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OSU Buildings Histories in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Building History

 

This building opened in 1963 as Kerr Library, named for OAC president William Jasper Kerr, who served from 1907 to 1932. In 1996, it was expanded and renamed the Valley Library for Wayne and Gladys Valley and their Valley Foundation. The building houses 1.4 million volumes, study rooms, collaborative study spaces, and the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers. The library is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, and offers services including a coffee shop, child care, Student Multimedia Services and OSU Press.

General Information

Address

201 SW Waldo Pl

Architect

Hamlin & Martin

Year Built

1963

Renovations

Two additional floors added 1971, major renovations and expansions completed in 1999

Square Footage

343,035 sq ft

Purpose/Usage

Houses millions of collections and periodicals, librarians and library administration staff, two writing studios, the Mole Hole chemistry tutoring service, the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, and the OSU Press, as well as provides study space for students.

Previous Name(s)

The Library, the William Jasper Kerr Library

Namesake

F. Wayne Valley - OSU alumnus, former football player, and philanthropist

Historic District

Yes; contributing building

Blueprints

Facilities Services Records, 1888-2003, Folders 054, 055, 056, and 057

Maps

Facilities Services Records, 1888-2003. Series XX:  Campus, Farm, and Property Maps, 1899-1990. Campus and Farm Maps: 3-A

Oregon State University Campus Maps, 1894-1994

Photographs

Oregon State University Historical Photographs, 1868-1980

Further Archival Information

SCARC: The Libraries Moving Images collection includes information about the groundbreaking, construction, and dedication of The Valley Library. In addition, the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection includes a subject file about the dedication of The Valley Library. The Oregon State University Libraries and Press Oral History Collection include hundreds of interviews with OSU Libraries and Press employees about their experiences working in The Valley Library, and the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection includes an interview with former president Risser, in which he discusses the expansion and renovation of The Valley Library. Finally, the Library Photograph Collection and the Corvallis, Oregon, Photograph Collection include photos of The Valley Library. 

Oregon Digital: A search for the Valley Library yields thousands of results, many of them photos and mentions in university periodicals.

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