UO alums interested in connecting with their alma mater, with the professional design and communication industries in Portland, with research support, and with peers and colleagues, should make note of the fact that the UO now has a library in Portland. The UO Portland Library and Learning Commons, located in the White Stag Block at Couch and Naito, encourages alums to take advantage of its services, resources, and free public events.

White Stag Block Talks
The Library is partnering with other Portland-based programs to offer a new event series, called the White Stag Block Talks.  Each event brings together a few interesting people from the Portland community to discuss a matter of interest to our students, faculty, and users.  All events in this series are free and open to the public.
The first White Stag Block Talk was held on April 1st,  with Randy Higgins (Vizwerks), Steve Potestio (52 Limited), Jolie Giese (Nau) and Susan Hoffman (Wieden + Kennedy) talking about working in hard economic times.  Julie Williams, a recent graduate of Journalism’s Strategic Communication Master’s program, moderated the panel.  The event was catered by local businesses New Seasons, New Old Lompoc, and GC Winery, and drew a large crowd that included city officials, freelance designers, students, artists, community organizers, and others.  The second White Stag Block Talk will be held Wednesday, July 22 at 6 pm at the White Stag Block.  Designer and developer Kevin Cavenaugh (TENPOD), artist and organizer Linda K. Johnson (Conduit Dance) and editor, author, and publisher Randy Gragg (Portland Monthly, Spaces) will meet to discuss “Bridgetown”:  the idea of creatively building Portland by working across disciplinary boundaries.  Again, the event will be catered by local businesses and will be free and open to all.  For more information, visit http://libweb.uoregon.edu/portland.

Copyright Criminals and Free Culture
On April 15th, the Library welcomed professor of media studies and independent filmmaker Kembrew McLeod for a sneak preview of his latest documentary, Copyright Criminals.  The film explores the impact of copyright law on the music industry, and particularly on sampling in rap and hip-hop.  After the film, Kembrew talked with Dave Allen, former bassist for the post-punk band Gang of Four, about how copyright law affects creativity in the arts.
July will see another the Library host event about copyright and pop culture.  On Thursday, July 16 at 6:30 pm, UO law alum and music copyright lawyer Peter Shaver will take part in a panel discussion and performance with the Portland-based electro-pop trio YACHT.  Audience members will be invited to take part in a collective re-authoring of copyright law, as part of a discussion about how modern copyright affects artists and their work.  Catering will be provided by local businesses, and the event is free and open to the public.  For more information, visit http://libweb.uoregon.edu/portland.

UO Alum Library Services
The Library doesn’t just offer special events—all alums are encouraged to drop by to meet the librarian, browse the collections, read the newspaper or our many magazines and journals, and use the library’s many online research databases.  All UO alums who reside in Oregon are eligible for an Oregon card, which allows borrowing from our book collection.  Two of the library’s workstations allow free Internet access, for checking email, searching the catalog for books, and finding articles in research databases. 
Printing and photocopying are available via the UO Campus Cash system (cards are available in the Portland Duck Store.)  For large-scale printing and scanning jobs, the Library also operates an Output Room with a wide range of services.
The UO’s librarian in Portland, Karen Munro, is happy to offer individual research consultations and to answer reference questions by phone, email, or in person.  For more information and to get in touch, see http://libweb.uoregon.edu/portland.

White Stag Block
To learn more about public events, exhibits, and programs offered by the UO in Portland, visit http://tinyurl.com/uopdxevents.  The White Stag Block is located at 70 NW Couch Street, between Naito and First Street.