FROM BOOKS TO WEB STUDENTS REVEL IN NEW LIBRARY.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer

CAMARILLO - Seated at one of the 13 powerful computers in the new library for California State University, Channel Islands, student Rosa Figueroa was impressed with the speed of the state-of-the-art equipment.

``Oh, wow. It's like driving a Cadillac compared to what I have at home,'' said Figueroa, a junior majoring in psychology.

just printed out a 10-page article, and the main thing about it is, I don't have to go to books anymore or go to the copy machine to copy articles from the books, which is time-consuming and expensive.''

Figueroa wants to earn a master's degree in counseling after receiving her undergraduate degree, and said the system's access to the thousands of online books and journals speeds up her research.

``There's a lot of reading, so the thing is it makes it a lot easier than the old-fashioned way,'' said Figueroa, a Fillmore resident.

The library recently opened in the old bell tower at the former Camarillo State Hospital. The facility, however, is just temporary; plans call for construction of a 300,000-square-foot library - the biggest in the CSU system - to be completed in 2002.

The temporary library includes 15,000 books, group study rooms and 20 individual work spaces with computer jacks that allow students to plug in their own laptops to access the university's computer system and the Internet.

The 6,500-square-foot library is part of the $11.5 million first phase of development of the Spanish colonial campus. CSUCI is the newest in the California State University system, and will be a satellite of California State University, Northridge, until it becomes fully independent in 2003.

The campus currently has a total of 120 color computers - both PCs and Macintoshes - and printers available to students in classrooms and open labs. ``This (computer system) is at least 10 times faster than most campuses are,'' said Herb Aquino, the campus's computer coordinator. ``It really gives the students a lot of productivity.''

To help build the library's collection of books and other materials, the college has secured donations from Coldwell Banker Town & Country for $17,000 and for $10,000 from the Hansen Trust, officials said. Since the temporary library opened, reference librarians have been holding a couple of orientation sessions a week, said Loretta Wagoner, a library assistant.

``The access it gives our students to online articles is incredible,'' said Wagoner.

``There are 11 online databases accessed through (CSU) Northridge. They come up with full-text articles. . . . Just one of the databases subscribes to 1,200 journals, so you can imagine what you come up with with 11 databases. I think it's absolutely wonderful.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Psychology major Carolynn Arnot browses through books in the new California State University, Channel Islands, library.

(2 -- color) Erica Alvarez, right, and other students do research on the library's new computers.

(3) Betty Yeider studies in one of the library's private cubicles.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer