Goldthwait Polar Library

The Goldthwait Polar Library

The library provides an information technology-enabled, collaborative space for research, workshops and other events. The library space is available for immediate use and the library collection can be accessed by appointment. Please contact cook.942@osu.edu for more information.


About

The Goldthwait Polar Library, established in 1969, contains materials relevant to the polar and alpine regions of the world.  The library is named after Dr. Richard Parker Goldthwait, the founder and first director of the Institute of the Polar Studies, now the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. Dr. Goldthwait donated his personal collection of reprints, journals and books to the Institute and that became the nucleus of the library.

The primary mission of the library is to support the informational needs of the research scientists and graduate students of the Center.  Subject areas covered include:  glaciology, Antarctic geology, global climate change, polar ecology, polar meteorology and the history of polar exploration.

  • In 2013 the library completed the digitization of BPCRC publications. They are now available in Ohio State's institutional repository, The Knowledge Bank. Future publications will be added as they are published. Reports in the Knowledge Bank are open access.
  • The library is not officially a department library of The Ohio State University Libraries, but the monographic holdings are available in their online catalog. The library follows their circulation policies and procedures; most of the material circulates. The Goldthwait Polar Library is the designation for the library in the online catalog.
  • Rare historical volumes in the library include Sir Ernest Shackleton’s The Heart of the Antarctic and The British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909, signed by Shackleton and Sir Douglas Mawson, and signed copies of Admiral Byrd’s books, Little America, Discovery, Skyward and Alone.

Location

Goldthwait Polar Library
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
176 Scott Hall
1090 Carmack Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1002

Contact Us to Request to Use the Space

Email: cook.942@osu.edu
Phone: 614-292-6531
Fax: 614-292-4697
Hours: Open limited hours; please call before visiting.

The library rooms, the main room number 176, and the two smaller meeting room numbers 176a and 176b can be requested and reserved through Microsoft Outlook. 

Online Frequently Used Resources:

Engineer Research and Development Center online collection Knowledge Core to access copies of Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory:  https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/xmlui/