Library News - Research Guides at Sonoma State University Library

3 North Reopened!

03/30/2025

Laura Krier

We are pleased to announce that 3 North has been reopened, and access to collections shelved in this area is restored. We will be in the process of reshelving some materials in this area for a few weeks, but all of the 3 North study areas are available again and collections can be freely browsed.

If the book you're looking for isn't on the shelf, please don't hesitate to ask the staff at the Information/Checkout Desk. They can help locate items that have not yet been reshelved or place requests for items that were permanently damaged and have been withdrawn.

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Focus On: SSU Research

03/28/2025

Laura Krier

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Check out the latest publications from Sonoma State University researchers.

Post, Alanna J., et al. “Using Handheld Mobile Laser Scanning to Quantify Fine-Scale Surface Fuels and Detect Changes Post-Disturbance in Northern California Forests.” Ecological Indicators., vol. 172, 2025.

Abstract: The understory plays a critical role in the disturbance dynamics of forest, as it influences wildfire behavior. Unfortunately, the structure of understory fuels is difficult to quantify due to heterogeneity. LiDAR can measure changes in forest structure more rapidly, comprehensively, and accurately than manual approaches, but remote sensing is more frequently applied to the overstory. We evaluated the use of handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS) to measure changes in fine-scale surface fuels following wildfire and timber harvest in Northern Californian forests, USA. The ability of HMLS to quantify surface fuels was validated by destructively sampling vegetation within a 3D frame and comparing destructive-based volumes with HMLS-based occupied volume estimates. There was a positive linear relationship between volume estimates, and occupied volume estimated from 1-cm voxels had the best relationship with measured biomass compared to larger voxel sizes. Next, HMLS was used to scan forest plots where wildfire or timber harvest occurred, producing bi-temporal structural measurements. Plot level HMLS estimates without ground voxels revealed regrowth of live vegetation one-year post-fire that was not apparent from field measurements collected via Brown's transects. Comparison between Brown's transects and HMLS estimate showed similar decreases in surface fuels post-wildfire, further indicating that the increase in estimated volume one-year post-fire comes from vegetation regrowth rather than dead fuel accumulation. HMLS can be a valuable tool for land stewards to rapidly quantify understory vegetation, especially following disturbance. Assessing understory vegetation is crucial for reducing wildfire risk and fuels might not be captured fully post-wildfire using traditional approaches.

Jackson, Brandy L., et al. “Disability and Accommodation Use in US Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs.” JAMA Network Open., vol. 8, no. 2, 2025, p. e2461038.

Abstract: Medical associations’ commitment to advancing disability-inclusive practices has led to data collection on, and a significant increase in representation of, medical students with disabilities. However, information on disability representation and accommodation use in US nursing programs remains scarce. The lack of data collection on this population impedes the ability to identify barriers, benchmark, and measure progress. To address this gap, we quantified disabilities and types of accommodations used among traditional prelicensure nursing students in US Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree programs.

Glass, Julie, et al. “Peer Instruction in Mathematics: A Survey of the California State University.” PRIMUS : Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies., 2025, pp. 1–18.

This report describes the current landscape of peer instruction models for mathematics, and its diversity, commonalities, and efficacy across California State University (CSU) campuses. While models differ in their placement, organization, and level of support, they share similar goals and values: increasing a sense of belonging in students, improving their academic self-sufficiency and confidence, creating an academic and social community of learners, and improving course-level outcomes and retention. Here we identify and synthesize shared themes, factors that influence implementation, and common challenges. Based on our investigation, we share recommendations for universities, departments, and other relevant stakeholders for sustainably implementing and coordinating peer instruction within their institutions.

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The library will be closed on Cesar Chavez Day, Monday, March 31

César Chávez Day

03/27/2025

Laura Krier

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Monday, March 31 is César Chávez Day. The library will be closed to honor his legacy. Who was César Chávez and why do we commemorate him on March 31?

Chávez was a labor activist and leader who championed farm workers' rights and civil rights for Mexicans and Mexican Americans. With Dolores Huerta, he founded the National Farm Workers Association (now United Farm Workers). Their work was instrumental in achieving better wages and working conditions and the right to collective bargaining for farm workers.

The library has tons of resources that can help you learn more about Cesar Chavez's life and legacy. Check out our Cesar Chavez Research Guide, and search OneSearch for even more information. Also check out this page on César Chávez's legacy from The Hub.

Did you know the library has a mural commemorating Chávez on the 2nd floor? Stop by and check it out, and learn more about the artist, Johanna Poethig.

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New Resource: Hispanic Life in America

03/18/2025

Laura Krier

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Explore a new resource from the library covering the history of Hispanic Life in America!

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2025 Spring Break Hours

03/12/2025

Laura Krier

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The library will be open reduced hours during spring break, from Sunday, March 16 through Friday, March 21.

Sunday, March 16: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Monday, March 17 - Thursday, March 20: 7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday, March 21: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m

Regular hours will resume on Sunday, March 23.

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Focus On: SSU Research

02/28/2025

Laura Krier

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Casesa, R. H., Canady, F., & Scott, L. (2025). Languages and literacies learning lab: Bringing home to school. TESOL Journal., 16(1).

The Languages & Literacies Learning Lab (4L), a collaborative project between Sonoma State University and Mariposa Elementary School, supports the development of and engagement around community biliteracy (Casesa et al., 2004). Understanding the benefits of family engagement on student success, we created a space for elementary students and their families to connect literacy with life experiences through a summer program.

Buckmire, R., Hibdon, J. E., Lewis, D., Ortega, O., Pabón, J. L., Roca, R., & Vindas-Meléndez, A. R. (2025). The Mathematics of Mathematics: Using Mathematics and Data Science to Analyze the Mathematical Sciences Community and Enhance Social Justice. La Matematica.

We present and discuss a curated selection of recent literature related to the application of quantitative techniques, tools, and topics from mathematics and data science that have been used to analyze the mathematical sciences community. We engage in this project with a focus on including research that highlights, documents, or quantifies inequality that exists in the mathematical sciences, specifically, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) more broadly. We seek to enhance social justice in the mathematics and data science communities by providing numerous examples of the ways in which the mathematical sciences fails to meet standards of equity, equal opportunity, and inclusion. We introduce the term “mathematics of Mathematics” for this project, explicitly building upon the growing, interdisciplinary field known as “Science of Science” to interrogate, investigate, and identify the nature of the mathematical sciences itself. We aim to promote, provide, and posit sources of productive collaborations and we invite interested researchers to contribute to this developing body of work.

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New Resource: Political Extremism and Radicalism

02/24/2025

Laura Krier

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The library is pleased to provide access to a new digital archives collection: Political Extremism and Radicalism. This collection provides insight on unorthodox groups and movements from both the right and left of the political spectrum through rare, hard to access primary sources supporting the study of activism, cultural studies, political science, policy studies, gender, sexuality, race, religion, civil rights, and other related areas of research.

The archive consists of three parts:

Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the US, Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century
Far-Right Groups in America
Global Communist and Socialist Movements

It includes material source from archives including UK HOme Office and Security Service, the American Radicalism Collection at Michigan State University, UC Davis, University of London, Yale, Harvard, the British Library, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and more.

It includes the FBI files of political figures like Charles Lindbergh, Joseph McCarthy, and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the papers of people including Walter Lippmann and Rose Pastor Stokes, and multiple collections of pamphlets, leaflets, and ephemera.

This collection allows for a deep dive in understanding all kinds of radical political movements in the US, Europe, and Australia throughout history. If you'd like to work with a librarian to explore this collection, contact us via email or feel free to dive into the collection and explore.

History, Political Science, Women's & Gender Studies, American Multicultural Studies, Chicano & Latino Studies

The 1619 Project: A Bibliography

02/19/2025

Laura Krier

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This Spring, SSU's Common Read is The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This richly researched book makes clear the ways in which slavery and its legacy have impacted nearly every aspect of life in America and shaped the nation in innumerable ways.

The 1619 Project was built on a foundation of research. Contributors used a wide range of sources to make their arguments, from archival documents to contemporary news sources to the work of other researchers in the fields of history, genetics, sociology, psychology, criminology, and many other disciplines. Following the trail of their research can give you as a reader a richer, deeper understanding of some of the key issues raised in the included essays.

To that end, we have been working on creating "The 1619 Project Bibliography." This bibliography locates and links to the sources cited in the Notes for each chapter of the book. The guide is a work in progress and additional chapters are being added continuously. We hope to illustrate the way that thought and scholarship continually builds on the work of others and on the historical record, offering new interpretations, new insights, and better understanding.

It is vitally important to learn about history through engagement with ideas, historical documents, data, and scholarship. We hope this guide and bibliography will help you to enrich your engagement.

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New Resource: Sage Research Methods Video: Practical Research and Academic Skills

02/17/2025

Laura Krier

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Are you looking for some support for practical skills that you need to complete your assignments and research projects? Sage Research Methods Video: Practical Research and Academic Skills might be just what you need! This collection includes videos that cover key areas such as planning and designing a research project and presenting your research.

It also includes videos on skills that will help you in your general academic work and in your career.

Whether you're just getting started on your first research project, are preparing to present your research, or want to develop skills that will help you get a job, you're sure to find something useful.

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Focus On: SSU Research

01/31/2025

Laura Krier

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Another month, another update about the awesome research coming out of Sonoma State.

Costa, D. P., Holser, R. R., Keates, T. R., Adachi, T., Beltran, R. S., Champagne, C. D., Crocker, D. E., Favilla, A. B., Fowler, M. A., Gallo-Reynoso, J. P., Goetsch, C., Hassrick, J. L., Hückstädt, L. A., Kendall-Bar, J. M., Kienle, S. S., Kuhn, C. E., Maresh, J. L., Maxwell, S. M., McDonald, B. I., & McHuron, E. A. (2024). Two decades of three-dimensional movement data from adult female northern elephant seals. Scientific Data, 11(1).

Abstract: Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) have been integral to the development and progress of biologging technology and movement data analysis, which continue to improve our understanding of this and other species. Adult female elephant seals at Año Nuevo Reserve and other colonies along the west coast of North America were tracked annually from 2004 to 2020, resulting in a total of 653 instrument deployments. This paper outlines the compilation and curation process of these high-resolution diving and location data, now accessible in two Dryad repositories. The code used for data processing alongside the corresponding workflow is available through GitHub and Zenodo. This data set represents 3,844,927 dives and 596,815 locations collected from 475 individual seals with 178 repeat samplings over 17 years. We anticipate that these data will stimulate further analysis and investigation into elephant seal biology and aid in developing new analytical approaches for large marine predators.

Cai, P., Casas, C. J., Quintero Plancarte, G., Mikawa, T., & Hua, L. L. (2025). Ipsilateral restriction of chromosome movement along a centrosome, and apical-basal axis during the cell cycle. Chromosome Research, 33(1).

Abstract: Little is known about how distance between homologous chromosomes are controlled during the cell cycle. Here, we show that the distribution of centromere components display two discrete clusters placed to either side of the centrosome and apical/basal axis from prophase to G1 interphase. 4-Dimensional live cell imaging analysis of centromere and centrosome tracking reveals that centromeres oscillate largely within one cluster, but do not cross over to the other cluster. We propose a model of an axis-dependent ipsilateral restriction of chromosome oscillations throughout mitosis.

Senger, K., Shephard, G., Ammerlaan, F., Anfinson, O., Audet, P., Coakley, B., Ershova, V., Faleide, J. I., Grundvåg, S.-A., Horota, R. K., Iyer, K., Janocha, J., Jones, M., Minakov, A., Odlum, M., Sartell, A., Schaeffer, A., Stockli, D., Vander Kloet, M. A., & Gaina, C. (2024). Arctic Tectonics and Volcanism: a multi-scale, multi-disciplinary educational approach. Geoscience Communication, 7(4), 267–295.

Abstract: Geologically, the Arctic is one of the least-explored regions of Earth. Obtaining data in the high Arctic is logistically, economically, and environmentally expensive, but the township of Longyearbyen (population of 2617 as of 2024) at 78° N represents a relatively easily accessible gateway to Arctic geology and is home to The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). These unique factors provide a foundation from which to teach and explore Arctic geology via the classroom, the laboratory, and the field. This article outlines a course taught a UNIS and student perspectives of the course to illustrate that multi-disciplinary, multi-lecturer field-and-classroom teaching is efficient and increases student motivation to explore Arctic science.

Rognlie, D., Anderson, E., & Burke, M. (2024). Erotic Ambivalence in Beauvoir’s Student Diaries. Simone de Beauvoir Studies, 35(1–2), 242–264.

Abstract: This article challenges Margaret E. Simons's claim that Sartre forced himself on Beauvoir on October 15, 1929. We argue that Diary of a Philosophy Student: Volume 3, 1926-30 depicts the young Beauvoir struggling with conflicting feelings about marriage, sexual desire, and gender roles. Highlighting early reflections on "the woman in love,"we suggest that Beauvoir's diary discloses gendered harm but not sexual violation. We name this harm erotic ambivalence and find it central to The Second Sex.

Das, M., Anfinson, O., Rowe, C., & Schroeder, N. (2025). Age, sedimentology, and deformational history of the Mesozoic Franciscan accretionary complex, Angel Island, California, USA. Geological Society of America Bulletin., 137(1–2), 351–373.

The Franciscan Complex represents the forearc accretionary wedge that formed during late Mesozoic–Cenozoic subduction in California, USA, and preserves detailed records of long-lived subduction and exhumation of high-pressure, low-temperature rocks. As one of the world’s largest exposed subduction complexes, it records the evolution of subduction dynamics that correspond to the tectonic development of the western USA. We present new mapping, lithologic descriptions, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology to propose a new lithostratigraphy for Angel Island consisting of seven structurally juxtaposed units ranging from sub-metamorphic to low blueschist. These results offer the first high-resolution detrital zircon U-Pb geochronologic dataset from the Franciscan Complex that allows definition of the diversity of age and provenance within a previously defined regional unit, which should be considered in future work attempting regional correlations with regional sample distribution.

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