About the Library
In this section of the website you will find information about the Library, our mission, and the Library's contact information.
Library Information
Department Directory
Make contact with a library department.
Library FAQs
Check out our FAQs for answers to frequent questions.
Library Hours & Locations
Find the SWC Library closest to you and when they are open.
Strategic Planning
Learn the Library's goals and objectives for 2025-2030.
The library at the Chula Vista Campus is located in the Learning Resource Center on the north side of campus in building 64.
The library at the Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa is located on the second floor of building 4200.
Library reference services are also provided at the Higher Education Center at National City in room 7120.
The library at the Higher Education Center at San Ysidro is located in room 5105.
The mission of the Southwestern College Library is to contribute to and support learners by identifying, organizing, preserving, and making accessible resources which are in support of the college curriculum and general enrichment for students, faculty, staff, and the community.
In 1998, California voters approved new financing which allowed Southwestern College to update and expand the Library and the Learning Resource Center (LRC). The three-level LRC opened in 2003 and incorporates a variety of services, including the Library, Film, Television and Media Arts (FTMA), Professional Development, the Telemedia Center, the Interdisciplinary Tutoring Center, staff offices, and conference and meeting rooms. It offers students a number of study spaces, including study rooms and media viewing rooms, wireless internet access, and a growing collection of print and electronic materials.
Library services and collections are on the second and third floors of the building.
The Design
Hieroglyphs
The "Old God" is a universal image in Maya art, and represents wisdom, experience, and respect accorded the elders of all American native people. Among the Maya pantheon, the most important is Itzamnaaj (pronounced "Eat-Sahm-Nah"), the patron of learning and writing. He usually wears an obsidian-mirror diadem on his forehead and sometimes appears as his alter-ego, the Celestial Bird Itsam-ye. His image on the LRC elevator shaft was designed by painting instructor Roberto Salas. It is adapted from an illustration in the Dresden Codex, one of the most beautiful and rare of Maya books (only four Maya manuscripts survive today; all the rest were burned by Spanish friars in 1560). The Dresden Codex was a kind of almanac, listing eclipses, phases of Venus, and the auspicious days for various tasks.
The hieroglyph repeated 14 times across the front of the building is adapted from the stone carving Stela D at the Maya site in Quirigua, Guatemala. A beautiful cast of the carvings stands in San Diego Museum of Us (formerly Museum of Man) in Balboa Park. It consists of the head of a chop-fallen (nearly toothless) Old God wearing the obsidian-mirror diadem, which identifies him as Itzamnaaj. A Maya convention indicated the god's wisdom by giving them enormous, all-seeing eyes. His head is preceded by a sideways T-shaped glyph element that reads Nah, meaning "house" or "temple". Thus the glyph can be interpreted as "House of Itzamnaaj" or "Temple of Learning". It was designed in the calligraphic style of ancient Maya books by Mark Van Stone, Professor of Art History at Southwestern College.
The Sundial
The sundial was incorporated into the building design as both a historic reference to the Maya culture's use of the sun to measure time, and as a contemporary reference to a student's journey at SWC as they complete their education -- measured in hours, days, and seasons.
To read the sundial, first determine the season. The top arc will tell the time in the winter solstice (December), the middle arc will tell the time for the spring and fall equinox (March and September), and the bottom arc represents the time at the summer solstice (June). Next, read the time. The glass blocks represent the hours of the day as the point of the shadow cast by the steel blade lands on the blocks. The first block represents 7 a.m. As the days pass through the seasons, the time shadow will fall somewhere on a vertical arc between the blocks to represent the hour of the day.
The library is a center for research, studying, and collaboration. We ask all of its users to use it with respect and consideration of others. We expect students to comply with the SWC Student Conduct Policy.
Library Rules & Guidelines
- Rules and Guidelines
- Community Borrowers (PDF)
- Collection Development Guidelines (PDF)
- Library Exhibit Guidelines & Agreement (PDF) and Exhibit Proposal (PDF)
- Archives Collection & Special Collections Guidelines (PDF)
- Filming in the library requires advanced approval. Complete the application (PDF) and submit your request to the Chula Vista Campus reference desk.
Library Computers
The library is equipped with computers for students to conduct research. Computer use is on a first-come, first-served basis. Computers in the reference area may be used by community users. All computer uses must comply with District policies.
When accessing the research databases and other e-resources from off-campus, you will be prompted to log in. Once you log in with your MySWC account, you will be able to use the databases, e-journals, and e-books just as if you were on-campus. Off-campus access is limited to currently enrolled students, faculty and staff of Southwestern College.
Having trouble? Fill out an Off-Campus Access Problem Report and you will be contacted to resolve the problem.
