Meet the dynamic new and highlighted members of the Cal State LA University Library team! This list introduces our diverse faculty, dedicated staff, skilled student assistants, and visionary administration. Each brings unique talents and perspectives, enriching our library's mission to support academic excellence and community engagement.

Faculty Librarian Highlights

Ariana Varela arrived at the University Library as the Head of Learning, Research, and Engagement Services just this month. In this role, Ariana leads the development and assessment of new and innovative services supporting teaching, learning and research and will develop and lead student engagement and library outreach services and strategies. She is interested in critical pedagogy, feminist approaches to library instruction, and creating student-centered services. Prior to Cal State LA, Ariana was the Information Literacy Instruction Librarian in the Teaching and Learning Department at USC. Ariana has a BA in History with an emphasis in Latin American History from the University of San Francisco and a MLIS from San Jose State University. In her free time she enjoys road running, making vegan versions of traditional Mexican dishes, and trying to keep her plants alive. She can be reached at avarel34@calstatela.edu.

Katherine (Katie) Perry joined the University Library as the Social Sciences Librarian in January 2024. Over the past decade, Katie has had various roles in public and academic libraries. She comes to us from our sister campus, CSU Dominguez Hills, where she was a Library Faculty member in the Reference, Instruction, and Outreach Services (RIOS) Department. Katie has a BA in Sociology from CSU Fullerton and an MLIS from San Jose State University. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she enjoys yoga, painting, reading literary fiction, and traveling and camping with friends and family. She can be reached at kperry8@calstatela.edu. 

New Team Members (Spring 2024 & Fall 2024)

As we gear up for another academic semester of inspiring learning experiences, we would like to highlight the incredible resources and services the Cal State LA University Library has to support your teaching, learning, and research activities.  

At the heart of our commitment to academic excellence and student success, the Library takes immense pride in offering an extensive array of scholarly and informational resources, state-of-the-art research tools, and services. Here are some key features:  

OneSearch 
Simplify your research process with our powerful discovery tool, OneSearch. This innovative platform allows you to conduct seamless searches across article-based databases, journal packages, streaming media, newspaper/magazine articles, primary sources in the Library, and print books across CSUs. Approximately 90% of the Library subscription content and open-access resources are searchable using OneSearch.  With just a few clicks, you can find, cite, save, and share your search results.  OneSearch streamlines your access to relevant information, saving you valuable time. 

Online Databases  
The Library provides you and your students with over 350 subscription databases, granting access to an astounding collection of approximately 65,000 electronic journals, 600,000 eBooks (including open-access eBooks), over 1,000 newspapers, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and regional and international papers, and over 1 million dissertations and theses. This wealth of academic content ensures that you can delve into diverse research fields and empower your students with the most up-to-date information. To access, go to the Library homepage and click Databases, or use OneSearch to find content included in these packages.    

Course Reserves 
We emphasize the importance of having timely access to course materials and providing affordable learning materials to our students. Our Course Reserves service ensures that assigned readings, including journal articles, books, and streaming videos, are readily available to your students. Materials can be accessed online or borrowed for short-term use (2 hours, 2 days, or 7 days), providing optimal flexibility for your teaching needs. If you are teaching in the Fall Semester and have not submitted materials for course reserves, please visit the Library Faculty Reserves page to fill out the course reserves submission form to place materials on reserves for your students.  In addition, the Library provides information on how to utilize the Canvas Reading List tool, a very helpful tool to tie together course reserves and other course-relevant information resources.    

The Library is fully committed to supporting your teaching and research endeavors. We invite you to explore our vast resources and services and take full advantage of our expert liaison librarians' assistance whenever needed. Together, we can continue to create an inspiring and enriched academic environment for our students.

If you have any questions or require additional information regarding library resources, please do not hesitate to reach out to Holly Yu (hyu3@calstatela.edu).  We look forward to partnering with you in the new academic year.