Welcome to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center!

Please note: The Linus Pauling Nobel Prize medals have been relocated to the new Student Welcome Center, located in the southwest corner of Reser Stadium. The Welcome Center is open to the public, and the medals are viewable without an appointment during Welcome Center hours (8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday - Friday). For more information, please reach out to Welcome Center staff by email at visit.osu@oregonstate.edu, or by phone at (541) 737-2626.

From the south:

From I-5 South, take Exit 228, and turn left onto HWY 34. Follow HWY 34 for 11.5 miles. As you cross the Willamette River and enter Corvallis, HWY 34 becomes Harrison Boulevard. Stay on Harrison to NW 14th Street; turn left on NW 14th Street. The university entrance closest to the Valley Library is at the intersection of Jefferson and NW 14th. Parking Lot A2 will be to your left on Jefferson at this intersection.

From the north:

From I-5 North, take Exit 228, and turn right onto HWY 34. Follow HWY 34 for 11.5 miles. As you cross the Willamette River and enter Corvallis, HWY 34 becomes Harrison Boulevard. Stay on Harrison to NW 14th Street; turn left on NW 14th Street. The university entrance closest to the Valley Library is at the intersection of Jefferson and NW 14th. Parking Lot A3, will be to your left on Jefferson at this intersection.

The Special Collections and Archives Reading Room is located on the 5th floor of the Valley Library. On exiting the elevator, turn left into the main concourse; SCARC is ahead on your left.

• The outermost set of doors leading into our exhibit gallery will be open 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday to provide access to the exhibit.
• The interior / second set of doors leading into the SCARC Reading Room are closed, but unlocked, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. While you are welcome to enter through these doors, we will not provide access to our materials without an appointment.
• During our Open House hours, the second set of doors leading to the SCARC Reading Room will be open.
• Visitors are always welcome to visit our Reading Room, ask questions, and chat with us about our collections and services!

There are a number of options for parking on campus and its environs for visiting SCARC.  The Campus Parking Main Page gives information for visitors and details about parking permits and lots available for hourly and daily parking.  Also included are Campus Parking and Shuttle Maps and route details for the Beaver Bus (free on campus transportation!).  If you are commuting in from off-campus, Corvallis city buses are also free and their schedules are available online as well.  

The pay-to-park lot closest to the Valley Library is the Lot A3 at the corner of 14th and Jefferson Way. Please note that this lot often fills by early morning when classes are in session.

Daily, visitor parking permits for various zones can be ordered online here: Daily permits. They can also be purchased on campus anywhere on the parking map you see a blue “P.”

Checking the “Parking Closures” page will help you plan your trip and alert you to changes or closures related to campus parking!

Street parking, especially when classes are in session, can be challenging. If you arrive early enough, and don’t mind walking half a mile or so, there is often parking north of Harrison Boulevard between Grace Lutheran Church (435 NW 21st St, Corvallis, OR 97330), NW Fillmore Avenue, and Chintimini Park. Please note that parking in the Grace Lutheran parking lot is prohibited, and you may be towed if you do; parking behind the church, on NW 21st, is permitted.

A long, sloped path leads from the corner of SW Jefferson Way and SW Benton Place, past the Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center and the Pharmacy Building, eventually connecting to paths through the Library's quad to the north / main entrance of the Library. Alternately, there are two sets of automatic, button-activated doors at the entrance to the Library's coffee shop (Java II) on the east side of the building, directly across from the Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center. From the coffee shop, patrons can take an elevator to the second / main floor of the Library.

SCARC's Reading Room is on the fifth floor of the Valley Library, and is accessible via two sets of elevators (see floor map). Two sets of manual double doors lead into SCARC's Reading Room; when open, each doorway is approximately 45 inches wide. The tables in SCARC's Reading Room are ADA-compliant, and tall enough to accommodate a wheelchair or similar mobility device.

All restrooms in the Valley Library include accessible stalls with grab bars. Restrooms on the main / second floor of the Valley Library are gender neutral, or gender-inclusive. There are men’s and women’s restrooms accessible on other floors, along with additional, single-user gender-inclusive restrooms on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors.

There are a number of restaurants to visit during your lunch or dinner breaks, both on campus, and within walking distance of campus (i.e. less than a quarter mile from the Valley Library). If you exit the Library’s quad-side doors, turn left, and follow SW 26th Street, you will intersect with NW Monroe Avenue, where you’ll find everything from burger joints (McMenamins) and dive bars (Clodfelters), to southwestern (Bomb's Away Cafe) and Thai (Tarn Tip Thai). Trip Advisor has a list of the Top 10 Restaurants on Monroe, and a list of on-campus eateries can be found on OSU’s Housing and Dining site.

The Hilton Garden Inn is the only on-campus hotel in Corvallis; the East and Northeast Beaver Bus lines pass directly in front of the Hilton, making commuting to the heart of campus easy and convenient. Additional hotels, most of which are on or close to Corvallis Transit District bus lines, can be found by searching for “Hotels near Oregon State University.” The main Corvallis tourist information site, “Visit Corvallis,” also has useful lists of local hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

For researchers planning a longer visit to SCARC, OSU’s Scholar Housing Program offers rooms at a range of price points, all dependent on the dates of your stay. The majority of the on-campus scholar housing is in dormitories.