Malcolm A. Love Library (commonly referred to as ''University Library''), opened in 1971,Special Collections and University Archives: Malcolm A. Love Papers, 1937-1971
/ref> is the primary, central

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

serving multiple campuses of San Diego State University (SDSU) in Southern California and Northern Baja California, Mexico. Located on the Montezuma Mesa in the College Area of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, the library underwent a major expansion to improve Library & Information Access for students institution-wide with construction of the Manchester Hall addition including a spectacular glass enclosed atrium to serve as the new entrance gateway for the University Library. The iconic design and architecture of the new glass and steel enclosed lobby, and its stated purpose, has earned the entire complex the reference ''The Info Dome''. The University Library located at Centennial Plaza, east of Campanile Mall on the main campus of SDSU, occupies more than , seats more than 3,000 people, and circulates more than 488,000 books yearly (as of 2011). It has more than 2.2 million volumes, 4.6 million microform items, and 140,000 maps.

Library Addition

The University Library was expanded with the opening of ''The Info Dome'' in 1996, and completion of "Manchester Hall", a two-story underground addition to the library, includes a state-of-the-art Media Center, 24/7 Study Area, and two electronic classrooms.SDSU's Love Library Reaches for Excellence (updated Nov. 9, 2004)
/ref>

Services

National Center for the Study of Children's Literature

In cooperation with SDSU's Department of English and Comparative Literature, the Library is the home to th
National Center for the Study of Children's Literature
which recently received a $1 million gift donation by way of the Christopher D. and Karen Sickels Endowment for Special Collection in Children's Literature.

Federal Depository Library

The Library has been a selective depository

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

since 1962, receiving most of the items distributed by the

U.S. Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

through its Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

State Depository Library

The Library is a complete depository library with the California State Depository Library Program.

Map library

:''Se
Map Collection
' The Library's Map Collection, consists of over 135,000 sheet maps and more than 1,000 atlases and gazetteers. The collection is worldwide in scope, with an emphasis on

, the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. The collection has general, worldwide topographical, nautical, and aeronautical coverage. Most of the collection dates from 1945 to the present.

Special Collections

:''Se
Special Collections and University Archives
' The Library's Special Collections and University Archives houses rare, fine, unique, and valuable books, periodicals, manuscripts, and documents which require security and care in handling. Other valuable historical items such as photographs, prints, postcards, memorabilia, scrapbooks, and oral histories are also held in Special Collections. * Art collection * Center for Regional History

Murals

*''NRA Packages'', a mural painted in 1936 by Genevieve Burgeson Bredo, and for many years thought lost, has been restored and is on display at the foot of the Library Addition stairs. The mural was discovered in 2004 behind ceiling tiles inside SDSU's Hardy Memorial Tower, which was part of the university's first library. Painted in a variety of media, it portrays three men unloading National Recovery Act (NRA) packages from a van near San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood. *A second, larger mural, George Sorenson's ''San Diego Industry'', was also restored and relocated from Hardy Tower to the Library Addition. This mural depicts the successive stages of tuna fishing and canning, along with the multi-ethnic work force involved in that industry. **Se
Uncovering Local Art and Industry: The Discovery of Hidden WPA-Era Murals at San Diego State University (SDSU Occasional Archeological Paper Series)
**Se

Namesake

Dr. Malcolm A. Love, Ph.D., was the fourth (4th) President of San Diego State University (SDSU), serving from 1952 to 1971. Prior to his Presidency, Dr. Love was President of the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

for two (2) years. During his nineteen (19) years as President of SDSU, he was able to transform the institution from a teacher's college into a university. In 1966, the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

named Dr. Love one of the best college Presidents in the country. With the extraordinary growth of students, faculty and facilities, there were plans for new library to be named in honor of Dr. Love. The Library was dedicated to Dr. Love in May 1971. :See
N.Y Times obituary for Dr. Malcolm A. Love, Ph.D.
'

Other ''Libraries'' at San Diego State University

Other unofficial libraries on the SDSU campus include: * Cross-Cultural Center Library * Science: *
Edwin C. Allison Center for Historical Science (Geology Library, research center, and collections)
** Physics Library * Business: ** Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC Resource Library) * Art, Music & Dance: *
Audio-Visual Library
** Slide Library * Career counseling: ** Career Center Library ** Career Resource Library * Student services: ** Test Library * Instructional services: ** The ITS Media Center collection has been transferred to the Library & Information Access

References

External links

Library website
{{coord, 32, 46, 31, N, 117, 4, 13, W, type:edu_region:US_dim:25, display=title Love Library Love Library Love Library Love Library Love Library Library buildings completed in 1971