Love for the Love Library

The Malcom A. Love Library Dome is an iconic part of the San Diego State University campus.

Although it is hard to deny the beauty of the structure, the campus hub was recently recognized for something more than being aesthetically pleasing.

Thanks to the wealth of information SDSU's information giant holds, the Love Library was ranked as one of the "most amazing" university libraries in the nation by College Rank, a website that offers students informational articles covering a wide range of topics pertaining to the college selection process.

The Malcolm A. Love Library and Information Dome came in at No. 20 of 50 on the list.

"It’s not about the number of books in the library – it’s about the services and resources we provide our students, staff and faculty," said Gale Etschmaier, dean of the Library and Information Access.

In addition to the resources available to the campus community, library staff members are dedicated to aligning with the teaching and research mission of SDSU. Thanks to an abundance of interdisciplinary collaborations across campus — including Arts Alive SDSU and the new buildIT laboratory — these positive contributions are impacting student success.

The Love Library is also home to a number of unique collections, including the Chicano History, African American and Civil Rights and Comic Arts and Science Fiction collections. 

"Our library has collections that highlight the diverse communities in San Diego," Etschmaier said. "It's very much a part of our identity. The collections we have available are very unique to SDSU, and are of great interest to our scholars."

Moving forward

The Library continues to adapt to accommodate the changing needs of the SDSU community.

The computer labs will be updated to enable more collaborative work and ease the flow of traffic through the center. A math center will be added to complement the recently-added Writing Center.

The Library will be opening the old entrance area from the interior core of the library that will provide additional space and seating and will make the library more open, brighter and usable.

More about the Love Library

The Library and Information Access supports the information, curricular and research needs of the university's diverse community through the widest possible range of resources. The library is committed to information literacy, lifelong learning and creative endeavors in a welcoming environment.

The library aspires to be a flexible and experimental organization that encourages innovation and collaboration to meet the evolving information, curricular and research needs of SDSU.

It serves between 12,000 and 16,000 people daily — approximately 3.7 million visitors each year. It hosts more than 2.2 million volumes, 4.6 million microform items and more than 140,000 maps.