Library Notes

On April 25, 2019, the MSU Libraries organized its third successful Living Stories event.  Held in conjunction with the Collaborative Diversity Conference, Living Stories: Bridging the Culture Divides was an event in which “Living Books” — real people — were able to share their cultural experiences with “readers” — other real people — who had signed up to have fifteen-minute conversations with them.

Students from the English Language Institute offered their time to be Living Books and provided a wonderful opportunity for our readers to learn about life in North Korea, Palestine, and Costa Rica.  Conference-goers who had a chance to experience this project let us know that they were inspired to start something similar in their libraries after participating in this project.  One of our Living Books who had participated before as a reader wrote: “The Living Stories Project offered by MSU Libraries is a fantastic opportunity for our campus community!”

Nancy Holmer, Library Associate II in the Resource Management and Discovery area of the MSU Libraries, has announced her plan to retire at the end of July 2019, after nearly 39 years of service to the University Libraries and its users.

Nancy began working for SMSU on September 2, 1980. Two years prior to that, Nancy had begun working at the Brentwood Branch of the public library as a circulation clerk.

A retirement reception is being planned to be held down in the common area of Resource Management and Discovery on the Lower Level of Duane G. Meyer Library. Details about her retirement reception will be announced soon.

Congratulations, Nancy! We all wish you a fantastic retirement.

Responses from vendors to the current outstanding RFP (Request for Proposals) for a new ILS (Integrated Library System, also known as a Library Services Platform) are due by 3:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 31.

The review of the responses to the RFP will commence during the first part of June. In addition, the responses to the RFP will be available for other employees of the MSU Libraries to review and comment on.

Members of the review committee are:

• Tom Peters
• Rachel Besara
• Lindsey Taggart
• Paige Harp
• Brooks Travis
• Joshua Lambert

Our goal is to have scored and commented on the RFP responses by early July. If this process moves forward, we plan to have a signed agreement with a new vendor by Friday, August 16th.

Paige Harp has accepted an offer from the MSU Libraries to serve as our Coordinator of Infant Through Grade 12 Resources. May 16th will be her first day in this new role at the MSU Libraries.

This is a new position that combines the responsibilities of Emily Furtak (retired) and Marklyn Cotter (who will be retiring in December). IG12 and BRB (the Book Review Board) team members are excited to have Paige on board!

In November 2018 Paige began working for the MSU Libraries as a Library Associate III. Paige has a BA in English literature from MSU, and her MLIS is from the University of Missouri. Prior to working at the MSU Libraries, Paige served as a Youth Services Associate at the Library Station for the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

On Monday, May 6, the MSU College of Arts & Letters held their annual Vicki Stanton Public Speaking Showcase (VSPSS); a one-day speech tournament highlighting persuasive speeches presented by COM 115 students.

COM 115 is a required public speaking course at MSU, with a current enrollment of around 1,500 students. Each class chose a representative to deliver their 7-9 minute persuasive speech in the showcase. The Spring 2019 Showcase included approximately 60 students. A series of two preliminary rounds narrowed the field to 5 finalists selected to present on-stage in the PSU auditorium.

Spenser Bartholomew, a Student Assistant in the IG-12 Resources and BRB areas of the MSU Libraries, earned 2nd place in this competition with her speech. “My topic was how violence against women has been normalized by our society,” said Spenser. “This year, every single finalist was a girl, which was exciting.”

Congratulations on this exciting victory, Spenser!

With its comfy furniture, good wifi, and great services and collections, Duane G. Meyer Library was voted again this year as the best place on campus to study.

Meyer Library also is a great place for stress relief during Finals Week! Besides extended hours for Finals, the library will have a sensory table with stress balls, coloring pages, kinetic sand, and water beads. We are also providing a motivation wall, overnight coffee, puzzles, popup popcorn, and  Sunday snack night.

Our most popular stress relief activity, the pet therapy pups, will be here Tuesday, May 14, from 2:00-4:00 pm. And new this semester, we will be opening the VR lab for Beat Saber stress relief on Sunday, May 12 10pm-1am; Tuesday, May 14 from 7-10pm; and Wednesday, May 15 from 2-5pm!

The results of the 2018 Biennial Survey of Faculty Morale at Missouri State University recently were released. The MSU Libraries scored quite well.

When asked how satisfied they are with various University facilities and programs, Library Support received a mean Likert score of 4.10, second only Computer Services (4.16) of the eleven facilities and programs listed. Fully 77.7% of all responses rated Library Support as either somewhat or extremely satisfying.

Library Holdings also scored well with a mean Likert score of 3.77, tied for fourth (with FCTL) of the eleven facilities and programs.

Low salaries and poor benefits continue to be major concerns of the MSU Faculty as a whole.

The survey was conducted by the Faculty Concerns Committee of the Faculty Senate, using Qualtrics, a leading online survey platform.

Summer Session is fast approaching!  Service points in Meyer Library will have different hours this summer than in previous summers.

Here are the 2019 Summer Session hours for various service points:

• Circulation: M-TR 7am-10pm, F 7am-6pm, SA-SU 12pm-6pm
• Research Help: M-F 8am-6pm, SA-SU 12pm-6pm
• Infant Through Grade 12 Resources: M-F 9am – 5pm
• Music and Media: M-TR 7am-10pm, F 7am-6pm, SA-SU 12pm- 6pm
• Special Collections and Archives: M-F 8am – 5pm
• Testing Center: M-F 9am-6pm, SA-SU 12pm-6pm

As usual, the lobby will be available 24/7 to anyone with a BearPass card.