William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library
Encyclopedia
The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library is the main library
at Ohio State University
's Columbus
campus. The library was closed for renovation in July 2006, but it reopened its doors to students and patrons on August 3, 2009 after an extensive, multi-year renovation project. It is named in honor of the university's fifth president, William Oxley Thompson
.
and social sciences
, reference, special collections, rare books and manuscripts, university archives, journals and general interest periodicals. Departmental subject libraries include literature
, foreign language
by region, linguistics
, philosophy
, religion
, theater, anthropology
, history
, sociology
, and political science
.
Of the system's 5.8 million volumes, the Thompson Library was home to approximately 1 million prior to renovations in 2007. Following renovations and despite an overall expansion of the building some of these collections will be distributed to other libraries and the capacity of main stacks is expected to be reduced by some 20%. As with all of OSU's libraries, the contents of the main library are included in the system's electronic catalog OSCAR. Books stored at any library location or the book depository can be requested and retrieved at an on-campus location of your choice, generally within 24 hours.
, were charged with bringing the library to life. Later that year, Allen and Collins drew up a formal proposal, which they presented to OSU's Board of Trustees for approval. Once approved, the firm was allowed to seek bids from construction contractors. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44 On December 7, 1910 six contractors were selected for their various areas of expertise. Ground was broken two days before Christmas and construction was completed two years later on December 18, 1912. Following completion, books were moved and the library was officially open to the university community on January 6, 1913. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44
The library has been renovated or expanded three times since its original date of construction. The first addition, a massive extension of the original three-floor structure, the addition of at 10-story tower, as well as single story extensions to the north and south ends of the east entrance. This first renovation was completed on June 2, 1951. The second expansion added an unadorned modern extension to the west wing, finished on January 5, 1977. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44 A new, third, $108 million dollar renovation of the building began on January 10, 2007 and was completed in the Summer of 2009. The 2007-09 renovation included hazardous materials abatement, replacement and expansion of the 1977 addition, and restoration of the building's original east facade. The library was finally made open to the public on August 3, 2009, and it was officially dedicated on September 24, 2009.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
campus. The library was closed for renovation in July 2006, but it reopened its doors to students and patrons on August 3, 2009 after an extensive, multi-year renovation project. It is named in honor of the university's fifth president, William Oxley Thompson
William Oxley Thompson
William Oxley Thompson, D.D. , born in Cambridge, Ohio, was the fifth President of The Ohio State University. Thompson was educated at Muskingum College and Western Theological Seminary. An ordained minister, Thompson spent the first half of his career in Presbyterian ministry...
.
Library Information
The Ohio State University ("OSU") library system includes 55 individual libraries and collections. Of them, the Thompson is the single largest collection of volumes and periodicals on campus. In addition to housing main stacks and serving as the central research library for the entire campus, the Thompson Library is also home to many of the subject libraries in the humanitiesHumanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, reference, special collections, rare books and manuscripts, university archives, journals and general interest periodicals. Departmental subject libraries include literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
by region, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, theater, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
Of the system's 5.8 million volumes, the Thompson Library was home to approximately 1 million prior to renovations in 2007. Following renovations and despite an overall expansion of the building some of these collections will be distributed to other libraries and the capacity of main stacks is expected to be reduced by some 20%. As with all of OSU's libraries, the contents of the main library are included in the system's electronic catalog OSCAR. Books stored at any library location or the book depository can be requested and retrieved at an on-campus location of your choice, generally within 24 hours.
History
The design team for the original building was selected in 1910 through an architectural competition. The winners of the competition, Allen and Collins of BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, were charged with bringing the library to life. Later that year, Allen and Collins drew up a formal proposal, which they presented to OSU's Board of Trustees for approval. Once approved, the firm was allowed to seek bids from construction contractors. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44 On December 7, 1910 six contractors were selected for their various areas of expertise. Ground was broken two days before Christmas and construction was completed two years later on December 18, 1912. Following completion, books were moved and the library was officially open to the university community on January 6, 1913. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44
The library has been renovated or expanded three times since its original date of construction. The first addition, a massive extension of the original three-floor structure, the addition of at 10-story tower, as well as single story extensions to the north and south ends of the east entrance. This first renovation was completed on June 2, 1951. The second expansion added an unadorned modern extension to the west wing, finished on January 5, 1977. http://herrick.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/building.asp?building=44 A new, third, $108 million dollar renovation of the building began on January 10, 2007 and was completed in the Summer of 2009. The 2007-09 renovation included hazardous materials abatement, replacement and expansion of the 1977 addition, and restoration of the building's original east facade. The library was finally made open to the public on August 3, 2009, and it was officially dedicated on September 24, 2009.