Welcome to the OSU Libraries News and Events page!

Albina Music Trust Community Archive Open House

This May, Albina Music Trust and OSU’s Special Collections Archives and Records Center presented an afternoon of historic regional arts activation. The OSU community joined in this celebration the recent release of a community archive documenting the artistic and cultural legacy of Portland’s historically Black neighborhood of Albina, many years in the making.

This was a self-guided event. Attendees engaged with this rich digital repository that includes photography, film, audio, and assorted ephemera through archive kiosks and listening stations at their own pace. Albina Music Trust provided a curated selection of regional vinyl records from their record label for guests to set on the turntable. Archivists and OSU faculty were on hand to answer questions about Albina’s past, present, and future and the emergent practice of operating a community archive.

OSU Press Book Wins Burroughs Medal

Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher by Marina Richie has received the 2024 Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Writing. 

Created in 1926, the John Burroughs Medal is awarded annually to the year’s most distinguished book of nature writing. This is the third Burroughs Medal win for an Oregon State University Press title which OSU Press director Tom Booth says is unprecedented for a university press. Past Burroughs medalists include Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Roger Tory Peterson, Barry Lopez, and Robin Wall Kimmerer (Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, OSU Press, 2003).

“Richie’s writing is fluid, her curiosity infectious, and her pursuit of the kingfishers admirable,” said one of the Burrough Medal jurors. “Many people delight in seeing and hearing kingfishers, and now, with this title, they can enjoy these charismatic birds on a deeper level than ever before.”

Halcyon Journey combines science, field observation, and storytelling to uncover the secret lives of belted kingfishers. Nesting kingfishers that Richie watched for seven years along Rattlesnake Creek in Missoula, Montana, set her on a journey to better understand the elusive bird.

“When I wrote Halcyon Journey, my hope was to shine a light on this jay-sized bird of the hover and headfirst dive,” said Richie, who lives in Bend, Oregon. “To receive the Burroughs Medal is the greatest of honors. I’d love to tell every kingfisher—you won.” 

Generous support from the John & Shirley Byrne OSU Library Support Endowment Fund helps make the publication of notable OSU Press books about the natural world possible. To learn more contact director, Tom Booth, at thomas.booth@oregonstate.edu

Librarians from Fujian Province Visit

Oregon State University Libraries and Press was excited to host librarians from the Fujian Province of China to Oregon State University to present on a variety of topics about librarianship in Fujian.

Presenter: Huang, Zhaohui, Fujian Provincial Library
Topic: Fujian Provincial Library Renovation Project: Expanding Services and Space

Presenter: Yu, Feng, Fujian Provincial Library
Topic: Exploring Innovations in Building and Expanding Library Collections

Presenter: Lin, Xiyang, Fuzhou University Library
Topic: FULink: a case study of a library consortium
Introducing the history, current state, structure, services, activities, accomplishments, and shared experiences of digital libraries within Fujian Province's university consortium

Presenter: Dr. Wu, Weiwei, Fujian Normal University Library
Topic: Empowering Intelligence, Integrating Innovation, and Supporting the Development of First-Class Universities

 

After their presentations, the librarians accompanied Larry Landis in a historic tour of campus where they explored the timeline of librarianship at OSU.

Composting for All

The Valley Library has welcomed public composting thanks to a partnership with OSU Sustainability and Waste Watchers. This composting bin is located in the Goddard Memorial Lobby on the second/main floor of the library, nearby the main entrance and stairs leading down to Java II.

Beth Filar Williams Plans for Sabbatical

Beth Filar Williams will be taking a 6 month to allow her to dive deeper into their UX Research Librarian role. After 1.5 years in this position, creating it from scratch, testing ideas, talking to library units, Beth feels that it is time to get more training in methods and learn more about how other libraries apply UX concepts in assessment and planning. 

 

Beth will be attending the UX in Libs conference in the UK to start their sabbatical with a professional development opportunity and lens for learning. Beth also plans to spend time reflecting, visiting libraries, and planning how to apply this new UX knowledge to OSULP work.

A Message from the Library Dean

I am writing this message from the new combined circulation and information desk in the Valley Library.  It is 10:30 pm and the Valley Library is a calm and active place tonight. We are in that time of the term where midterms have ended, and the ramp-up to prepare for finals has not quite begun.  I am looking out towards the Learning Commons area — one of the busiest and most popular study spaces on the Corvallis campus. From here, I can see students writing papers, printing papers, using the paper cutters and craft supplies, and browsing the new books display.  Study groups are working together to finish projects and presentations. 

We love the Learning Commons because it accommodates all of these activities and more. But it’s going to get better. We have spent this last year learning as much as we can from and about the students that use this study space.  What do they value about the space?  What needs do they have that are not being met?  Starting this summer we will begin turning that knowledge into design plans for a new and improved Learning Commons. We can’t wait for you to see what we come up with.  

In the fall, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Valley Library. We hope all of you will come to celebrate this wonderful place’s past, present and future. 

OSU Institutional Repository Hits 80K Items!

Oregon State’s institutional repository, ScholarsArchive@OSU, crossed a milestone this week by adding its 80,000th item.

Operated by the Valley Library, ScholarsArchive@OSU makes the scholarly output of OSU openly available online. It holds student theses, faculty articles, research datasets, technical reports, and more. It ranks third among single institution US institutional repositories based on the number of items indexed in Google Scholar. On average, around 2,000 items are added each year, and late spring is the busiest time for depositing new works. To learn more or deposit your own work, visit https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu

OSULP Seminar Series: Textbook Affordability & University Records

Please join us for the last event of this academic year in our Classified Staff Association (CSA) and Library Faculty Association (LFA) Seminar Series!

We round out the year with two presentations related to information management and how OSULP’s work connects with the broader campus community:

·       Richenda Hawkins, Rima Reves and Sagan Wallace will share the successes and challenges of a new project using Beaver Store data to proactively purchase course materials (including some big wins for affordability and accessibility!)

·       Cyd Hill will take us through a day in the life of a university records manager, explaining the kind of work she does and the impact it has beyond the library

Thursday, May 30th from 2 to 3pm in the Willamette West Classroom

Light snacks and beverages will be available! 

Join us on Zoom at:

https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/92300825818?pwd=Nms5dktWUnBCemFJcWFpaFBjREM3dz09

This event will be recorded.

See you there!

OSULP Seminar Series: Textbook Affordability & University Records

Please join us for the last event of this academic year in our Classified Staff Association (CSA) and Library Faculty Association (LFA) Seminar Series!

We round out the year with two presentations related to information management and how OSULP’s work connects with the broader campus community:

·       Richenda Hawkins, Rima Reves and Sagan Wallace will share the successes and challenges of a new project using Beaver Store data to proactively purchase course materials (including some big wins for affordability and accessibility!)

·       Cyd Hill will take us through a day in the life of a university records manager, explaining the kind of work she does and the impact it has beyond the library

Thursday, May 30th from 2 to 3pm in the Willamette West Classroom

Light snacks and beverages will be available! 

Join us on Zoom at:

https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/92300825818?pwd=Nms5dktWUnBCemFJcWFpaFBjREM3dz09

This event will be recorded.

See you there!

OSULP Seminar Series: Textbook Affordability & University Records

Please join us for the last event of this academic year in our Classified Staff Association (CSA) and Library Faculty Association (LFA) Seminar Series!

We round out the year with two presentations related to information management and how OSULP’s work connects with the broader campus community:

·       Richenda Hawkins, Rima Reves and Sagan Wallace will share the successes and challenges of a new project using Beaver Store data to proactively purchase course materials (including some big wins for affordability and accessibility!)

·       Cyd Hill will take us through a day in the life of a university records manager, explaining the kind of work she does and the impact it has beyond the library

Thursday, May 30th from 2 to 3pm in the Willamette West Classroom

Light snacks and beverages will be available! 

Join us on Zoom at:

https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/92300825818?pwd=Nms5dktWUnBCemFJcWFpaFBjREM3dz09

This event will be recorded.

See you there!

Pages