When on campus and in classes, libraries are great resources not only for information but to study and a quiet place one may need. Oregon State has The Valley Library that offers these things and opens their doors for study spaces and services.
But did you know there were other libraries within different departments?
Hannah Gascho Rempel, professor and science librarian, says that many departments within colleges such as the College of Agricultural Sciences, have their own small libraries.
“For example, there are departmental libraries in the Department of Horticulture, the Department of Food Science & Technology, the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (as well as many of the other 13 departments in the College of Agricultural Sciences),” Rempel said.
She also mentions that these departmental libraries are usually “ad hoc collections of print books and journals that are shared with the department after a faculty member retires.”
Rempel says they often contain theses and dissertations by graduate students in the departments that can date back to decades ago, when dissertations were printed rather than online.
Sarah Haluzak, administrative manager at the Department of Food Science and Technology, mentioned the FST library which is located in room 104, but this one does not offer any services, and is not open to the public.
There is one that is open to students in the department of horticulture.
Anne Gearhart, academic advisor for horticulture, says that there’s a collection of older books and current periodicals, called the Hort Library, or sometimes referred to as the “Hort Reading Room”, which Gearhartt describes as an undiscovered little space.
“It’s not really set up as a lending library so much, but they can certainly browse the collection and take a look at what we got,” Gearhartt said.
For anyone looking to check it out, the Hort Library is open anytime the main office is open, with open hours being 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Undergraduate students can make arrangements to get a code and use it after hours as well.
Gearhartt mentions that there are long tables for doing work and ongoing collections of cut plant samples for plant identification uses. There are also comfy chairs, windows, a computer lab with printer as well as a microwave and tea kettle.
From those that don’t circulate to those open to the public still, all these libraries have helped or continue to assist students during their time at OSU by providing sources or just a simple place to escape to aside from the main library or a random table.
Perhaps as a student you’ll discover one during your time on campus.
“Life as a student is really busy and you need time to decompress but you also need time to be able to study and use your time effectively and sometimes using a table in the hallway just doesn’t cut it,” Gearhartt said.
