Faculty: We're here to help!

We're making our funding go further by buying (or borrowing) just in time instead of just in case as we adjust to tighter budgets. 

If you used to be able to access something and the usual way isn’t working, talk to us! We’ll help.

Media streaming subscriptions provide access to thousands of titles

To find films and media for a course, you can check our streaming resources directly — including Docuseek, Academic Videos Online, and Films on Demand. 

You can also search across platforms through OneSearch, or ask us any time you need help finding something.

Tip: In Docuseek, check "Show only licensed films" in the filter panel to find films that you and your students can stream instantly.

Request what you need through interlibrary loan

Our interlibrary loan system is CSU+, an expanding resource-sharing network that includes institutions across the United States and internationally. 

To place a request, find what you need in OneSearch, sign in, and use the blue “Get It” box in the item record. If it isn’t listed, fill in this OneSearch Request Form with the citation details.  

You can track all your requests by signing into your Library account.

If you have questions or concerns, contact our Interlibrary Services team: dds@sfsu.edu.

Check links to electronic resources

Many of our database subscriptions have changed in the past six months. Some contracts expired this summer, but we've also gained access to new resources through CSU consortial arrangements. 

If you are planning to use specific Library resources in a course, be sure to confirm that your links are still active. Ask us if you have questions! Your library liaison can also share information about database changes. 

• Browse or search our Course Reserves list

• Place a new course reserves request

You can help make sure every student has access to their required reading by working with us to put books, streaming media, and interactive learning materials on reserve at the Library each semester. 

The sooner we receive your requests, the more likely the materials will be available within the first weeks of classes. 

Assigned textbooks that are available as ebooks in the Library’s collection will automatically be listed in Course Reserves; search for your last name or course number to see what we already have!

If you own copies of any required course materials, we welcome temporary donations of these personal items to place on reserve. We will make them available for your students to check out and return them to you after the course ends. 

Curious about bringing open educational resources into your classroom? Email Elliott Scheuer for Library support with OER.

Tip: You and your students can find a link to our Course Reserves page in the OneSearch box on our homepage: library.sfsu.edu. 

SFSU librarians teach lessons on research techniques and information literacy topics for in-person, hybrid, and fully online classes. 

You can request a librarian-led instruction session tailored to your course and research assignment. Special Collections & Archives also offers primary source instruction on a topic of your choice.

To learn more about the options, email libsse@sfsu.edu to set up a consultation, or contact your department’s library liaison.

Import and adapt our Canvas modules

Look in the SFSU Canvas Commons for online learning activities from our librarians on fundamental information literacy skills and concepts, which you can import into your Canvas course with the click of a button: 

• Developing Questions
• Research Questions & Keywords
• OneSearch Exercise
• Database Research Skills
• Evaluating Sources with ACT UP
• Evaluating Sources with SIFT
• Citation Chaining & Claim Tracing
• Synthesizing Sources
• Using Sources in Your Writing
• In-text Citations (MLA or APA)
• APA Reference List
• COMM 150 Research Tutorial
• Empirical Research

The Labor Archives and Research Center (specialcollections@sfsu.edu) also has modules available in SFSU Canvas Commons that cover topics in labor history and primary source research:

• Oral History Toolkit
• Watsonville Canneries Strike, Primary Sources (intro)
• Watsonville Canneries Strike,1985 – 1987 (comprehensive history)
• What is a Union?
• Filipino American Community and Identity in the Pajaro Valley

More information and a direct link to each module is available in our Menu of Canvas Modules. 

We encourage you to preview the modules and adapt them as you see fit: change the name, personalize examples, edit point values, etc. Send us an email (libsse@sfsu.edu) if you have any questions or feedback to share!

Provide easy access to our resources in Canvas

Your students can find shortcuts to helpful resources on the default Library Resources page in Canvas. You can also add direct links to research guides or databases.

Much more information here: Accessing Library Resources & Content in Canvas 

Get to know our tools for teaching research

Our Teaching Research Toolkit is a collection of lesson-planning resources and activities to help you scaffold the research process throughout your course. 

Unsure where to start? Make an appointment and we can discuss what resources might work well for you.

Add the Library to your syllabus

Consider adding information about the Library to your syllabus. Two short messages are ready to use in Academic Technology’s Syllabus tool: “J. Paul Leonard Library” and “Library Research Help.” You’ll find them under Campus Resources > See More.

This fall, we're debuting new concepts for some spaces in the Library. Expect to see iterations and further changes as we engage with students throughout the year!

Collaboration Studio

You’ll find computers, printers, reservable study rooms, a help desk staffed by Library peer mentors, and large tables to support collaborative work in the Collaboration Studio on the first floor of the Library (formerly the Research Commons). This is a space where you can converse freely and hang out or study with a group. 

The Living Room

The large room attached to the Collaboration Studio is being transformed into a space that promotes holistic wellness with furnishings and activities to help you take a break. 

Stop by and enjoy natural light, comfy armchairs, puzzles, crafts, and books for leisure reading. Leave a suggestion to help us make this space work for you! 

Quiet Study on the ground floor

The computer lab and study rooms near the elevators on the ground floor (formerly the Study Commons) are now designated as a quiet study area. Whispers are fine, but we ask that folks take conversations to a collaborative space on the first through third floors.

At the back of that space, the large room with windows looking onto Holloway Avenue is our first Silent Study Room for focused study. To maintain silence in this shared space, activities such as talking, eating, and using phones or other audio devices are not allowed. 

The fourth floor will also remain a quiet (but not silent) study area.

After a successful first semester, our Family Study Room has moved to a larger space on the third floor: LIB 360E. 

This space is designed for any members of the SFSU campus community who come to the Library with kids. Inside, you’ll find two adult-sized desks, a desktop PC, a child-sized table and chairs, a Pack N Play and an infant seat, comfy armchairs, and books and toys for various ages. 

The door is locked with keypad entry — stop by Book Checkout & Pickup to get the code, and maybe check out a Kid Kit or a Lego set to keep the kids entertained!

The room is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and those who are accompanied by children have priority use of this shared space. Multiple families may use the room together.

Our Kid Kits are filled with a variety of age-appropriate toys, books, and activities that SFSU students, faculty, or staff can check out for up to four hours, Monday through Friday. 

A Lactation Room is located on the second floor in LIB 267; register with Health Promotion & Wellness to get access to all lactation rooms on campus.

More info: Kids & Families

Children’s books swap places with master's theses

Our children’s and young adult books, also known as the Young People's Collection, are moving to the third floor — near the new location of the Family Study Room and no longer on a quiet floor. You can find them on the low bookshelves near the south-facing windows overlooking Holloway Avenue.

SFSU Theses & Dissertations are moving to the fourth floor, near the Faculty & Graduate Reading Room. These bound volumes represent the culminating work of decades of SF State alumni. Recent theses, especially from the past 10 years, are available in digital form in ScholarWorks, the CSU institutional repository.

The relocation of these materials is ongoing but will be completed this fall. 

Throughout the fall semester, we are open seven days a week: 

• Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. 
• Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. 
• Saturday and Sunday, noon – 6 p.m. 

That includes all five floors of the SFSU Library — from the study rooms on the ground floor to the bookshelves and tables-with-a-view on the third and fourth floors. 

Our service desks close at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 5 p.m. Friday.

The Special Collections & Archives Reading Room accepts drop-ins and appointments Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Digital Media Studio & MakerSpace is open five days a week, with longer hours than in spring:

• Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

More information: Library Hours & Holidays

Sutro Library is now available by appointment only

As of this summer, visiting the Sutro Library on the fifth floor of the Library building requires an appointment. Sutro is part of the California State Library and is independent of the SFSU Library.

Their hours are 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 – 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Elevators will not go to the fifth floor outside these times.

You can call ahead, (415) 469-6100, or make an appointment at Sutro using their website. 

Your Library now provides calculators, noise-canceling headphones, lap desks, white noise machines, and other gear to support students.

When it's time for a break, we also have a growing collection of board games, cards, puzzles, and toys to check out, including a range of Lego sets.

Coming soon: gardening tools, seeds, and more! 

Explore selections from our Library of Things online, or ask at Book Checkout & Pickup for more information. Suggestions are welcome! 

Digital Services & Collections is the Library team responsible for preserving the scholarly work of the University. The team also provides support for SFSU’s instance of Cal State Open Journals and creates high-fidelity digital surrogates of cultural heritage items from our Special Collections & Archives.

• ScholarWorks is the CSU institutional repository for theses, dissertations, creative works, research and scholarship. Learn more about ScholarWorks and the scope of its contents.
• Open Journals Systems (OJS) is the CSU platform for hosting open access journals. Information about starting a journal can be found in the Journal Publishing Guide.

Please contact us to learn more: libdsc@sfsu.edu

Open access publishing fees covered by Oxford University Press agreement

SF State researchers can take advantage of support for publishing in Oxford University Press open access titles.

The California State University system, University of California system, and 30 private academic and research institutions represented by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium reached a comprehensive four-year transformative open access agreement with Oxford University Press this year.

The read-and-publish agreement provides SFSU students and employees with full-text access to Oxford’s world-leading journals. It also provides discounts and subsidies to publish open access without personally paying out of pocket.

When you have an Oxford article approved for publication, you will receive an email that contains a link to the Online Licensing and Payments System, SciPris. Please follow the instructions in this Author Guide (PDF download) to take advantage of the open access agreement.

For information about our current read-and-publish agreements with other publishers, please see the Library’s Open Access guide. 

The Library's Special Collections & Archives provide access to a wealth of primary source material on a wide variety of topics. The Reading Room is open Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

Our team also offers primary source instruction on wide-ranging topics. Work with us to arrange a class visit to support your assignments and student learning outcomes.

Email specialcollections@sfsu.edu to make an appointment or learn more.