Scope and Content Note
The Library Records were generated by and pertain to the development and administration
of the Library at Oregon State University. In addition to the documentation
of policy formulation, compilation of departmental information, committee activity,
and other day-to-day administrative tasks these records reflect the Library's
interaction with other institutions of higher education, libraries, and professional
organizations. Records of the Oregon State System of Higher Education's (OSSHE)
centralized library system, housed on the OSU campus from 1932 to 1965, are
also included.
The Library Records are organized into two subgroups; see Subgroup and Series Outline.
Subgroup 1 is organized into 22 series: I. Correspondence; IIa. Library Advisory
Council; IIb. Staff Meetings; III.OSSHE-Education Correspondence; IV. OSSHE-Statistics;
V. Central Library Office; VI. Personnel Files; VII. Scrapbooks; VIIIa. KOAC
Lectures by Staff and Departmental Reports; VIIIb. Departmental Reports; IX.
Library Statistics and Inventory; X. Circulation Statistics; XI. Reports; XII.
Library Committees; XIII. Faculty Senate Library Committee; XIV. Subject and
Reference Files; XV. Library History Essays and Notes; XVI. Buildings and Facilities;
XVII. Policies and Planning; XVIII. Publications; XIX. Artifacts; and XX. Sound
Recordings. Subgroup 2 consists of one series: I. Subject and Reference Files.
Series I is primarily made up of correspondence, but also includes reports and
publications. The correspondence documents interaction between library administration
and various departments within the library, OSU colleges and departments outside
the library, other libraries in the OSSHE system, professional library organizations,
the Oregon State Library, Oregon Historical Society, and OSU committees and
other administrative bodies. Included among the topics covered in this series
are: budgets, gifts and grants to the library, library policies, computer networks
and databases, and library collections. Series II consists of minutes and correspondence
from the Library Administrative Council and minutes from library staff and faculty
meetings.
Records documenting the administration of college and university libraries in
OSSHE constitute the materials in series III through V. OSSHE Libraries (other
than OSU) represented in these records include those at the University of Oregon,
Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University), Southern Oregon
of College Education (now Southern Oregon University), Eastern Oregon College
of Education (now Eastern Oregon University), and the University of Oregon Medical
School (now Oregon Health Science University). Most of the records in these
three series were generated by the Central Library Office of OSSHE when it was
located on the OSU campus from 1932 to 1965.
Series III consists of records generated by various OSSHE committees and the
Chancellor for Higher Education regarding policy formation, planning, and the
compilation of bibliographical information among the system's college and university
libraries. Including records from the Interinstitutional Committee, the OSSHE
Library Council, and several of the OSSHE campus presidents, this series chiefly
contains reports, correspondence and meeting minutes. Statistical information
compiled monthly by OSSHE regarding circulation, books lost and withdrawn, reference
usage, and additions to the collections make up the records in series IV.
Series V contains records generated by the Central Library Office of OSSHE while
administered at OSU by Librarian Lucy Lewis. Consisting primarily of correspondence,
reports, and statistical reports, this series documents systemwide centralization
planning and budgetary matters.
The personnel files of library staff constitute series VI and includes correspondence,
curriculum vitae, grade transcripts, and photographs. The scrapbooks in Series
VII were compiled by the Public Relations Committee and contain newspaper clippings
about library staff, collections, and events that were clipped from the Barometer,
Corvallis Gazette-Times, and Oregonian. Also contained in these
scrapbooks are photographs, brochures, and newsletters relating to events sponsored
by the Friends of the Library.
Series VIIIa contains chronologically arranged program lists and transcripts
of lectures delivered by library staff on the university radio station KOAC.
In addition to reviews of books and periodicals newly acquired by the library,
there are also lectures on various topics such as health and travel intended
to highlight library collections. Series VIIIb constitutes annual and monthly
reports generated by various departments of the library.
In addition to budget and reference statistical information, the library statistics
and inventory records in series IX document the inventory and valuation of library
equipment and supplies and consist primarily of used property release forms,
correspondence, and memoranda. Information on the holdings of the Map Room can
also be found in this series. The circulation statistics consist of microfilmed
ledger entries documenting circulation of books and periodicals, reading and
reference room attendance, and overdue book fines.
In addition to Annual and Biennial Reports of the Librarian, series XI includes
analyses of the library collection and circulation system, budget estimate reports,
an evaluation of the library holdings for materials relating to speech communication,
and a progress report on an early microfilm demonstration project at OSU. Series
XII consists of records generated by library committees and includes committee
membership lists, correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, publications,
reports, and survey data. Included among the subjects addressed by these committees
are building expansion, conservation, human resources, on-line catalog, promotion
and tenure, public relations, safety, and the Library Staff Association.
The Faculty Senate Library Committee records in series XIII contain correspondence,
meeting minutes, memoranda, and reports which pertain primarily to administrative
matters such as the formation of policies and procedures. The subject and reference
files in series XIV contain correspondence, a grant proposal, meeting minutes,
reports, and publications generated mostly by computer companies and library-
oriented committees and organizations. The records relate to library databases
and networks, computer software, and the Oregon Library community. Materials
regarding the Linus Pauling Collection can also be found in this series.
Series XV consists of handwritten notes on index cards regarding Librarian Ida
Kidder and various library-related events and stories from 1896 to 1926 gleaned
from correspondence, the Barometer, and the Beaver Yearbook. This
series also includes a reprint of an essay on the history of the OSU Library
by Library Director William Carlson that was published in the 1977 edition of
the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science.
The Buildings and Facilities records pertain to the construction, renovation,
and maintenance of two of the buildings that have housed the library on campus
as well as the Hatfield Marine Science Center Library in Newport. They include
architectural drawings, brochures, correspondence, notes, reports, specifications,
and studies. Records in this series referring to Kidder Library pertain to the
library when it was housed in Kidder Hall. Records pertaining to the construction,
renovation, and addition to the Kerr Library refer to the structure that was
constructed in 1963, now known as the Valley Library.
Series XVII documents long-range planning, accreditation, survey research, policy
formulation, and other administrative tasks of library management. The series
includes correspondence, reports, manuals and handbooks, self-studies, and survey
data. The publications include brochures, handbooks, newsletters, and other
informational media generated for distribution to library users with information
on library resources, layout of the library building, and use of the collections.
This series also contains a two-part index of the OSU student newspaper, the
Daily Barometer, compiled by the Social Sciences/Humanities Department
of the Library. Covering the years 1896 to 1980, the index is divided into two
sections that are searchable by subject or personal name of student or faculty/staff
member.
The artifacts consist of three printing blocks for bookplates (mid 1930s) and
two plastic goblets created for receptions and other events involving the OSU
centennial celebration in 1968. The sound recordings are self-guided audio tape
tours of the library and include the accompanying tour scripts.
Subgroup 2 consists of materials generated by the OSU Centennial Committee and
the Charter Day Committee in the planning and publicity of the OSU centennial
in 1968. Consisting of award records, certificates of congratulations, correspondence,
meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, publications, and reports, the records
in this subgroup document the development of the centennial logo, the writing
of department histories to honor the anniversary, and the invitation of guests
to the centennial celebration events.
Multiple Accessions, 2004
New Accession, 2006
Historical Note
The first "official" college library was likely that of the Adelphian Literary
Society, which in 1880 had acquired the Corvallis Library Association's Library.
Ten years later, the Adelphians transferred their 605-volume library to the
college. By 1899, when the first full-time, nonstudent librarian, Arthur Stimpson,
was appointed, the collection had grown to 3000 volumes and 500 pamphlets and
bulletins. The first professional librarian, Ida A. Kidder, was appointed in
1908.
Initially housed in the Administration Building (now Benton Hall), a structure
for the library was constructed in 1918 with funds appropriated by the Oregon
Legislative Assembly passed a year earlier. Named Kidder Hall in honor of Ida
Kidder, the library was re-named in 1954 for William Jasper Kerr, president
of OSU from 1907-1932 and first chancellor of the State System of Higher Education.
Despite the construction of a west wing to the library building in 1941, space
needs continued to become increasingly acute with the expansion of collections
and staff. In the late 1950s, planning began for a new structure that was completed
in 1963 and expanded in 1971 with the addition of two floors. A branch of the
Library at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center was completed in 1976 and
eventually named for Marilyn Potts Guin, the first librarian there.
Increasing demand for space drove plans for further expansion and renovation
of the library building that began in 1988 but really gained momentum with the
approval of funds from the Legislative Assembly in 1993. Owing to the success
of a fundraising campaign to raise private money to match state funds, expansion
efforts began in 1996 and were completed in 1999. The Kerr Library was renamed
the Valley Library in 1995 in honor of the Wayne and Gladys Valley Family, whose
foundation donated $10 million to library expansion efforts.
Librarians subsequent to Kidder were Lucy M. Lewis (1920-1945), William H. Carlson
(1945-1965), Rodney K. Waldron (1965-1984), Melvin R. George (1984-1996), and
Karyle Butcher (1997-).
The Central Library Office for the Oregon State System of Higher Education (OSSHE)
was administered by Lucy Lewis and William Carlson at OSU from 1932 from 1965.
Upon Carlson's retirement in 1965, the directorship of the office was transferred
to the University of Oregon under the guidance of Dr. Carl Hintz.
Related Materials
In addition to institutional records, the Archives also has Library publications
which include staff newsletters (PUB 8-41a: News Notes; Rod and Line, The
Kerrier); Library Booklists (PUB 8-42a), and the Library Foundation newsletter
(PUB 249). There is also a photographic collection (P 83) for the Library. Records
of the support organization for the Library, The Friends
of the Library (RG 2), are available. Architectural drawings and book plans
for the Kerr Library building (in addition to those in series XVI) can be found
in the record group for Facilities Services (RG 193). There are additional building
project files for the Kerr Library in RG 193. Information pertaining to the
construction of the Library in 1917-1918 is available in the Snook
and Traver Ledger. Records of the University Archives, an administrative
unit of the Library, can be found in Budgets and Planning Records (RG 125) and
University Archives Records (RG 220).
The Archives has several collections of personal papers and records from library
staff members, including Bertha Herse and University Librarians William
Carlson and Rodney Waldron.
Restrictions
The personnel files in series VI may contain confidential information. Access
is subject to review by the University Archivist.
Shelf Locations
10/5/2/20-60
10/5/1/10-60
8/1/4/20-50
8/1/10/31-letter size document box
8/1/9/21; 8/1/10/61-legal size document boxes
7/3/4/b;
SR 1/4/5/b-20x24 oversize box
SR 1/4/4/a; 10/2/4/-24x31 oversize boxes
SR 1/4/4/back a-b (telescoping boxes)
SR 1/2/3/50
Oversize Drawer 2
microfilm cabinet
Subgroup and Series Outline
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