Pepperdine Libraries

Pepperdine University Libraries (PUL) is the collective name for all of Pepperdine University’s academic libraries. PUL has a collection of over 1 million physical books and periodicals, 1.5 million full-text articles via 150 electronic databases, rare books, and a

digital press. The main branch, Payson Library, is home to PUL’s Special Collections, with collections such as the Malibu Historical Collection, the John Mazza historic Surfboard Collection, and the Churches of Christ Heritage Center.

PUL has a presence at five of Pepperdine’s California campuses, including Seaver College (Payson Library), Drescher, West Los Angeles, Irvine, and Encino; there are also libraries located at Pepperdine’s international sites in Buenos Aires, Florence, Heidelberg, Lausanne, London, and Shanghai.

History

George Pepperdine founded Pepperdine College in 1937. The campus was located on South Vermont and 78th Street in South Central Los Angeles. The original library, known as the Pepperdine College Library,

opened in the summer of 1939. The college moved its campus to Malibu, having been offered 138 acres of land from the Adamson-Rindge family. The Malibu campus began construction on April 13, 1971.

Payson Library, the main branch of five Pepperdine University Library (PUL) branches in Southern California, was built in the early 1970s thanks to a $4-million-dollar donation from Joan Whitney Payson,majority owner of the New York Mets from 1962 until 1975, and her husband, Charles Shipman Payson.

In 1984, Pepperdine launched “The Wave of Excellence” campaign, which provided funding for Payson Library to accommodate computers and the construction of a new entrance. The library building that resulted from that campaign is the building students and faculty know today.

Collections

PUL has the following holdings:

• Book volumes: 350,467
• Periodicals: 1,515
• Music scores: 3,287

List of Libraries

• Payson Library

  

  Payson Library

• Drescher Library
• West Los Angeles Library
• Encino Library
• Irvine Library

Services, Special Collections and Archives

Pepperdine University Libraries has a variety of services common to libraries. PUL manages and maintains InfoGuides, the library’s instance of the SpringShare software, LibGuides, which provide useful resources for various subjects, classes, and fields of study. Study Rooms are also available for students, which can be reserved online. The library also has course reserves, with a variety of resources available for students to use. PUL also lends out Mac and PC laptops for students to use to complete work, and are available for 24 hours. In addition to print materials, PUL has access to thousands of electronic resources, including databases, journals and newspapers, eBooks, and streaming videos and music. For materials not available in PUL’s collection, Interlibrary Loan services are available to obtain these items.

Special Collections

PUL also has rare and special collections that provide a unique experience to its patrons. The John Mazza Surfboard Collection has over two dozen surfboards, ranging in styles and lengths. One notable board includes the “Gidget” board, which was shaped by Dale Velzy and used in both the Gidget 1959 film and 1965 television series; the board is signed by Velzy, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman (whose diaries inspired the character Gidget), and Sally Field, who played Gidget in the television series.

Pepperdine University is affiliated with the Churches of Christ, and the library has an expansive collection of materials relating to the congregation, known as Churches of Christ Heritage Center. The collection, curated and directed by Jerry Rushford, contains materials related to the “Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement and the Churches of Christ,” such as books, documents, and periodicals, and “is dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of these materials and to the promotion of research of this religious movement.”

In celebration of its 75th year, Pepperdine acquired a “Heritage edition” of the St. John’s Bible, the “first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible to have been commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey since the invention of the printing press.” The collection has been used “ with the goal of integrating the Bible into the academic and spiritual life of our community.”

Archives

The University Archives “collects historic archival materials related to the history of Malibu, the University, the Churches of Christ, film and television, and other areas.” The Malibu Historical Collection focuses on materials relating  the history and heritage of Malibu, including historical books, local newspapers like Malibu Surfside News and The Malibu Times, and the papers of the Adamson and Rindge family, who helped to establish Malibu.