In 1976 a young woman by the last name Gottlieb was found hanging from an oak tree outside of her apartment in what is now Oak Ramble. The unfortunate incident came as a surprise to many, and fellow students questioned whether Gottlieb was capable of taking her own life or if foul play was involved.

According to USF librarian Paul E. Camp of the Special Collections Department, Gottlieb was an English major who used to work on the fourth floor of the USF library. She was a student assistant and was often seen reading and studying by the book stacks, catching up on English literature. Friends and relatives described her as someone with a “wonderfully upbeat personality.”

Unexplainable events started to happen in the library soon after her death. Book trucks would move by themselves and automatic doors would open without anyone triggering them. During after hours the library would echo with sounds of doors closing, even though the floors were cleared of all students. The most chilling of these incidents were reports from students who claimed to have seen a young woman with a green backpack mysteriously disappear.

“From what I’ve been told, she used to wear a distinct bright green backpack prior to her death, which was unique at the time,” Camp said. “Backpacks back then weren’t as common, and most students usually had backpacks in the style of military surplus.”

According to some students, the ghost of Gottlieb was seen walking through the book stacks in the fourth floor but when students turned around the corner she had vanished.

In recent years, the strange occurrences on the fourth floor of the library have nearly ceased. Every once in a while the automatic doors that open to the Special Collections Department will behave unnaturally. It is said that ghosts sometimes have a hard time letting go and they attach themselves to a physical object if the person had an emotional connection with it.

It’s said that the English literature books that were once located on the fourth floor have been relocated.

Full source: The Oracle