Telescope Library (copy)
The Rose City Astronomers Telescope Library provides club members with a large and diverse collection of telescopes, binoculars and accessories to check out for a month at a time. Equipment is available for reservation and check-out to all members who have been members for three months or longer.
The Telescope library is available at each monthly general club meeting, at OMSI, and at each Telescope Workshop. Loaned Items are returned to the same location from which they were borrowed.
If you are a beginner, or feel uncomfortable using an unfamiliar instrument, we recommend that you attend one of the introductory lectures or talk to a Telescope Library Volunteer. We also recommend that you examine this article for some general background of different kinds of telescopes.
If you are an experienced observer, the Telescope Library offers additional options for your observing efforts, and gives everyone an opportunity to try out telescopes prior to making purchases, or selecting equipment for an observing program. We will help you get the light-gathering power you need, to do the Astronomy you want.
Reserve Library Items, On-line, Right Now
Most of the equipment we own has been organized into packages, which you can examine here, and reserve one, right away, if you like a package that you see.
Please browse through our collection of packages below. Click on any thumbnail to create a new page, with details about the package. You can start reserving by checking the box under the photo on the details page; you'll be guided through reserving the package from there.
Please note that the collection shown below is changing, and growing as we identify more telescopes and accesories to make available. We also have equipment that may never becme part of a package, but may be useful to advanced observers. As we round out this collection, we will make information about unpackaged components available. If you are interested in seeing what is available now, please come to the Telescope Workshop, and we can go over those items in person.
If you have any question or encounter difficulties, please feel to send email to the Telescope Librarian.
