OSU Libraries is home to a rich, dynamic, collection supporting student and faculty diverse research needs. Our collections include 339 databases, 2,047,728 ebooks and print books, 211,004 print and online journals, and 283,367 streaming and physical media. Reflecting OSU's curricular and research focuses, our collections are particularly strong in Agriculture, Engineering, Health Sciences, Marine Sciences, and other STEM disciplines. Our collections are enhanced by materials supporting the liberal arts, social sciences, and more.

Government Publications

OSU Libraries is a designated depository library for publications from the U.S. government and provides access to a wealth of other governmental information including from the State of Oregon.

Map Collection

We have a wide range of maps: road maps, geologic maps, soils maps, topographic and other maps showing physical features, political maps, bathymetric charts and many more. We subscribe to Digital Sanborn maps, and as a federal depository library, we receive government maps. Historic maps can be found in our Special Collections and Archives.

Microform, Print, & Online Newspapers

We hold a large current and historical newspaper collection, with emphasis on meeting curricular needs.

Collection Values Framework

In support of the work OSU Libraries undertakes to ensure equitable access to a diverse collection of resources, these values outline the framework in which we build and maintain collections.  We regularly evaluate our approach to applying the values as the need demands and on an ongoing basis.

• Collaboration
  • Work with interested parties to ensure new and existing programs are supported through collections.
  • Include all community voices to build and maintain the collection.
• Compassion
  • Exercise compassion towards ourselves and others to give this work meaning and value.  People are the reason that we have a collection and it is people who do the work and make the decisions to collect and maintain this collection.
• Discovery
  • Make our collections consistently discoverable by mediating discovery to create a better user experience, and by creating support tools that meet users where they are.
• Diversity
  • Reflect the breadth of experiences our OSU community of learners and researchers bring, including their varied linguistic, format, and educational needs.
  • Recognizing that our community extends beyond OSU to the state of Oregon, we seek to understand the changing needs of this community in order to inform our collections decisions.
• Equity of Access
  • Reduce barriers and ensure access to the content and formats needed by the OSU community and people of Oregon.
  • Respond to the needs of our community in order to provide access to learning and research tools, materials, equipment and services to support work inside and outside the classroom or lab.
• Learner Affordability
  • Support courses to minimize or reduce the overall costs to learners.
• User Data Privacy
  • Steward our user data and purge user data that is no longer needed for library business purposes.
  • We do not collect user data without reason.
  • We do not sell user data. We do not support selling identifiable user data. We advocate against these practices by third parties.
• Stewardship
  • Make the collection useful by strategically deselecting and maintaining what is available.
  • Adapt to the changing needs of the community via access to formats that meet the current and future needs of users.
  • Preserve the scholarly record via access through various formats and by working with other institutions to ensure access continues.
• Transparency
  • Show how we make our decisions and the reasons behind them. Use data to drive decisions, and share that process on our website. Provide insight into how we make our decisions to keep the community informed and demystify the process.

The purpose of OSU Libraries’ collection is to support researcher and learner success. As stated in OSULP’s Mission and Vision, the Libraries seek to “engage with the OSU community and the people of Oregon in their pursuit of knowledge, thereby advancing the role of OSU as a nationally recognized land grant university.” Our collection activities support the widest possible access to materials and contribute to the development, management, and preservation of knowledge. We are committed to stewarding a collection through collaborative approaches to collection development. A collection that supports local needs, builds an intellectual environment, and enhances discovery.

We build collections that reflect the diversity of the global human experience and we seek to provide equitable access regardless of a person’s background or views. We strive to uphold ALA’s Core Values of Librarianship, and so we endeavor to ensure “all information resources that are provided directly or indirectly by the library, regardless of technology, format, or methods of delivery, should be readily, equally, and equitably accessible to all library users.”

OSU Libraries support the principles of intellectual freedom and oppose censorship of library resources. It is our responsibility to provide resources and information, and we challenge censorship in fulfilling that goal. We believe that resources should not be restricted due to the history or affiliations of the author.

OSU Libraries support the right to privacy and confidentiality of all people regardless of origin, age, background, or views. OSU Libraries protect to the best of our ability all library use data and personal information and advocate for privacy.

Reviewed: 05/25/22

This statement was informed by the following resources:

Review our current Collection Development Policies related to Course Support, Subscription Decisions, Electronic Resources, Rightsizing, Datasets, OSU Authors, and Preservation or, refer to the tabs included on this page on the left side navigation menu.

OSU Libraries regularly reviews Curricular Proposals, for new and revised programs. As part of this review, we evaluate existing database, journal, book, and other materials for our holdings and for gaps. As funding is made available new content is identified, trialed (as applicable), and added to meet new curricular programs.

In 2014, OSU Libraries shifted from a subject based liaison model to a collection coordination council.  The membership consisted of the Resource Acquisitions and Sharing department head, the collection assessment librarian, the Guin branch librarian, two faculty librarians to represent science and social science/humanities, and the acquisitions manager.  The faculty librarian appointments rotated out every two years and all others were standing members.

The council was charged with the following work:

• Serve as an advisory body to the Director of the Resource Acquisitions and Sharing Department with regard to the policies and priorities relating to OSU Libraries' & Press collections.
• Review and recommend to the Director of the Resource Acquisitions and Sharing Department the allocation of the library materials budget according to the research, instructional, and service needs of the university.
• Review and establish policies and objectives for the development and management of the OSU Libraries & Press collections, including both traditional forms and digital information of all types.
• Ensure effective communication, promotion and coordination internal to and external to OSU Libraries & Press regarding collections and collection issues.

In 2017, the model was adjusted to stop faculty rotations to expand it to library personnel across the library.  All members of the acquisitions unit were added.  To address this change, additional communication requirements were added including monthly emails to the entire organization to update on current collection reviews and upcoming decisions, and adding working meetings, as needed, to discuss collection strategies and maintenance.

Collection Council meets weekly via Zoom.  Questions for the council can be sent to libcolldevdept@oregonstate.edu.

Current Collection Council Members:

Jane Nichols, Interim Resource Acquisitions and Sharing Director

Taylor Ralph, Collection Assessment Librarian

Claire Semadeni, Invoicing & Payments

David Irvin, Guin Library Director

April Witteveen, OSU Cascades Library Director

Ian Scofield, E-Resources Manager

Elaine Goff, E-Resources Specialist

Debbie DuTell, Print Acquisitions

Sagan Wallace, LEAD Evening Supervisor

Emeritus

Kerri Goergen-Doll, Associate Dean of Libraries

Mary Markland, retired