F. W. Olin Library

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F. W. Olin Library

F. W. Olin Library houses a collection of over 240,000 volumes and other media supporting Northeastern University Oakland campus. The inviting F.

Olin Library houses a collection of over 240,000 volumes and other media supporting the curricular needs of the College, with special emphases on literature, history, women's studies, art, and music. The interior of the building was designed with comfort and accessibility in mind and includes study and workstations of appealing variety, a listening-viewing room with fully equipped audiovisual stat

ions, and a seminar room. Computer workstations are available throughout the library to access library databases, the Internet, email, or word processing. Library facilities are fully wheelchair-accessible, and special services for disabled students are available. The library is also home to the Special Collections of 12,000 volumes and 10,000 manuscripts, including a leaf from a Gutenberg Bible. Housed in the Heller Rare Book Room, the collections include printed books from the 15th century to the present, as well as the Mills College Collection. It is also the home of the Mills Center for the Book, a forum for cultural, literary, and aesthetic heritage of the book. The library is open 88.5 hours a week during the semester. Reference librarians are available until 7:00 pm most weekdays to help students organize their research efforts and make the best use of library resources. Library staff also teach students how to find and use bibliographic and electronic resources pertinent to specific needs or assignments.

03/11/2025

✨New display alert!✨ Stop by to explore our latest display celebrating . This year, we're highlighting bold women disruptors—trailblazers, rebels, and visionaries who changed the game. 💥📚 Come get inspired and check out a book (or two)!

Image description: 5 photos of the library display case. Books have their colorful covers facing outward. A blue sign in the display reads Women's History Month: Woman Disruptors. Photographs of Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, Valentina Tereshkova, and Stormé DeLarverie decorate the display.

03/06/2025

New books to share! All are available for checkout from the New Books shelves in the .

Image descriptions: Photos of 6 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. Love in a F*cked-up World; How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell Together by Dean Spade. On a bright yellow background the title text and author’s name are in vibrant red with the subtitle in bright pink.

2. Personal Score; Sport, Culture, Identity by Ellen van Neerven. A bright red background features a collage of images, including a fish, a bird, mushrooms, a person playing soccer, and various small insects and butterflies. The title is in black text on a yellow box obscuring the collage and the author’s name is in yellow text along the bottom.

3. Eyes on the Sky by J. Kasper Kramer. A dark sky with stars, a moon, and a small flying saucer. The title is in large, bold text, with silhouettes of two people standing near a house and a windmill against a twilight backdrop. The author’s name is in small text at the bottom.

4. The Lucky Ones by Zara Chowdhary. A beige background with an abstract design of a torn, red and pink fabric with the ink drawing of two people’s faces visible through the hole. The title is in black script along the top with the author’s name in the same script along the bottom.

5. All the Things They Said We Couldn’t Have; Stories of Trans Joy by T. C. Oakes-Monger. A blue background features the title and author’s name in white bubble text with a black outline. White line drawings of leaves, shells, and dominos decorate the background.

6. Deed by Torrin A. Greathouse. A photo of a dark background with a pale forearm and open hand. Pale pink roses with dark green leaves surround the arm. The title is in spare white vertical text over the hand with the author’s name in small pink text along the top.

03/03/2025

The library has another recommendation from Paul this week! Paul recommends Breading Sweeetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Paul says: Kimmerer is Potawatomi and a professor of biology. In Braiding Sweetgrass she does a fantastic job of reconciling indigenous beliefs with science. It totally changed how I think about the natural world.

Image description: On a beige cover is the illustration of a coiled green braid made of sweetgrass. The title and author's name are in black text while the subtitle, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, is in green text between the black text.

02/28/2025

Happy Spring Break! 🌼 We will resume regular hours on Sunday, March 9. We hope you have some time to rest and recharge. See you soon!

Image description: On a pale yellow background with a darker yellow frame are the words Happy Spring Break! from .w.olinlibrary. Spring Break Hours: March 2: Closed; March 3-7: 1-5 pm; March 8: Closed. All text is red. There are illustrations of orange, red, yellow, and blue flowers and rainbows placed around the text. Two small red hearts are to the left of the text.

02/25/2025

has a recommendation from Cataloguer Paul! Paul recommends Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans. Do you have a great book/podcast/film you would like to recommend? Use the link-in-bio to let us know about it, and we might just share it here!

Paul says: Published in 1938, this book is a collaboration between writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans and unlike any other work of nonfiction. It opens with 62 photos of the tenant farmer families and their environment. The 471 pages of Agee’s text is part poetry, part journalism, and part stream of consciousness. In 1936 a magazine sent the two New Yorkers to Alabama to come up with an article on the poor, white tenant farmers so common in the South at the time. Agee fell in love with the families and all the people he met and describes them in beautiful and excruciating detail. No magazine article was ever published, but Agee reworked it into the very unique book.

Image description: A light green book cover features a photograph of a white man in overalls and a crumpled white shirt. He squints at the viewer with a furrowed brow and an unshaven face. The title and authors names appear below the photograph in black and dark yellow text respectively. The cover is framed by a dark yellow background color.

02/20/2025

New books to share with you! All are available to check out. Find them on the New Books shelves!

Image descriptions: Photos of 8 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. Kids on the Street; Q***r Kinship and Religion in San Francisco’s Tenderloin by Joseph Plaster. A blurry color photo of people around two payphones on a city street. They are wearing dressy, vibrant clothing. The title and author’s name are in small yellow text over the image.

2. Make a Zine! Start Your Own Underground Publishing Revolution by Joe Biel. Cartoon figures on a makeshift raft are smiling and looking into the distance. Around them are drawing boards and books and a light blue background. The title is in bold red text over the illustration and the author’s name is in smaller red text below.

3. Inside College Mergers; Stories from the Front Lines edited by Mark La Branche. A light pink cover has the title in bold orange, red, and blue text. Four puzzle pieces in blue, red, orange and black connect and make a circle. The editor’s name is in small black text at the bottom.

4. Jackal by Erin E. Adams. On a bright red cover is a silhouette of Black person’s head. The inside of the head is filled with stars and trees of the night sky. The title text is large white letters running vertically. The author’s name is in small red text at the bottom.

5. Horse Barbie; A Memoir of Reclamation by Geena Rocero. A vibrant cover featuring a close-up of author Geena Rocero’s face with a mirror image below. The image is in purple and green hues over a blue and green gradient background. The title and author text is bright green over the image.

6. This Has Always Been a War; The Radicalization of a Working-Class Q***r by Lori Fox. The black cover features a simple drawing of a gray dog. White lines on the cover look like jagged lightning or flames. The title is bright orange while the author’s name is in white text below.
7. Pay the People! Why Fair Pay is Good for Business and Great for America by John Driscoll, Morris Pearl & The Patriotic Millionaires. A bright red cover features the title text in large black letters. The subtitle is in gray text under the title with the author’s names in smaller black text below.

8. Power and Progress; Our 1000-Year Struggle Over Technology & Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. A white cover features the title in shiny gold text. The authors' names are in smaller black text below.

02/17/2025

Join Mills College, The Black Reparations Project & Heritage 365 for The Black Read: Living While Black with Ajuan Mance. Scan the QR code in the post to get the book. Register at bit.ly/millscollegenu.

Living While Black by Ajuan Mance celebrates Black resistance through vivid illustrations. With a foreword by Alicia Garza, founder of BLM and principal at the Black Futures Lab, it’s a powerful reflection on Black life in America.

Image description: A white background with yellow, green, and red curvy stripes. A photo of the author and the book are included. Text for the event reads: Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Hybrid Event. Mills Hall Living Room. Reception: 4:30 pm PST. Event Begins: 5:00 pm PST.

02/12/2025

Need a Valentine for that special someone? has you covered! Craft supplies are ready and waiting for you to make it happen in the library lobby!🌹❤️💌 Learn more about Love Data Week by visiting tinyurl.com/2025lovedataweek.

Image description: Photo of the valentine-making station. A tablecloth with colored hearts covers a table that has supplies including pens, glue, paper, stamps and stickers. A sign above the table in red, white and pink reads: Make a Valentine!

02/10/2025

In celebration of , Reference Librarian Matthew recommends Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. You can find this title in the library display!

Matthew says: This novella discusses the tension between tradition, home and travel, and vengeance and forgiveness. Follow Binti as she strikes out from her insular but technically-advanced home on earth for the first time to travel to one of the galaxies foremost universities. Along the way she will learn about the outside world; but the outside world will also learn about Binti in the process.

Image description: Photo of a book in the display case. The cover features a photo of a Black woman applying orange mud to her face and hair while looking at the reader. The background is a black, starry sky.

02/06/2025

The library has some more to tell you about! Find them on the New Books shelf at the .

Image descriptions: Photos of 3 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol. The comic-stye cover illustration features a young woman standing in green water in full clothing. A brown seal and golden-haired mermaid with yellow eyes and pale green skin stare menacingly. The title is in pale pink text and the author's name is in white.

2. The Serviceberry; Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Cover illustration features a cedar waxwing bird with a red berry in its mouth. It is on a branch with green leaves and red berries. Other branches with red and purple berries decorate the beige cover. The title and author’s name are in dark green and red text below the illustration.

3. Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. The bluish purple cover is framed in a repeating Egyptian design in orange, purple, and blue. An illustration of a bottle circled in bright orangish yellow as if glowing is held between two hands. The title and author's name are in the same bright color.

02/04/2025

Check out 's new display! Join us as we celebrate and focus on nkyinkym (see the image description for the translation). Works by Black authors are the focus of the display, and all are available for check out! 💛❤️💚🖤📚

Image description: 6 photos of the library display. Books have their colorful covers facing outward. The second image has the following text: "This Black History Month, Northeastern is focusing on the nkyinkyim: Nkyinkyim is a Twi word that translates to "twistings" or "twisting." The symbol represents the twists and turns encountered on the journey of life. It is a reminder that life is not a straight path; instead, it is filled with unexpected challenges, detours, and changes in direction. This symbol is often associated with concepts such as adaptability, resilience, versatility, and the ability to navigate through life's complexities with wisdom and strength."

01/29/2025

The library has to share with you! You can find them on the New Books shelves and the pop up display.

Image descriptions: Photos of 9 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. Woman Life Freedom by Marjane Satrapi. The black cover features a stylized drawing of a woman's face. Her hair is fiery red, extending upwards. There are smaller faces behind her also with red and green details. The title and author’s name are in white text.

2. Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo. Cover illustration features a young boy sitting on a pile of rugs and other things, looking up at a large moon or sun. The colors are soft and pastel.

3. Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin. Cover features a bird's nest with broken eggs and one blue unbroken egg. The title is in orange text above the nest while the author’s name is in white text below.

4. The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk. A stylized image of a beige skull in orange Victorian-style women’s clothing. The title and author’s name are in large beige text above and below the skull.

5. The New India; The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy by Rahul Bhatia. Cover features a black and white photo of a large building at night. The title and author are in large, red letters over the image.

6. Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte. Cover features a muted gradient background in deep red, blue, and green. The title and author are in large yellow text along the top and bottom edge.

7. Holding It Together; How Women Became America’s Safety Net by Jessica Calarco. Cover features the title in large, red and black letters against a white background. The words appear as if they are torn apart and put back together.

8. James by Percival Everett. Cover features the title in large, yellow letters against a black background. The J reaches to the top of the cover, and a man walking with a bag on his back is in the bottom part of the loop. The author’s name is in white text below.

9. We Refuse; A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson. A Black woman in a long white dress holds a rifle across her body. Her dreadlocks are arranged high on her head. She stands in green grass with trees and blue sky behind her. The title is in large white text and the author’s name is in small yellow text below.

01/27/2025

Got questions about citation managers? Well be sure to attend a Citation Manager Webinar! Screenshot and follow the QR code link, or go to bit.ly/NUCiteManagersTraining, to register for an upcoming webinar or view a pre-recorded video. Note that webinar times are on Eastern Time.

Image description: Graphic featuring the names of citation managers: Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, and Refworks. The words are in black, blue, red, and purple text and are on a lined-paper background. A QR code is on the bottom left. An arrow points to the QR code and includes the words: Questions? Screenshot and follow the link to learn more!

01/25/2025

📚✨ Discover the Best of 2024! ✨📚

Swing by the pop-up display to explore 2024's most talked-about reads—fiction, non-fiction, children's books—there's something for everyone!

📍 Find the display next to the reference desk.

🎧 Prefer audiobooks and ebooks? Screenshot and scan the QR codes to borrow instantly.

Don’t miss out—come see what all the buzz is about! 🌟

Image description: Nine slides in a dark shade of pink featuring books. The first slide has green-blue text that reads Best Books of 2024. the next 3 slides are photographs of the display featuring books and flyers in stands. The flyers have book covers and QR codes. The rest of the slides feature the same book covers and QR codes in the flyers. Graphic elements include green books, gold trophies, first orange and gold first-place ribbons, and comical shooting stars.

01/23/2025

We have books to share! These titles can be found on the new book shelves in the library and are ready for checkout.

Image descriptions: Photos of 5 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. Shadowy figures of a man and woman are cast on a beige wall of textured brick. A white clock face with Roman numerals overlays the image. The author's name is in bold text at the top and the title is in smaller white text at the bottom.

2. Toto by A. J. Hackwith. On a green background is a bold, stylized illustration of a black dog wearing green sunglasses. A cityscape is reflected in the glasses. The title is in bright yellow resembling a brick road. The tagline next to the dog reads: “Good dogs stay in Kansas. Bad dogs go to Oz.”

3. Ruin Their Crops on the Ground; The Politics of Food in the United States, From the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman. The cover features a muted illustration of corn and intertwined husks. The blue title text appears in an overlay black box with the smaller subtitle in white text below. The author’s name is in blue text at the bottom.

4. You Gotta Eat; Real-life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Feels Impossible by Margaret Eby. A blue cover features cartoon-style illustrations of food items like eggs, bread, cheese, and popcorn. The title text up much of the cover in bold black text while the author’s name is in small black text below.

5. Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller. A white cover with colorful doodle-style characters representing concepts like love, chaos, math, and fear. The bold black title text is central and surrounded by the colorful illustrations. The authors’ names are in smaller black text along the bottom.

01/14/2025

Current students! 👋 Did you know that you can book a study room online? Screenshot the code and scan it, or follow the link, to start booking a room.

🔑 You can reserve a room for up to 3 hours per day, up to 2 weeks in advance.
🔑 Rooms must be reserved 24 hours in advance.
🔑 Each room is equipped with a study table, whiteboard, and a wall-mounted computer monitor and computer cables.
🔑 Unreserved rooms are available for student walk-in use.

Let us know if you have any questions!

Image description: A graphic featuring a tan and brown cat sitting at a yellow and green desk. An opened laptop computer sits on top of the desk. The cat looks up at the words: Book A Study Room. There is a pink splash behind these words. A QR code on the top left links to the study room page on the website. On the top right are the words in black and blue text: Reserve a room by going to nuoakland.libcal.com/reserve/studyrooms or take a screenshot and scan the code.

01/10/2025

New books to share! All are available for checkout from the New Books shelves in the .

Image descriptions: Photos of 5 book covers propped up on a shelf in the library. The background is the softly-lit library with the circulation desk out of focus in the background.

1. Ode to Grapefruit; How James Earl Jones Found His Voice by Kari Lavelle. A richly painted illustration of a young Black boy with a contemplative expression. He wears a white collared shirt and blue overalls, with one hand visible on his chest. The title and subtitle are in bold white text overlaying the illustration while the author’s name is in small white text at the top.

2. A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power. A vibrant, deep purple background featuring intricate beadwork designs in the shape of a symmetrical stars and flower patterns. Bright colors such as turquoise, pink, yellow, and green dominate the beadwork. The title is in large lime-green text in the middle of the cover with the author’s name in small white text below.

3. The Silence of the Volcano; Creating the Life we Deserve by Almudena Konrad. A serene cover featuring a woman in a flowing blouse and green skirt holding the hand of a young girl in a red dress. They look out toward the ocean under a blue sky with soft clouds. The title is in bold red letters with the subtitle in smaller blue script below. Author’s name is bold white text along the bottom.

4. Monsters; A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer. The cover features bold red, black, and turquoise tones. Two women are featured in a pop-art style; one appears exasperated, while the other shields her eyes with her hand. The title is at the top of the cover in bold black and red text with the author’s name in black text below the image.

5. The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health; Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve by Rheeda Walker, Phd. A white cover with bold title text in blue and black. The subtitle is in small black text below. The author’s name is in blue text at the bottom with blue, green, yellow, and red stripes around it.

01/08/2025

Join us at the library to take a break, relax, and play some games; Chess, Go, Checkers and more will be available on the first floor of F. W. Olin Library by the Study Rooms. The games are out every other Thursday from 1-3pm with January 9th being the first gaming day of the Spring semester. All experience levels are welcome, and a library staff member will be nearby to help teach the rules to beginners!

Check out the events calendar at https://northeastern.libcal.com/ to see all of the dates.

Image description: Black and cream chess pieces and black dice on a tan background. Black and red text reads: Board Game Stay and Play. Chess, Go, Checkers, and more! Every other Thursday 1pm-3pm. First floor of the library.

Address

5000 MacArthur Boulevard
Oakland, CA
94613

Telephone

+15104302385

Website

https://bit.ly/m/FWOlinLinks, http://library.northeastern.edu/

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2025 valentines

Need a Valentine for that special someone? #FWOlinLibrary has you covered! Craft supplies are ready and waiting for you to make it happen in the library lobby!🌹❤️💌 Learn more about Love Data Week by visiting tinyurl.com/2025lovedataweek. #LibrariesWorkBecauseWeDo #valentinesday2025 Image description: Photo of the valentine-making station. A tablecloth with colored hearts covers a table that has supplies including pens, glue, paper, stamps and stickers. A sign above the table in red, white and pink reads: Make a Valentine!

The #FWOlinLibrary hopes your winter break was wonderful. Regular Hours start Monday, January 6th. Check out the most up-to-date hours by visiting the Northeastern University Library link in bio. See you soon! #LibrariesWorkBecauseWeDo #NUOakland A photograph of the F. W. Olin Library. It is a white building with blue accents. Arched windows and a small balcony decorate the front. A patio leads to the entrance, and a staircase leads from the patio to a green lawn. Green trees and shrubs are near the building. The words "Welcome Back!" overlay the building, and below the photograph are the words "Regular Hours Start January 6th".

We wish you the best of luck on finals! Let your hard work this semester shine! #FWOlinLibrary #LibrariesWorkBecauseWeDo #FinalsWeek2023 #MillsCollegeAtNortheastern Image description: On a blue background are the words: "Good Luck with Finals! You got this!" in yellow and white text. White lines circle the words as if exploding from them to add emphasis.

The #FWOlinLibrary hopes that you had a wonderful Winter Break. Regular Hours start Monday, January 9th. Check out the most up-to-date hours at http://library.mills.edu/hours. See you soon! #MillsCollegeAtNortheastern #librariesworkbecausewedo A photograph of the F. W. Olin Library. It is a white building with blue accents. Arched windows and a small balcony decorate the front. A patio leads to the entrance, and a staircase leads from the patio to a green lawn. Green trees and shrubs are near the building. The words "Welcome Back!" overlay the building, and below the photograph are the words "Regular Hours Start January 9th".

Welcome back continuing students!! Aww. Just look at this mom tryna get her students moved in. 🥰 Although we probably can't carry you, #FWOlinLibrary peeps are here to support all of your reference needs! Come by and say hello. We've missed you! Hours September 5th-9th: Monday 9/5: Closed (Labor Day) Tuesday 9/6: 1p-5p Wednesday 9/7: 8:30a-10p Thursday 9/8: 8:30a-10p Friday 9/9: 8:30a-6p Regular hours start September 10th. You can always find the current hours on the library homepage: http://library.mills.edu/hours See you soon! #MillsCollegeAtNortheastern #LibrariesWorkBecauseWeDo Image description: A photograph of a mother opossum carrying her two babies on her back. She crosses the entrance path to @millscollege in the morning light. Two stop signs are in the background near the gatehouse. Public safety officers stand near the gatehouse looking towards the opossum family. The words Welcome Back to School are along the top of the image. There is also the outline of a white heart to the left of the family and an animated crown above the opossum mother. 📷: Imani Karpowich-Smith

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Our Story

The inviting F. W. Olin Library houses a collection of over 240,000 volumes and other media supporting the curricular needs of the College, with special emphases on literature, history, women's studies, art, and music. The interior of the building was designed with comfort and accessibility in mind and includes study and workstations of appealing variety, a listening-viewing room with fully equipped audiovisual stations, and a seminar room. Computer workstations are available throughout the library to access library databases, the Internet, email, or word processing. Library facilities are fully wheelchair-accessible, and special services for disabled students are available. The library is also home to the Special Collections of 12,000 volumes and 10,000 manuscripts, including a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, a Mozart manuscript, and a leaf from a Gutenberg Bible. Housed in the Heller Rare Book Room, the collections include printed books from the 15th century to the present, as well as the Mills College Collection. It is also the home of the Mills Center for the Book, a forum for cultural, literary, and aesthetic heritage of the book. The library is open 88.5 hours a week during the semester. Reference librarians are available until 9:00 pm most weekdays and until 6:00 pm Sundays to help students organize their research efforts and make the best use of library resources. Library staff also teach students how to find and use bibliographic and electronic resources pertinent to specific needs or assignments.