The Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda Library
The Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda Library team consists of librarians, specialists, and student employees. We are committed to fulfilling the Soka University of America (SUA) mission and supporting the SUA community in meeting their academic and professional goals. We provide prompt access to information according to the users’ needs, interests, and abilities while remaining flexible and open to new ways of serving the community. The Instruction Librarians help students to become effective, thoughtful, and critical researchers as they continue to develop their information literacy skills in an academic environment. Upon professor request, the librarians teach research and information literacy skills related to course assignments. In addition to in-class instructions, individualized research consultations are welcome and available by appointment either in-person or on Zoom. To make an appointment with an Instruction Librarian, please complete this form. Students may also meet with the librarians via MS Teams online chat, walk-ins, emails, or phone calls. The library also offers subject and topic information guides and how-to instructions designed to support students in their studies and develop their research abilities. The library portal is a great place to start your research journey for class assignments.
Currently, our print book collection contains nearly 96,000 titles in English and in the four languages taught at SUA: Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish. The library also provides access to approximately 502,000 online books. Similarly, online periodicals (53,000) as well as streaming videos (87,000) and music files (69,000) are delivered to the community, in addition to our DVDs and CDs. The librarians actively update these collections to keep them relevant. Purchase requests and recommendations from SUA students, faculty, and staff are encouraged as we aim to meet the changing needs of the community. Collection requests can be made in-person, via email, or by completing this form.
Being a member in a world-wide network of libraries allows us to offer interlibrary loan (ILL) services. This service allows us to borrow books and articles from other libraries as well as share our collection with others.
On each floor of the library, study desks and carrels are available for individual study. The group study rooms on the third floor, which are equipped with a TV, a DVD/Blu-ray/VHS player, and a whiteboard (supplies are available at the circulation desk), are open to students for collaborative work or film viewing. Reservations are not required but recommended and can be made using this form. Additionally, there are two study rooms open for student use at all times: the 24-Hour Study Room, located on the 2nd floor of the library, and Room 461 in the Ikeda building. The Grand Reading Room (GRR) #400 is open from 8 a.m. to midnight daily. The balcony across from the GRR is another popular spot where the amazing view of the canyon may motivate you to study, meet with your peers, or relax.
The librarians, as information specialists, work closely with event and program organizers on campus to support their goals by collecting and disseminating tailored information to enhance the participants’ learning experiences. Your suggestions and requests are always welcome, and can be submitted via this online form or by visiting the library.
To keep everyone informed and engaged about what is happening in the library, a library newsletter is distributed bi-monthly. For more information about our services and events, you may view the library portal, About Us page, Facebook, and Instagram.
The University Archives
The Soka University of America (SUA) Archives consists of a team of students and staff seeking to preserve SUA’s legacy in the making. As a young institution, SUA and the SUA Archives have the rare opportunity to preserve historically significant items mindfully and intentionally for the future of the SUA community. Our growing collections include materials related to the SUA Campus, its faculty and staff, notable accomplishments of alumni, and materials that showcase the vibrant student life on campus. Our information guide presents a variety of archived items currently accessible to the campus community.
In the recent past, the SUA Archives’ students have been working on “Passion Projects” which intend to share the unique pieces of history they have learned while working in the archives. The “#OneSoka” exhibit, previously housed onsite at the library, for example, is one of the most recent Passion Projects produced within the Archives. “#OneSoka” was a “choose-your-own-path” type of walk-through experience which allows audiences to learn more about the beginnings of SUA from its original location to where it sits now in Aliso Viejo.
The SUA Archives Office is looking to be both an actively collecting repository for the purpose of historical preservation, and a resource for the SUA community to engage with our rich growing history, seek items for research, and provide supplemental materials to the academic collections within the Ikeda library.
We seek donations from any members of the SUA community wanting to contribute materials to our growing collections. Please feel free to contact the SUA Archives for any inquiries.