Cal State LA Library

02/12/2026

01/21/2026

Meet Jarenni Ambriz, a Cal State LA alum whose research dives into Los Angeles’ underground heavy metal scene. During her time as a student archivist in the University Library, she curated an exhibition exploring LA’s metal community and its cultural impact.

Now pursuing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at Columbia University on a scholarship, Jarenni reflects on how metal, identity, and community activism shaped her academic journey.

Meet Jarenni Ambriz, a Cal State LA alum whose research dives into Los Angeles’ underground heavy metal scene. During her time as a student archivist in the ...

01/21/2026

09/03/2025

We're so thrilled to be embarking on this journey. Digitization opens up doors for wider access to our impactful materials from Compton Communicative Arts Academy. Thank you Getty Foundation! 🎈

08/22/2025

We're so proud and honored to receive this incredible grant from Getty Foundation! Funding will help process the archive of the Compton Communicative Arts Academy (CCAA) Collection as part of the Black Visual Arts Archives initiative. The CCAA archive is housed in the University Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

Cal State LA receives Getty grant to process Compton Communicative Arts Academy archive

07/23/2025

Our annual school supply drive in the University Library is a chance for our Golden Eagles from California State University, Los Angeles to give back to the community. Stop by our Welcome Week table outside the library August 19-21 from 10am-2pm to drop off *NEW, UNOPENED* school supplies, and you'll receive a special prize pack from the library. Can't make it then? Don't worry, you can drop off your donations any time the library is open at the 1st floor north service desk.

Spiral bound notebooks, pencil sharpeners, erasers and vibrant-colored markers are just a few of the reasons Kelsey Brown looked forward to the end of summer break as a kid and back-to-school shopping was in season. Now, further down the line in her own education and working at Cal State LA, she hop...

07/11/2025

The University Library’s Special Collections and Archives at Cal State LA is pleased to announce significant new acquisitions to the Latinx Theatre Alliance/Los Angeles Collection. These additions represent key Latinx theatre companies and practitioners whose work has profoundly shaped the genre of Latinx theatre in Los Angeles from the late 1960s to the present.

Building upon the foundational Voces del Teatro Oral History Archive, these new materials mark a major step forward in the ongoing effort to document, preserve, and make accessible the cultural, and artistic contributions of Latinx theatremakers in Southern California.

Cal State LA University Library expands Latinx theatre archive with new collections

05/21/2025

Our Dean Carlos Rodriguez is all smiles celebrating our grads this week! Proudly representing the University Library at Commencement and soaking in the joy of student success. Congratulations, Golden Eagles!

04/04/2025

Shoutout to our incredible librarians Letty Terrones and Jayati Chaudhuri, who presented at the ACRL Conference, the largest national conference for library professionals. 📖 Their session, “Empower Not Punish: Educating Students’ Use of AI Tools in Higher Education,” showcased how they stay ahead of emerging trends in AI and information literacy, creating engaging instructional materials to help students navigate AI responsibly.

With a student-centered and affirming approach, they highlighted their work in developing AI literacy resources and their collaborations with our social media team to share these materials on our Instagram and YouTube.

We’re so proud to see our librarians leading the conversation on AI in education! 🏆👏 of College & Research Libraries State University, Los Angeles

10/14/2024

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Gloria Arellanes, a pioneering political activist and leader during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s in Los Angeles. As a key member of the Brown Berets, Arellanes fought for the rights and empowerment of Mexican-American communities, particularly in the areas of healthcare, education, and social justice.

In the late 1960s, Arellanes became Minister of Finance and Correspondence of the Brown Beret organization’s founding East Los Angeles Chapter, the only woman to hold a major leadership position. She wrote press releases and letters and edited “La Causa,” the East Los Angeles-based Brown Beret Newspaper. She helped establish and eventually would be the director of El Barrio Free Clinic, a free health care facility on Whittier Blvd. open in the evenings for local residents.

Arellanes was a member of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, helping to organize the 20,000+ attendee march through East LA in August of 1970, one of the largest Mexican-American anti-war demonstrations in the country. After leaving the Brown Beret organization in early 1970, Arellanes organized the Chicana activist group Las Adelitas de Aztlan.

Her legacy is one of resilience, compassion, and activism, and her contributions have left an indelible mark on our city and our history. Her unwavering dedication to creating positive change continues to inspire generations. We are grateful at the Cal State LA University Library to house a collection of her photographs and correspondence that she donated, which can be viewed here: https://digitalcollections.calstatela.edu/luna/servlet/CalStateLA~8~8

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched.