OSU 18th Avenue Library

A great on campus library and study area for those in the engineering field of endeavor, but I lamely come here for the coffee shop.
This student staffed place on the first floor in the SW corner can be packed in between classes, but if you can get here at a shorter wait time, it’s fantastic. Coffee, tea, cold drinks (the mysteriously named frozen hot chocolate for me) are delightful and reasonably priced in the Starbucks world we all now inhabit. You can pay with Buck ID, cash, or credit cards.
And the food… good bagels, salads, wraps, chips, and some premade goodies. All in all, a neat little place to stumble upon when you think all you are getting is engineering work terminals.
Limited hours when classes are not in session. I think the place is called the Byte Café, or some other lame Eighties computer reference, but don’t let that deter you. Halt and Catch Fire with this convenient eatery.

My absolute favorite study spot since I first arrived on campus. It has it all! The bottom floor has Terra Byte, one of the best crimson cup coffee locations on campus with an awesome staff. (But in between classes the line gets a little too long) The fourth floor is study central since it has been dubbed the quiet floor. I’d avoid this library (and all others on campus) during finals week because good luck finding a place to sit! The building looks amazing inside since the remodel they recently finished. The library is ²⁴⁄₇ but you can only stay overnight with a buckid (they do go around and check periodically)

I’m starting to feel like I’m cheating on my reading corner in Thompson with the SEL basement. The SEL used to be a place I would grudgingly visit only for the occasional math review session or group project meeting, but with recent renovations I find myself here several times a week. New seating arrangements offer more small tables designed for 1 – 2 people so there’s no more awkward sharing of a huge table with people you don’t know and wasting space with that 1 seat buffer zone that everyone creates. There are also more conveniently placed outlets so finding a spot to charge your laptop or phone is much less of a struggle. A lot of new technology is available now as well. I’m not even positive what some of it is, but I’m pretty sure the big TVs in the basement that are at tables designed for groups are so people can hook their laptops up to it and not have to huddle around one computer. Pretty cool. Of course, it’s still open ²⁴⁄₇ which is a nice amenity for those of us who procrastinate the night before big exams/​papers are due and don’t work well at home (not that I know what that’s like…).
Well done, OSU. Very impressive updates that make this library a more useful space for both individuals and groups.

So I pretty much live my life in the music library in the SEL (which will be renamed soon). Thankfully, this library is open 24 hours, and when I walk in most mornings at 8AM, it is clear that there are many people who have taken advantage of that availability. Even with that, the SEL is always kept very clean.
I would like to rave about the staff in the music library as well. They are absolutely phenomenal, working hard to solve any problem or find any source with a smile on their faces. Great work all!
My only word of warning is to be forewarned, if you need power for your computer, do a magical outlet dance before you come in, because they are few and far between.

This place morphs into the stuff of nightmares when I pull all-​nighters inside it, but I’m still grateful for its availability.
Because the (soon-​to-​be-​renamed) Science and Engineering Library is a 24-​hour facility, the workstations aren’t always clean enough, but I guess I can deal with that. I also like the Terra Byte Café hours, and today I just wrapped up my last class at the Learning Collaboration Studio in the basement, which has some comfy desk-​and-​chair sets with wheels.
I only ask that more printers be able to print in color, please.
P. S. I took my default profile photo here, heh.

This is a nice alternative study space to some of the other libraries on campus. Also, back in the day, I think the computer lab used to be less restrictive or something, like… I don’t think you had to be a student to use it like some other locations. There’s a lot more to it than the first floor as well. The third floor is particularly good for studying, and there are some nice little nooks and crannies where you can take a nap during those late night cram sessions (yes, this library is open ²⁴⁄₇).

…it just seemed so much larger, so much more special, so «alternative» to the main library back in 1999 as I was struggling through Organic Chemistry. Stopped in for the first time in more than 10 years while wandering campus the last week of December — nothing has changed. The building is still impressive and I can still pick out my sophomore dorm window from beneath the arches.

When I wasn’t tucked away in a little hideout in the main library at OSU, my next most frequent place to wander to was the Science and Engineering Library. I am neither a scientist nor an engineer. Rather, the SEL would catch my attention first because of its architecture. It’s not the most extravagant building, architecturally, but it is nonetheless attractive. There’s something about those arches creating a cathedral feeling that made me want to stroll under them. The façade wasn’t the only reason for my visiting. On the third floor was the writing center. As soon as you came off of the elevator you were staring into the writing center through its glass doors. Inside was this cold yet postmodern style room. The chairs and computer desks were funky shaped and looked rather abstract. I would use the SEL to check out books for my science classes instead of paying for them at the bookstore, but I went to the SEL mostly to surf the Net and so have an excuse to go to the writing center. And now that the SEL is open 24/​7, you can visit it whenever you feel like it.