Guin Library

“A School for the People: A Photographic History of Oregon State University” is a new and photo-filled book published by OSU Press and written by Lawrence A. Landis, longtime archivist at the Valley Library’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center. “A School for the People” is overflowing with visual riches as it documents the history of the OSU campus. The book will appeal to OSU faculty and staff, students, and alumni. 

The author will talk about the book at an event at the Valley Library on November 20. This event will be on the library’s fifth floor in the Reading Room of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Refreshments will be available starting at 4:00, and the author’s presentation will begin at 5:00.

 “A School for the People” tells the story of OSU’s nearly 150 years as a land grant institution through more than 500 photographs, maps, documents, and extensive captions. In-depth chapters focus on themes such as campus development, the growth of academics, the evolution of research as a major focus of the university, campus life and organizations, and, of course, athletics. A capsule history includes many of the iconic photographs associated with the university. 

As one of the first colleges and universities to offer photography as part of its curriculum in the early 1890s, OSU is well documented visually. Most of those photographic treasures have made their way into the holdings of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center at OSU’s Valley Library. Gleaned from hundreds of thousands of images at the center, many of the photos included here have never before been seen by the general public.  

For more info or to purchase the book, go to http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/school-for-people.