The Library acquires films in the video format and musical recordings as needed to support the curriculum. Compact discs (CDs) and videos are fully cataloged in OneSearch, the Library's catalog; videos are cataloged in Library of Congress call numbers, and the music CDs are cataloged according to the ANSCR (Alpha-Numeric System for Classification of Recordings) system. The video and music CD collections are located on the first floor of the University Library.
The Library's Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Collection has a representative collection of literature written for children, primarily preschool to Grade 6; this collection consists of picture books, fiction, and non-fiction. It is intended for the use of students in teacher education and children's literature courses as well as those preparing for related careers. Emphasis is placed on acquiring award-winning and special merit books, specifically Caldecott, Newberry, and Coretta Scott King award and honor books. In addition, significant secondary sources, such as best books, books about children's authors and illustrators, reviews, and selection aids are also included in the collection. The designation "Juv" in the call number indicates that the item is part of the Children's Collection. The Children's Collection is located on the first floor of the University Library.
Visit our online guide to the Children's Literature Collection for more information.
Materials placed on Reserve by instructors for use by their students in conjunction with specific classes are housed in the Reserves collection. These materials range from photocopies of class notes to journal articles, and on rare occasions course textbooks. Circulation periods for these materials are determined by the instructors and range from two hours to one week. Course Reserves are located behind the Circulation Desk. For further assistance, please contact the Circulation Desk at 209-667-3234.
The library's online subscriptions provide access to over 30,000 periodicals online, including 12,000 titles (mostly peer-reviewed journals) from scholarly collections, as well as an additional 20,000+ magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and other non-scholarly periodical titles. Search for electronic journals via our online databases.
The Library has been a selective depository of U.S. and California government documents since 1965 and also collects selective publications issued by local area government agencies from the University's six-county service area (Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne counties). The U.S. documents are shelved according to the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification scheme which has the effect of grouping publications by issuing agency; California State documents are shelved according to a similar scheme for the State of California; Local documents are shelved according to a locally derived classification scheme primarily by area.
Since the 1990's, government publications are being made available electronically. The print government document collections are located on the first floor of the University Library. Consult a librarian at the Research Help Desk for assistance with locating government publications. Click here to be directed to the Government Resources Guide.
The Library's Main Collection, which includes over 300,000 books in mobile shelving, is located on the first floor of the Library building.
CSU Stanislaus Library Map Collection
The Stanislaus State Library Map Collection is located on the first floor of the J. Burton Vasche Library at the Turlock main campus. This collection includes over 8,000 regional, state, and global topographic maps. The collection is stored in four map cases located in the mobile compact shelving area. For access to the map collection, please consult the main library service desk or the research help desk.
Regional Map Collection in Special Collections
A Regional Map Collection (1860-1972) is housed in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) on the third floor of Vasche Library. This collection includes historical maps of regional cities, such as Turlock, Modesto, Riverbank, etc., and the counties of Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne. The maps range in content, size, purpose, and historical provenance. Types of maps include the following: water resources, land and parcel, Sanborn fire insurance, irrigation districts (TID/MID), mining, topographical, and railroads. Contact SCUA Librarian Mary Weppler for assistance.
For more information about the map collections, visit the Map Collections guide.
The Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection was established in 2015 through a donation from Mr. & Mrs. Francis Sarguis and the Francis Sarguis Modern Assyrian Heritage Fund the donors bestowed upon the University. The collection is designated to include materials documenting all aspects of Assyrian history and culture in the "Modern" era, from around 300 AD to the present. The Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection is located in the R. Dean Galloway Reading Room on the first floor of J. Burton Vasché Library on the Turlock main campus. For more information, visit the Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection guide.
The Popular Books Collection at the University Library fosters literacy, well-being, and academic success among students. This collection provides diverse and engaging titles across various genres, appealing to a wide range of interests including fiction, biographies, graphic novels, and other texts. This collection is located in the library's reading room at the Turlock campus, and among the general print collection at the Stockton campus. For more information, visit the Popular Books Collection guide.
The library maintains nearly 500 current subscriptions to print periodicals. The Periodicals Collection also houses older issues of an additional 1,500 titles in print and/or microfilm formats. The print journal collection is located on the first floor of the University Library.
The Reference Collection contains scholarly encyclopedias, handbooks, statistical compilations, and other reference books. The print reference collection is small as most of the library's article and research indexes are now available in databases online. The Reference Collection is located by the Research Help Desk on the first floor of the University Library.
The University Library Special Collections is a repository for primary research materials of interest to the campus, the community, and the Central Valley region. The primary purpose of Special Collections at Stanislaus State is to support faculty teaching and student learning and research. Collection strengths include local and regional history books and documents, local history manuscript collections, oral histories, Stanislaus County historical documents, and photographic collections.
The University Archives serves as a repository for materials documenting the history of California State University, Stanislaus and includes retrospective campus publications such as newsletters, catalogs, press releases, photographs, The Signal student newspaper, campus yearbooks, as well as other documents and ephemera representing various campus entities.
Library Special Collections and University Archives is located on the third floor of the University Library.
Click here to be directed to the Special Collections Research Guide
The Stockton Campus Library Collection is located at the Stockton Campus, in the Acacia Court Building in room 1049. For more information, visit the Stockton Campus Library website.
The Library serves as a repository for all master's theses and doctoral dissertations written by CSU Stanislaus graduate students since the 1980's. Theses and dissertations submitted after 2013 are in electronic format and are hosted on the CSU's Institutional Repository (IR) ScholarWorks.
Consult the Library's catalog OneSearch for theses in print format. Theses and dissertations in electronic format are indexed in the CSU institutional repository (IR) ScholarWorks as well as OneSearch.
Campus Resources
Library Resources