Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Learning Commons
Welcome! Let's Begin the Tour:
- The University of Washington Libraries is a decentralized system with 22 locations including:
- The Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Learning Commons -- serves as the primary center for undergraduate learning, research, teaching, and technology at the University of Washington helping to turn information into knowledge.
Contained within Odegaard is the largest course reserve system for disciplines not served by a branch library, the UW Libraries Media Center,
and the 400-seat Learning Commons computing facility, a collaboration between the UW Libraries and Catalyst.
Odegaard also houses a writing and research center. All of which make Odegaard one of the largest and most collaborative undergraduate libraries in the country.
- Designed in the late 1960's by the architectural firm of Kirk, Wallace, McKinley and Associates and completed in 1972, the library was the dream of then-President of the University of Washington, Charles Odegaard, for whom the library is named. President Odegaard envisioned a library learning environment which would provide study and teaching space, specialized services, and a collection of books, periodicals and media materials to meet the unique needs of undergraduate students on campus.
- Under university facilities master planning, Phase I completed in 1997 and Phase II in 2000, Odegaard was rennovated to improve and expand services. Rennovation included construction of a computer lab, and collaborative study and teaching spaces. Increased ethernet access was made available for laptop computers, and express email access was enhanced. In addition, improved and expanded copy center facilities, service points for administration, building-entry, periodical browsing, reference, multi-media access, and material check-out were developed.
- Computing & Communications at the University of Washington began bringing wireless networking to many campus buildings and classrooms during the 2002 Academic year. Wireless service is available on all floors of Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Learning Commons.
- Located a short distance from the entrance is the Information/Checkout Desk. At this service point
library users can receive several circulation services including: materials checkout, place and pickup holds, renew borrowed items, obtain items on closed reserves, and get quick information help.
- Members of the University community can reserve group study rooms and other collaborative spaces such as, the Digital Audio Workstation, Collaborative Studios, and Digial Presentation Studio.
- New book acquisitions are on display in front of the Information/Checkout Desk. Odegaard also maintains an electronic list of its new acquisitions, updated monthly.
Display Areas
- Odegaard Undergraduate Library (OUGL) welcomes displays of original art and educational materials that support the academic mission of the University Libraries. Odegaard has display areas available on the first, second, and third floors.
- Educational Partnerships and Learning Technologies, in collaboration with the UW Libraries applied for, and received, Student Technology funding to expand the computing services currently available in eight library units on campus: Suzzallo-Allen, OUGL, Foster Business Library, the Engineering Library, the Architecture & Urban Planning Library, the Drama Library, the East Asia Library, and the Social Work Library.
- Catalyst maintains two wired classrooms specially designed for computer-based instruction, experimental education, and student collaboration in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. These facilities are available to faculty to reserve free of charge and are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- All Catalyst classrooms are equipped with LCD projectors, connected to the instructor workstation.
- Course reserves are designed to provide access to materials in high demand. Some items are in specific units, while access to electronic materials is available through electronic reserves
Odegaard houses the campuses largest course reserves collection.
- Users need a University ID or other Libraries borrower's card to checkout material located on Odegaard's reserve shelves.
- Those items appearing on electronic reserves may be access with an UWNetID.
- Odegaard maintains a portion ot its circulating book collection on the first and third floors. The Library of Congress classification A - DX can be found on the first floor with the remainder of the collection E - Z located on the third floor.
Odegaard Periodicals
First Floor
- Includes general interest periodicals as well as scholarly journals arranged alphabetically by title (journal name).
- Newer issues are located in the display shelves in the Periodical reading area and are arranged by title.
- The collection is non-circulating.
- Odegaard provides access to a large number of periodical titles in electronic format. Many of these are available full-text. Older issues of some titles are also available on microfilm located in orange cabinets.
- Self-service microfilm printers are also available (which only accept coins as payment).
- A full service coppy center is available on the first floor of Odegaard.
- Course packs
- Print in black and white or color
- Binding services
- Add money to Husky Card account
- FAX and Federal Express services are also available.
- The UW Libraries Media Center occupies the mezzanine level of Odegaard.
- The Media Center houses the Libraries' main collection of audiovisual materials consisting of more than 25,000 items in a variety of formats including VHS videotapes, DVD videodiscs, compact discs, and audiotapes.
Today, computing is as much an integral part of library service for students, faculty, and staff as providing a quiet place to study or
read.
- Odegaard houses a 350-seat computing facility which occupies most of the second floor. In this space students are able to perform general and complex computing activities, and search library digital resources to complete class assignments.
Also available on the second floor:
- Reference/Help Desk
- Reference Collection
- Career Resources Collection
- Group Study Rooms (Available on the second and third floors) Many have monitors and DVD/VCR players
- Display Space
- Odegaard has two Collaboration Studios
funded in 2005 by the Student Technology Fee. The Collaboration Studio facilitates collaboration through a large display visible to all group members, representing a "public desktop."
- Digital Audio Workstation
provides high-end professional tools for recording and editing audio. It was funded through the Student Technology Fee Committee in 2001. The DAW has a comprehensive set of hardware and software that can handle any project, regardless of size, from tracking and editing all the way through the mastering and duplication phases.
- Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology is designed to provide walk-in assistance to UW faculty and staff who have questions about educational technology.
- 100-seat multimedia room
- The Odegaard Videoconference Studio (OVS) allows groups that are geographically separated to meet and collaborate through the use of video conferencing technologies. The studio is designed to be flexible and can accommodate connectivity with most far end locations.
- The OVS is purpose built and features stadium style seating that can accommodate 16 people comfortably. Those seated in the studio are captured by an automated high-definition camera system and individual microphones. Directly in front of those seated are three 50-inch plasma screens on which far-end participants can be viewed.
- The Odegaard Writing & Research Center (OWRC) is the result of collaboration between the UW Libraries, the Graduate School, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
- The OWRC utilizes a research-integrated approach to writing instruction, with tutors and UW librarians working together to help students navigate the complex world of information.
- The Digital Presentation Studio (DPS) is a space to practice presentations, and record those sessions for later review. The DPS is made up of a presentation laptop connected to a plasma display, a mounted camera with microphone system, and a simple control station to start and stop the recording. The room also provides a small seating area for an audience.
- Watch this video made using the DPS. The recordings produced in the DPS require Quicktime 7 or greater for playback. Quicktime can be downloaded for free from Apple Computer.
A variety of library services are available to visitors, including
open use of the collection, specialized fee-based information services, as well
as library borrowing privileges to qualified users.
End Of Tour
Don't hesitate to ask questions. Odegaard houses several collections and offer varied services, so it may be difficult for you to find what you need.
The library staff is here to help you.
Please send additions, corrections, or suggestions to ougl@u.washington.edu
Last modified: Wednesday March 05 2008
Entrance 
Computer Classrooms
Course Reserves 
Odegaard Stacks
Copy Center
UW Libraries Media Center
Learning Commons
Video Conference Studio 
Writing Center
Digital Presentation Studio
