For hours during quarter breaks, holidays and Summer Quarter, contact the location or consult the listing of libraries hours.

The William Oxley Thompson Library, or Main Library contains collections of books, journals, and reference sources for the study of numerous disciplines particularly those in the humanities and social sciences. The location code MAIN refers to the materials housed in the stack tower. The collections include literature, linguistics, philology, philosophy, religion, theater, anthropology, history, sociology, and political science. 

The first floor houses the Information Services Department, and contains collections that include encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, indexes, bibliographies, guides, newspapers, periodicals, microforms and other reference works. The Library Administration is also housed in the Main Library building, as well as some other services.

• Circulation Department

• Government Documents (DOC)

• Microforms/Periodicals (PRR)

• Reference (REF)

• Administrative Services

• Business Office 

• Friends of the Libraries

• Interlibrary Loan Office (ILL)

(Map of first floor)

Located on the second and third floors of the Main library are reading rooms that contain selected non-circulating reference resources, current and bound journals, primary and critical texts, and may circulating materials. The following are the reading rooms you will find on the second floor:

• Black Studies (BSL)
• English Theater, and Communications (ETC)
• History, Political Science, and Philosophy (HIS)
• Map Room (MAP)
• Women's Studies (WMN)

(Map of second floor)

The third floor of the Main Library houses reading rooms that contain specialized language and area studies collections in the following areas:

• East Asian (EAS)

• East European and Slavic (EES)

• Jewish Studies (JDC)

• Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese (LAT)

• Linguistics and Western European Languages (WEL)

• Middle East (MES)

(Map of third floor) 

Graduate Student Carrel Information. Carrel space is assigned by lottery to OSU faculty and Graduate students as it becomes available. Two people are assigned to a carrel and are to arrange between themselves the hours each will use the carrel. A $30 refundable key deposit is required when the carrel is assigned. Assignments can be renewed once a year. As a carrel patron you cannot be on the library sanction list.

For more information contact the carrel coordinator Loretta Smith , Deck 9 Main Library, 1858 Neil Avenue Mall, 
(614) 247 6710.

Location of Books in Main Stacks