About the Library

Information about the J. W. Martin Library.

Learn about the J. W. Martin Library, what it contains, and how you can access its resources.

History

Construction of Northwestern’s library began in August of 1962.

Construction was complete by the end of 1963, and the library opened in April of 1964. The prominent sculpture in the center of the building, entitled Quest, is the creation of Duayne Hatchett, art professor at Tulsa University. The library’s front lawn originally featured a lighted fountain.

The library was eventually named the J. W. Martin Library in honor of the university president who presided over its construction. It continues to serve the NWOSU community, providing research and reading materials to the Alva cmapus as well as the satellite campuses in Enid and Woodward.

The Collection

The J. W. Martin Library houses over 114,000 volumes of printed material.

The digital collection, available through our research databases, is even larger, giving you access to millions of resources including peer-reviewed articles and eBooks.

You can search our print collection, most of our digital collection, and library holdings across the country from our online catalog.

See the guides Finding Resources and How to Use the Library for more information.

Borrowing

Our print resources, CDs, and DVDs can be checked out with your university I.D. See the page on Borrowing for more information.
If you want materials we don’t have, we can order them from another library. See the page on Interlibrary Loan for more information.

Archives & Special Collections

The University Archives and Tyler Collection are located on the second floor of the library. Our archives focuses on the history of Northwestern Oklahoma and this university.

See the Archives & Special Collections page for more information.

Computers

The J. W. Martin Library has computers for your use.

Our computer resources include the following:

Twenty desktop computers available to NWOSU students, staff, or faculty in our computer lab.
Six laptops available for 4-hour in-library use or 7-day check-out.

Printing is free for NWOSU students, staff, and faculty. Simply print from the computer lab, and your printed materials will be available at the front desk.

See the page on Computers & Printing for more information.

Research Assistance

Any of the staff or librarians will be happy to help you.

You can ask us about finding books or articles, or about completing a research assignment. However, the research and instructional services librarian has the specific job of helping you with research difficulties.

See his contact information or the page on Reference for more details.

Study Rooms

The J. W. Martin Library has twelve study rooms.

These are in addition to our tables, three lounge areas, and study carrels. The study rooms are first-come, first-serve. Simply pick an unoccupied room and start studying.

Study Room 7 contains a laptop and SMART Board. Like the other study rooms, it is available to all. However, it is kept locked. To use it, you must ask at the front desk.

Other Resources

An assortment of other resources is available at the library, including but not limited to:

Recent Releases, which include new bestsellers and other popular novels.
Digital scanner.
Photocopier (10¢ per page).
Microform reader.
Regional newspapers (see the News page for more information).

Library Staff

Quest

as Interpreted by Its Sculptor, Duayne Hatchet

The responsibility of projecting a personal statement into a pattern of work is obvious. In this case, we are involved with the strongest symbol of our development toward truth, the library.

Personal statements in form have their roots anchored in communicative ideas, which also include adventure and mystery.

Since man first started thinking of the result of the artist as a pattern of his time, there have been a number of paths for him to follow. The history of art has been a pattern of stylistic and reflective observations by individuals.

Today we feel released from many of the demands on form held by the last century. At the same time, we create new boundaries as our time demands.

In sculpture, as in painting, the results of the artist today fall into a positive and a negative. This difference is also thought of as a constructive art and anti-art. “Pop-Art” would, in most cases, fall under the classification of anti-art, and—as in the case of many strong graphic artists of this century—satire or caricature.

In contrast, the statement may be abstract, to the point of no obvious reality and still hold tightly to an idealism or any variation of classicism. This is where the function of a library and the aesthetic level of sculpture must correspond. In other words, I feel the permanent installation of sculpture in a library must reflect personally the positive attitude we hold in our search for truth and understanding.

Quest suggests adventure into ideas, and was chosen as the title before the form was developed. This then becomes a known quantity to work toward.

Through development of lift and repetition of plane into volume, the contrast of volume to void, accelerated action to tranquility, this form suggests the struggle for an answer rather than the end solution.

Application of form has no meaning when presented out of character with its intent. For this reason, the choices of material and application are of equal importance. Copper sheet offered the freedom of movement and beauty of finish desired to balance the formal idea with the physical mass.

To gain the lift and solidity necessary to accomplish this result, the copper was positioned and held in space by a steel rod construction. Projection of the mass from one point allows the observer to become more intimately a participant.

Quest is aesthetically formal as well as warmly dramatic.

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