Category Archives: OSU_Press

Three New SCARC Finding Aids Added in December 2019

The three new collections added were received by SCARC in 2015 and are now available to researchers through the Archon finding aid database. Additionally, two out of these three new collections are electronic, as they were born-digital and digitized, representing 38.4 Gigabytes of new archival material. The addition of these finding aids brings the total number of collections available through the Special Collections and Archives Research Center to 1,026 as of January 1, 2020.

Read more about these new collections below:


Raul Peña Collection, 1968-2005 (MSS Peña)

The Raul Peña Collection consists of Peña’s personal scrapbook and a compilation of video-recorded news stories depicting the struggles of migrant farm workers in Oregon during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Peña served in the U.S. Army and Oregon Army National Guard in the 1970s and 1980s, and advocated for migrant worker rights through his work for the Bureau of Labor and Industries in the late 1980s and 1990s.  This collection consists of digitized versions of the scrapbook and video content.

Roy Philippi and Beth Miller Philippi Scrapbooks, 1915-1943 (MSS Philippi)

The Roy Philippi and Beth Miller Philippi Scrapbooks were assembled by Oregon Agricultural College student Roy Philippi and his daughter-in-law, Beth Miller Philippi, herself an alumna of Oregon State College. The scrapbooks document student life at Oregon State College during World War I and the beginning of World War II, primarily through candid snapshots and newspaper clippings.

The Beth Miller Philippi scrapbook is in fragile condition and a digital surrogate should be consulted as a primary source of access. This surrogate is available in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center Reading Room, or remotely upon request.  The collection includes 232 photographs.

Oregon State University Libraries and Press Oral History Collection, 2018-2019 (OH 041)

The Oregon State University Libraries and Press (OSULP) Oral History Collection primarily consists of audio-recorded interviews conducted with current employees of the OSU Libraries and the OSU Press, all of which were structured using a set script of interview questions. A smaller subset of the collection is comprised of more individually tailored interviews with former employees of the OSU Libraries. Members of each OSULP branch and department are represented in the collection, which includes interviews with library faculty, staff and student workers. Online access to the interviews, as well as a promotional video, is provided through a dedicated project homepage.  The collection includes 50 oral history interviews.

Fresh news from the OSU Press!

It’s true, I am a shameless promoter of all things related to the OSU Press…Today the “First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies” publishing initiative announced the launch of its new website!

What will the website do? Officially, it will “serve as a tool to broaden the reach and audiences for the books they publish on Indigenous studies.”  But really, it’s a great place to go to read their blog, learn about the books, check out their Twitter feed, find upcoming events, and just get lost exploring…

Want the details on the initiative? In January 2009, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded four university presses a grant to established an innovative partnership. Seeking the best and most robust scholarship by junior authors whose publications will contribute to the development of the field, the grant supports both the publication of 40 books over four years and the collaboration of the presses to further scholarly communication in the field of Indigenous studies.

Who is involved? University of Arizona Press, University of Minnesota Press, University of North Carolina Press, and (of course) Oregon State University Press.

Free up your Friday!

stubborntwig.jpgLauren Kessler, author of an award-winning book on a Japanese-American family, will read from her work at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, in The Valley Library’s rotunda. The winner of an Oregon Book Award and published by the OSU Press, “Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family” was chosen by the Oregon Library Association for its statewide Oregon Reads program to celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday.

To learn more about the event, read the OSU Media Release or read the Gazette Times article.

More information about “Stubborn Twig” can be found on the OSU Press site.