000 journals and serials (electronic and print), more than 220 online databases and more than 425,000 eBooks. The collection also includes close to 15,000 sound recordings and more than 40,000 film and video materials. The archives and manuscript collection exceeds 10,000 linear feet of materials. Less frequently used books and most bound periodicals, including most microforms, are stored in the Library’s Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). Stored items may be requested from the Library’s online catalog or at the Guest Services desk and retrieved from the ASRS in approximately 10 minutes.
Assistive Technology Workstations
The Library has established four assistive technology study rooms featuring a wide range of sophisticated hardware and software designed to increase access to Library resources for students with disabilities. The rooms are located on the first floor of the west wing. CSUN students wishing to use one of these rooms may obtain a key at the Guest Services desk. Students will be asked to present their card from the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) indicating that they have received appropriate training on the equipment and software. Please check with the Disability Resources and Educational Services Office, Bayramian Hall 110, for more information about using these rooms. Upon request, assistance such as photocopying and book retrieval is available at the Guest Services desk.
Computers
The Library provides a large number of desktop computers for students to access and search a wide variety of electronic resources and databases. In addition, students have access to productivity software and a virtual software library. The main open computer area is in the Learning Commons, located on the first floor. Labs A, B, and C, while often reserved for library instruction can be used when no class is in session. Schedules are posted on the doors. There are also computers on each floor in the stacks as well as in Music and Media on the 2nd floor and Reserves, Periodicals and Microform on the 4th floor. Laptops and iPads can be checked out from the Learning Commons Technology office which is located in the Learning Commons. Student can obtain help with their computer accounts and other related questions from the Campus IT desk also located in the Learning Commons. The Library also operates an open student computer lab in Sierra Hall (SH) 392.
Copying and Printing Services
Self-service copy machines are located on each floor of the Library. Printing is available in Learning Commons Main, Learning Commons West, Sierra Hall 392, and Reserves, Periodicals and Microform. For the most current information please consult the Library’s website.
Creative Media Studio
In Fall 2014 the Library will inaugurate the Creative Media Studio, a makerspace with a sound studio and sophisticated computer hardware and software to enable students to create multimedia for their class projects.
Government Documents
The Library is a selective depository for government documents published by the U.S. government and the state of California. (Note: Most documents are issued only in electronic format.) Free public access to government documents is assured by state and federal law. Documents are listed in the Library catalog, and finding guides are available online at http://library.csun.edu/GovernmentPublications.
Guest Services
The Guest Services staff in the main lobby checks out, renews, checks in and places holds on library resources. This area also is where fines are paid and photo ID cards can be issued. Most items ordered from automated storage (ASRS) are picked up here as well.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
This service permits faculty, students and staff to obtain materials from other libraries that are needed for research, but are not available in the Oviatt Library. ILL resources are found within the CSUN Interlibrary Loan “network,” which includes the 22-campus CSU system, a large number of reciprocal libraries and various document suppliers. Items can be ordered by using the online service. The ILL office is located in Oviatt room 109 on the first floor. For complete information about the Library’s Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services, see http://library.csun.edu/Services/InterlibraryLoan.
Music and Media
The Music and Media Collection consists of CDs and LPs, including jazz, international, classical and contemporary genres supported by music scores and books on music history and theory. It also contains DVDs ranging from instructional programming to feature films. In addition, patrons have access to more videos online through Films on Demand. Music and Media supports the music, cinema and theater curricula at CSUN, and provides instructional media complementing many other disciplines. Most of the collection is available for checkout and patrons can view or listen to all material in the area’s media carrels or review room. Music and Media is located on the second floor, east wing and provides a welcoming environment for course study and research, or for simply relaxing and personal enjoyment in the lounge areas.
Online Catalog and OneSearch
The easiest way to find out about the Library’s holdings is to use OneSearch. OneSearch lets users search for books, articles, videos, music, and almost everything else the Library holds using one search box. OneSearch is connected to most of the Library’s databases and the catalog and content can be accessed directly from search results. OneSearch can be accessed from any on- or off-campus computer or mobile device connected to the Internet. Users who prefer to search only the Library’s online catalog, can access it on the Library’s website at http://library.csun.edu.
Reading and Study Areas
In addition to the general reading and study areas available on all floors, the Library also offers private study areas. Group study rooms and individual study rooms are located on all floors. Rules for their use and group size are posted in the rooms and are on the Library’s website. Most study rooms have to be reserved using the Library’s online reservation system. Faculty and graduate student study rooms, located on the lower floor, west wing, are available on a day-to-day basis. Inquire at the Guest Services Desk about availability. In, addition, the Gohstand Reading Room on the 2nd floor west wing provides quiet space specifically designated for leisure reading.
Reference and Research Services
The Oviatt Library maintains a reference collection of both online resources and print materials, providing students with factual information or directing them to further sources for that information, including but not limited to encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, handbooks, directories, style manuals and bibliographies.
Online Reference materials can be accessed through the online catalog. Please see http://library.csun.edu/Collections/Reference for more information on how to find these materials.
Print reference sources are indicated by “Reference room” or “Ref” in the location box in OneSearch and the online catalog. When an item has “Reference room” listed as the location, it will be found in the reference collection on the first floor, in the Learning Commons. Many reference materials are shelved along with the regular collection on the upper floors of the Library. These will have a location that includes the floor, such as: “Floor2 (Ref).” Reference materials marked as “Stored” in the online catalog must be requested through the Library’s Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). Requests for stored items can be made directly through the online catalog or in person at the Oviatt Library’s Guest Services Desk. Print reference materials cannot be checked out, and must remain in the Library at all times.
Reference librarians from the Research, Instruction and Outreach Services Department (http://library.csun.edu/research-instruction-outreach-services) staff the Research Consultation Desk in the Learning Commons during most of the hours the Library is open. They can help students use OneSearch and the online catalog to find books, articles, videos and journals; assist in finding peer reviewed/scholarly articles using subject specific databases; answer complex research questions; show students how to use appropriate search strategies and techniques; and provide basic citation help.
Appointments may be made with subject specialist librarians for lengthier consultations on a topic or reference source. You can find your subject specialist and his or her phone number at http://library.csun.edu/About/SubjectSpecialists.
In addition, we provide reference assistance by telephone, text message and through our online reference services. To learn more about these options, go to http://library.csun.edu/ResearchAssistance/AskUs.
Reserves, Periodicals and Microform (RPM)
Reserve materials are located primarily in RPM (fourth floor, east wing). Music course reserves and multimedia reserves are located in Music and Media (second floor, east wing) and children’s literature reserves and education course reserves are located in the Teacher Curriculum Center (TCC, lower level, room 26). Reserve materials are listed by course number and instructor’s last name and can be searched by visiting http://library.csun.edu/CourseReserves.
Titles of all magazines, journals, e-journals, serials and newspapers owned by the Library can be found through the Library online catalog at http://suncat.csun.edu by clicking on the Journals tab. To search for individual articles, use our Databases by Subject webpage at http://library.calstate.edu/northridge/databases.
Current periodical and newspaper print titles are also found in RPM. Recent issues of magazines and journals are shelved in call number order. Back issues of newspapers are retained for several months until they are discarded or until the microform subscription copies arrive. Retention length differs with each title.
Older issues of magazines and journals are bound into volumes and can either be found on the fourth floor or in the ASRS and may be retrieved from storage, usually within 10 minutes. Use the online catalog to request stored volumes. Stored periodicals will be delivered to the RPM service desk, fourth floor, east wing. Please return the materials to the service desk.
Almost all microform titles are stored in the ASRS. Ask for assistance at the RPM service desk.
Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives houses rare and unique collections and provides opportunities for scholarly research and publication. Material is available for onsite research in the Special Collections and Archives reading room, west wing, second floor. While in the reading room, researchers can make their own duplications using a scanner with the capability to save scans to their own USB drives, or emailing scans to themselves. Those who are unable to visit the department can order photocopies, scans, or other duplications. To find archival and manuscript collections which are a part of Special Collections please visit the Finding Aid Database, search the Library Catalog, or the Library’s Digital Collections. For more information about how to access these collections, please read more about Using the Collections. There are no browsing stacks. All Special Collections and Archives material, including material stored in the ASRS, must be requested through the Special Collections and Archives reading room reading room. None of this material may circulate out of the Library. Scheduled hours are Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesday -Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Call (818) 677- 2832 for more information.
Teacher Curriculum Center
The Teacher Curriculum Center features a collection of pre-school through grade 12 curriculum-oriented materials. It is located on the lower level of the Oviatt Library building, room 26. Included in the TCC collection are selected California state-adopted textbooks, the juvenile and young adult collection (Sharon Fogarty Young Readers’ Collection), CD-ROMs, educational games, curriculum guides, recordings, videotapes and DVDs. All are listed in the online catalog. These items must be checked out and returned directly to the TCC.