The Oregon Collection

The Albany Public Library has long maintained a group of books called the Oregon Collection. These books, all dealing with some aspect of our home state, are entered in the library catalog, but they cannot be checked out: they must be examined in the library. Several years ago, the collection was moved to the Carnegie library’s basement, where they are rarely seen or used. A number of the books are obsolete or otherwise of little use to today’s library patrons, but most are worth making available.

“These items cannot be checked out.” Soon, you can check them out!

The Foundation board investigated the Oregon Collection and proposed that the books should be reviewed: those worth retaining should be placed on the shelves for circulation, and the remainder should be offered to another institution, such as the Albany Regional Museum or another library.

After discussions with Library Director Eric Ikenouye and Carnegie librarian Jason Darling approved the project, the Foundation’s president, Richard Engeman, volunteered to review each of the 850+ volumes and advise on their disposition. Richard, himself a retired librarian and historian, will be at the Carnegie every Thursday until the job is completed. When it is done, Albany library patrons will find many older titles newly available for checkout!

Some titles that will appear on your library shelves soon:

• The Bridge of the Gods, by Frederick Homer Balch (1890). A novel of Indian life before Lewis and Clark based on lore and legend, fact and fiction, it is an Oregon classic despite its flaws.
• Railroads Down the Valleys, by Randall V. Mills (1950). History and folklore around Oregon railroads of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, such as the 1880s route from Albany to Yaquina.
• A Touch of Oregon, by Ralph Friedman (1970). Essays about fascinating Oregon places and people by a well-traveled and expert story-teller.