Darkstar is the Science Fiction and Fantasy Library at the University of California, San Diego. It was founded in 1978 to gather all those interested in speculative fiction, and has somehow survived intact.
Affiliation with UCSD is not necessary to participate in Darkstar: we have a vast and diverse array of members including UCSD students,staff,alumni, as well as members of wider San Diego fandom otherwise unaffiliated with the university. Organized by our officers, every Friday evening at 6:30 PM, members come to our library to participate in our weekly board game nights, where we take games from our collection of over 100 board games off the shelves for a night of fun!
We maintain a large lending library, with regularly scheduled library hours. Other activities include weekly board game nights, movie nights, and more.
Darkstar is open for studying, socializing, and reading at various times throughout the week, with our schedule changing every quarter. However, our friday night board game meeting happens every week no matter the quarter.
Disclaimer: Darkstar has no library hours on holidays and breaks. Please contact us through email at darkstar@ucsd.edu to request any hours.
Darkstar is currently located in the old student center, room H-220 above Taco Villa.
Visitor parking is available in the adjacent parking lot P113, just off the corner of Gilman Dr. and Eucalyptus Grove Lane, and will run you $2/60 min (free on weekends, but competition is tough). Need directions? Consult the UCSD Map or Google Maps.
Coming via public transit? Routes 30, 101, 150, and 201/202 (Super Loop) stop at or near lot P113.
Darkstar's extensive library contains more than 5,000 fiction and non-fiction books within the science fiction and fantasy genres. Additionally, our collection of such magazines as Fantasy & Science Fiction and Astounding reaches back to the early 1940s.
Borrowing privileges are extended to Darkstar members (student & community members alike) and to students/staff of UCSD. If you're not a club member, it's easy to become one: just show up at the library during our open hours.
Our library is named after Anne Proud, a long-time Los Angeles-area science fiction reader whose extensive collection formed the nucleus of our library. We are grateful to her and her estate for their generosity.
To know whether a book is available in our catalog, please contact one of librarians on our Discord server or come into the library during our hours!
We gladly accept donations of genre books and magazines. Please contact us for more details.
Darkstar's main form of communication is our Discord server. Click the link here to learn more about club activities, library updates, impromptu hours, and more.
Generally, e-mail may be sent to darkstar@ucsd.edu. Mail sent to this address is automatically forwarded to the officers of the club.