Jane White Jensen was a catalog assistant at the Oregon State College library from 1949 to 1951. She was born Jane White in 1926, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Pittsburgh in 1947, and her Master of Science in Library Science and history from the University of Illinois Library School in 1949. She was also a member of the American Library Association. Before coming to OSC, she worked as a cataloger at the University of Pittsburgh. She was hired at Oregon State at an annual salary of $3,100. She married Thorkel H. Jensen, a fellow assistant librarian at Oregon State, in 1950 and became Jane Jensen. In 1951, the married couple both resigned from Oregon State. Mr. Jensen planned to attend the University of Chicago and Jane Jensen accompanied him.
Bertha Emma Herse was a reference librarian at Oregon State College off and on, from 1910-1912, 1916-1922, and from 1924-1957. Herse was born in 1891, in West Point, Nebraska. She received a bachelor’s degree in 1910 and another in 1928 from Oregon Agricultural College, which would later become Oregon State College. She also received a Bachelor of Liberal Studies from New York State Library School in 1924. She was brought on to work at Oregon Agricultural College in 1910 as a loan desk assistant, but in 1912, she had to resign due to a serious knee injury. She returned in 1916 as a half-time library assistant, where she was in charge of book binding. In 1922, she requested a leave of absence to obtain her degree from the New York State Library School. She returned in 1924 and was appointed a Reference Librarian with an annual salary of $2,000. Herse was offered a library position at Bellingham State Normal School in 1929 at a salary of $2,500, but declined the offer to stay at OSC. This prompted the Oregon State library to request a pay raise for Herse to keep her on their faculty. Herse’s salary rose to $2,500 by the end of 1929. Herse requested a leave of absence in 1944 due to more troubles with her knee. She returned to work in 1945. Toward the end of her career with the library, Herse became the focus of resentment for some of the library faculty due to her salary. An anonymous letter written to President A.L. Strand claimed Herse was one of the best paid staff members in the library, yet contributed very little and carried few responsibilities. However, this letter did not hurt her career, and she retired in 1957. Herse spoke to President Strand about her unhappiness in the library during the last years of her service, but she also spoke fondly of notable librarians Ida Kidder and Lucy Lewis, who she worked with throughout her career.
Lora F. Kelts (nee Ives) was born in 1909. She worked at OSU from 1944 to 1973, beginning as a part-time Assistant Librarian in both the Serials and Reference departments. She eventually rose to the rank of Professor and Head Agriculture-Forestry Librarian, ending with a salary of $16,300 (roughly equivalent to $97,624, adjusted for inflation). She received her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles, in botany and zoology; and her librarianship certificate from University of California, Berkeley in 1942. Previously, she worked as a Junior Assistant in the reference department at U.C. College of Agriculture in Davis, California, but had to find other work when the college closed down due to the war. For a short time after, she was employed as a Junior Assistant in the reference department of Sacramento City Library, but felt her skills would be more useful in an agricultural college. She was highly respected for her work caliber and experience, so much so that the U.C. Davis Library offered her a posting and a salary increase after the war was over, which OSU was forced to match. She married Donald Kelts in 1957.
Shirley A. Drawz was an order assistant at the Oregon State College library in 1946. She was born in 1922, in Superior, Wisconsin. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the College of St. Scholactica in 1944, and her A.B.L.S. from the University of Michigan in 1946. She had previously worked as an assistant at the circulations department at the University of Michigan library before coming to OSC. She was hired for a twelve month period, with an annual salary of $2,000.
Katherine Hughes was a science librarian from 1939 to 1971. She was born in 1906 in Bellingham, Washington. She received a Bachelor of Science in Library Science from the University of Washington in 1928, and her Master of Arts from OSC in 1939. At the time an assistant science librarian, she took a leave of absence from October 1938 to June 1939 to study for her master’s degree in science at OSC. Before coming to OSC, she was an assistant at the Seattle Public Library for three years. She began at OSC as a reference assistant in 1929, and then was promoted to the Head of Science Reference Room, with the rank of assistant professor, in 1941. In 1965, she became the Chief Science and Technology Librarian, with associate professor rank, indefinite tenure, and a salary of $11,160 per year. She was promoted to the rank of full Professor in 1970, and then received Emeritus status after her retirement in 1972. After reaching the mandatory retirement age in 1971, Osborn requested an extension that enabled her to work up to her 70th birthday (5 years past mandatory retirement age). She only desired to work six more months, and submitted her resignation after that. She was hired at $1,500 per year, and resigned in 1971 at a salary of $12,675. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Sigma. She was also a member of numerous associations, including the Pacific Northwest Library Association, the Oregon Library Association ,ad the Oregon Academy of Science. She was a member of the Presbyterian church. She married John L. Osborn, who was born in 1881. Their wedding took place on March 24, 1955, and she soon changed her name to Katherine Hughes Osborn.
Elzie Herbert was an orders librarian at Oregon State College from 1920 to 1952. Herbert was born in 1887, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Before coming to work at Oregon State, she taught an introduction class to stenography at Vance Business College, and was an office manager at Black Planing Mill Co. in Pennsylvania. She was brought on as a stenographer at Oregon State in 1920 at an annual salary of $1,300. She was widowed with one daughter when she came to work at Oregon State. She was soon appointed to secretary and order clerk at the library. In 1927, she was promoted to head of the Library Order Department. She retained this position until her retirement in 1952. She passed away in 1971.
Margaret Muriel Field was an Engineering Reference Librarian at Oregon State College from 1942 to 1950. She was born in 1895, in Anoka, Minnesota. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College in 1919 and her Master of Arts from the University of California in 1933. She worked as an assistant librarian at Modesta Junior College and at the Lewiston Public Library in Idaho before coming to OSC. She was a member of the American Library Association and the Pacific Northwest Library Association. She developed an extensive knowledge of engineering literature while working at OSC, and also compiled a bibliography on the electrical heating of houses in 1946, which was published by the Bonneville Power Administration. She passed away in 1950 of a sudden stroke.
Margaret Simpson was an assistant in the engineering and technology reference room from 1944 to 1945. She was born in 1910 in Rayton, Ohio. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, with additional study in French and German, from Bowling Green State University in 1943. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Library Science from the Drexel Institute of Technology in 1946, where she studied reference methods. Before coming to OSC, she was employed for two years as a junior assistant in the Bowling Green Public library. She also worked as Chairman of Circulation in the Bowling Green State University. She was the recipient of a library scholarship at Bowling Green State University, where she was given $300 a year for two years, working 25 hours a week in the college library. She was hired at $1800 per year, and resigned in 1945, as she “did not adjust herself very well to work in our library.” Simpson accepted a position with the Clackamas County Library to oversee bookmobile services to rural areas.
Lucille Yowell Jones was an assistant in the Reference Department at the Oregon State College library from 1942 to 1943. Jones was born in 1917, in Atwater, Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Blackburn College in 1937. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois Library School in 1940. Before coming to Oregon State, Jones was a librarian at the State University of Iowa, where she was in charge of the Botany-Chemistry-Pharmacy section. She left because she was not interested in science. She was brought on to work for twelve months at an annual rate of $1,500. She was married with no children when she came to work at Oregon State. Jones resigned in 1943 to be with her husband, who was in the Navy.
