The Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) maintains and makes available the University's unique collections of manuscripts, archives, photographs, and books. Subject strengths include:

• the historical records of OSU 
• the history of science and technology 
• cultural and ethnic groups in Oregon 
• experiences of LGBTQ+ people within the OSU and Corvallis communities
• hops and brewing in the Northwest 
• natural resources in the Pacific Northwest, especially agriculture and forestry. 

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement.

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center public service point is located in the Reading Room on the 5th Floor of the Valley Library at Oregon State University. If you plan to visit us, please check our calendar.

See our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center for more on how to visit SCARC, find our collections, and research tips.

Video Transcript

There are two ways to find relevant materials in SCARC's Collection Guides. Under Collections on the left side of the screen, you can browse a list of collections alphabetically by title, collections by type, such as maps, photographs, or oral histories, a full list of all subject headings used in our collection guides, and alphabetically by creator. Or, on the right side of the screen, use the search box to enter your terms. Put quotes around the terms to search as a phrase, or leave off for a broader search. 

Results will come in up to four categories. Collections will show collection guides which have all search terms or phrases in them. These are divided by type of collection, which can include Film and Video, Maps, Manuscripts and Personal Papers, Oral Histories, Photographs, Publications, or university Record Groups. Click on the collection title to see the terms within the collection guide; or, click on the box list to be taken to the search hit directly in the container list. When you find material in the container list you would like to consult, note the box, folder, and/or item numbers of the relevant material; these will be necessary to request and retrieve the boxes for you in SCARC.

The results under PDF Container List show collections which have not been fully processed, and which may only have preliminary box lists in PDF form. Click on the title to go to the PDF; use a Control-F search to find your term in the document. You can see the preliminary collection guide by clicking on Learn More.

Finally, People, Places, and Topics will show you subject headings that may be relevant to your search, and Creators will show you any collection creators associated with your search terms.

Video Transcript

To find published materials in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, click on Advanced Search from the main catalog page. Enter your keyword in the search box. Here you can use wildcards and truncation rules, such as an asterisk to find word variants. This search will find the terms agriculture, agricultural, agriculturalist, and other variations of the word. Then limit the scope of your search to Special Collections and Archives. You can also narrow your search by different material types, such as journal, by languages, or by date range. To limit to a set of years, enter the first and the last year.

Your search results can be refined in a number of ways. To browse results in the chronological order of the date span, choose date-oldest. You can also refine by resource type, topic, or creator. Come back to this corner to remove filters. 

Your results can be seen in this panel, 10 to a page. Click on Load more results to see the next page. From this quick view of the record, you can get a link back to it, email it, or pin it to your favorites lists. You can also export the record, get the citation in a variety of formats, or print the record. Click on the title to look at the full record. All of your export and request functions are here at the top. Scroll down to find bibliographic details. Use the subject headings to branch out from your search; clicking on these will take you to new results without any former filters applied.

Click here to go back to your results.

A wide variety of online resources are available to support your research from afar!

SCARC staff have created guides to support research, including subject and collecting area guides. Of special note is the Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, which will help you efficiently navigate our collection guides and digital resources. 

SCARC’s digital collections remain available via Oregon Digital, and other digital resources are available on SCARC’s website, where you'll find a wide range of historical publications, photographs, videos, and oral histories.