Over 40 categories are listed in the CSUN Digital Collections, available online.
The University Library Digital Collections feature historically significant documents, photographs, oral histories, artistic works and exhibit materials selected from the University Library's Special Collections and Archives
Faces of Tientsin, 1946 Photographs by Harold Giedt (Old China Hands)
Harold Giedt, the child of American missionary parents, was born and raised in Shanghai where he attended the Shanghai American School, found himself back in China in 1945 as a newly-commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Having received training from the military in Mandarin Chinese, he was posted to an assignment in Civil Affairs in Tientsin. Giedt was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and, before leaving for China, acquired a Kodak Bantam 828 camera for colored slides and a twin lens reflex for black and white photography. In Tientsin he found most of his afternoons free and used the time to roam about, practicing his Mandarin and photographing street scenes and people. A foreign officer in uniform who tried to speak the language proved to be an attraction and helped to break the ice between himself and his subjects.
audio interviews with "Old China Hands," foreigners who lived and worked in China before or shortly after the Communist takeover of China in 1949. Interview topics include daily life in China, impressions of local culture and business, and experiences related to World War II such as the Japanese occupation and internment of Allied country citizens residing in China. Many of the interviews were recorded at Old China Hands reunions, beginning with the 1996 reunion in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check back periodically as new interviews are added.
The Cities of Destiny Oral History Project interviewed immigrants and minorities in Los Angeles. These histories document interviewees’ life experiences, including their early years in their native country, their journey to the United States, and their impressions of their new home country. Interviewers for the project were students taking Liberal Arts 196 at Cal State Northridge during the Spring semester of 1982. Check back periodically as new interviews are added.
Campo De Cahuenga
Hometown Heroes: Girl Scouts of the Crescenta Valley
Refuge and Return: Stories of a Resettled Community documents the history behind a rural community in northern El Salvador that was repopulated by refugees of El Salvador's civil war (1980-1992).
The Child Survivors of the Jewish Holocaust Collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Sarah Traister Moskovitz as part of her research on the experience of childhood during the Holocaust. (Warning: Interviews contain graphic descriptions of violence.)
People of Achievement in Southern California was a live interview forum to discuss the work and histories of prominent local artists, artisans, authors, and book collectors. The program was produced from 1975 to 1985 by Norman Tanis who served as dean of the library from 1969 to 1990.