The Courtright Memorial Library is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members – and we serve over 250,000 people per year. Our users describe us as “a place of community that drives innovation in the ways we learn and is the heart of the campus.”

We are proud members of the OPAL, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio consortia, which allows us to provide our users access to hundreds of electronic databases and millions of books, eBooks, and journals. Our collection includes books, music, juvenile, games, DVDs, streaming videos, and many types of equipment such as laptops, cameras, and bikes. The library also houses the university archive, which includes the history of the University and materials on the United Brethren Church, the institution that founded the University in 1847.

The library’s staff members are available to help you succeed here at Otterbein, by helping you find the information you need. Stop by the Customer Service Desk to ask questions or email your Personal Librarian directly. You can also Ask a Librarian via chat, email,  text, or get social with us through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you need assistance finding your way around the library, take a look at our Welcome LibGuide.

Library News & Events

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Meet Irish Wolfhounds at Our Doggy Destresser


Posts - November 26, 2024
Are finals stressing you out? Do you love dogs? Take a break and cuddle your stress away with two Irish Wolfhounds, brought by Professor Candyce Canzoneri and her friend! They will be here at the Courtright Memorial Library, 1st floor alcove, from 12pm to 1pm on Thursday, December 5th. We hope to see you there!

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Warm Up at Our Finals Café


Posts - November 22, 2024
Finals will be here before you know it, so come relax at our Finals Café! It will be on Wednesday, December 4th from 6pm to 8pm, at the Courtright Memorial Library, on the 1st floor. Warm up with some free coffee, tea, or hot cocoa from our beverage bar, grab a fidget toy or coloring page, and learn how to use M&Ms and Skittles as a study tool. Drop-In Tutoring from the Academic Support Center will also be available. The…

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American Laodyssey


Posts - September 18, 2024
When: September 24, 2024, 5PM Where: Library Common Book Atrium (2nd floor) Bryan Thao Worra '97 2023-2025 embodies the 50th anniversary of the Lao diaspora connected to the Vietnam War and the Laotian Civil War affected by the US Secret War in Laos from 1959-1974 depending on the accounts you read. Class of '97 student Bryan Thao Worra was among the first of those to arrive in the US in the aftermath of those wars and much of his literary career…

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Digital Commons @ Otterbein

The Digital Commons @ Otterbein is an institutional repository of digital materials that includes faculty scholarship, student projects, historical documents, videos, photographs, video, and other information that benefits the university community. It provides persistent and centralized access, with the aim to preserve and provide a long-term home to research and scholarly activities at Otterbein.

Otterbein University Archives

The Otterbein University Archive is our historical repository. It contains the materials that tell the story of the school, including publications, documents, photographs, and historical artifacts. The Archive also contains materials related to the history of the United Brethren Church, which founded Otterbein in 1847, and its successive denominations.

Public Notice Regarding the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Section 106 Review of Otterbein University Plans to Install Compact Shelving in the Courtright Memorial Library

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Otterbein University, in Westerville, Ohio, a Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grant (PF-293430-23). The project will develop a plan to install Compact Shelving at the university’s library to protect and contain the university’s archives.

NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. This public notice is issued as part of NEH’s responsibilities under 36 C.F.R. Part 800, the regulations which implement Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, 54 U.S.C. 306108. NEH, a funding agency, is required by regulation to identify and assess the effects of any proposed actions on historic properties. If any proposed action will have an adverse effect on historic resources, NEH works with the appropriate parties to seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects. Additionally, the Section 106 regulations require NEH to consider the views of the public on preservation issues when making final decisions that affect historic properties.

The Courtright Memorial Library 138 W. Main St., Westerville, OH, 43081, ), which opened to the public in 1972, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its Brutalist architecture. The area of potential effect is limited to building’s footprint. It is not anticipated that there will be a need for any structural changes to the building for this project, but to add shelving units in the same footprint and area which is currently holding the archives.

On November 21, 2024, Abigail Rosenow, Project Reviews Manager for the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), indicated that the project will have no adverse effect. After reviewing Section 106 documentation and SHPO finding, NEH issues a determination of no adverse effects. Should there be any changes that require structural modification to the building, the University will contact NEH and the SHPO to determine if additional review under Section 106 is required.

As required by Section 106, NEH is providing the public with information about this project, as well as an opportunity to comment on any knowledge of, or concerns with, historic properties in the proposed project area, and issues relating to the project’s potential effects on historic properties. Comments may be submitted to the NEH by e-mail to FPO@neh.gov. The deadline for submitting comments is Friday, January 3, 2025.

Please see the Library’s full Schedule of Operations for additional information.

Contact the Library

138 West Main Street.
Westerville, OH 43081
614-823-1215
library@otterbein.edu

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