Elysian Shadows

I'm pretty sure I read about a library that makes it easier to import/render the model in OpenGL.

Pretty much any model type has a library written for it. But if you are making the engine to LEARN how it works, then you shouldn't use the library.

For example, I'm trying to learn this stuff, and I literally wrote the .obj importer and figured out rendering last night. I have a screenshot of my (crappily) rendered model I made IN blender and exporter to my game here:

http://ibly31apps.tumblr.com

Unless you are creating an engine specifically make a game(which you really shouldn't), theres no reason to use a library for importing objects.

Good work ibly.
And yes, those libraries exist, even such that can import multiple types of model files, such as collada, obj, 3ds, stuff like that.
I'd find those libraries very helpful I have to say, although one could parse obj by oneself, but when it comes to formats like 3ds that are binary they'll be quite a bit harder to parse. Unless you want to spend lifetimes in creating algorithms for already existing, probably even proprietary formats, I say go use what's already there, if you can make the library work the way you want. Or invent your own format if you're the experimenter.
Just as an example, there is assimp (http://assimp.sourceforge.net/) which would suit the requirements.

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I used to work with GLUT in computer graphics class...
Right now I see no reason why not to use SDL with OpenGL, there is a C# wrapper for it and like the C++ version I believe it also supports OpenGL rendering on the backbuffer.

Learning shaders is invaluable for graphics programming nowadays, and you'd only find a few differences between GLSL and HLSL. If you know one well, the other is pretty easy to pick up. I mainly use HLSL and for me it's easy to port most of the GL shader code I use from Geeks3D (a really cool website for OpenGL stuff if you haven't visited it already).

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