Library Notes

During the weekend of January 6-7, 2018, C-SPAN 2, known as Book TV, aired a number of stories about the history and significance of Springfield, Missouri, including an 8:42 interview with MSU Dean Library Services Thomas A. Peters, about his recent biography of John T. Woodruff, one of the leading developers and civic leaders in the history of Springfield. Other segments included interviews with: Author Samantha Mosier, Creating Organic Standards in the United States: The Diffusion of State Organic Food…

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During this preparatory week prior to the start of the Spring Semester of 2018 at MSU, crews were busy in the lobby of Duane G. Meyer Library assembling new furniture. Here’s a “before” photo taken early Monday morning, when the space was bare, with a shiny newly waxed floor, followed by another photo taken late Wednesday afternoon, after most of the new furniture had been assembled and installed. The window wall on the south side of the lobby also has…

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Battlefield Atlas of Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864 is intended to serve as an educational reference for the Westport and Mine Creek staff rides. The Atlas is divided into seven parts. Part I, Missouri’s Divided Loyalties, and Part II, Missouri’s Five Seasons, provide an overview of Missouri’s history from the initial settlement of the Louisiana Purchase Territories through the opening years of the American Civil War. The remaining parts cover the Confederate plan, the Confederate movement into Missouri and the Union reaction,…

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On Saturday evening, January 6, 2018, a dinner was held in the Crystal Room of the old Kentwood Arms Hotel, now MSU’s Kentwood Hall, to celebrate the 150th birthday of John T. Woodruff. Woodruff who lived from 1868 until 1949, and was active in Springfield from 1904 until approximately 1945, was the paragon of civic engagement, building a number of large, important buildings, including the Woodruff Building, the Colonial Hotel, Hotel Sansone, the Kentwood Arms, and the Frisco Office Building….

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The Springfield African American Read-In (AARI), a collaborative effort of the Missouri State University Libraries, the Springfield-Greene County Library District, Springfield Public Schools, Drury University, and the Springfield Branch of the NAACP, is entering its ninth year. Under the leadership of Grace Jackson-Brown, a library science faculty member here, the MSU Libraries, acting as the lead institution and fiscal agent for the group, recently received a $1,450 grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to create an AARI website,…

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Meet MSU Libraries’ Student Employee of the Month, Thurman Conner! Works in: Infant Through Grade 12 Resources (IG12) Major: Mass Media/Media Production Favorite Book & TV Series: Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire series Something students should know about the libraries: “You can meet a lot of interesting people at the library and get a lot done.”

The Fall/Winter 2017 issue of OzarksWatch Magazine was published in December, and will be mailed to subscribers in January. Susan Croce Kelly (managing editor), Nathan Neuschwander (graphic designer), and Rachel Besara (editor) brought out this great issue, which features a cover photo of an “Accident on MO Super Highway 1925” (i.e., a dirt road), eight articles about historic photographers of the Ozarks, five book reviews, two poems, and several other articles and features. Through January 31, 2018, a special is available for new subscribers:…

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Joyce Stefka, long-time Executive Assistant II here in the MSU Libraries, has announced her plans to retire from Missouri State University at the end of January. She will be sorely missed! Her personnel file is chock full of thank-you notes from groups and individuals that Joyce has helped over the years. She began working at MSU in 1991, with over 26 years of service to the students, faculty, staff, and friends of MSU. Prior to coming to MSU, Joyce worked…

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The refurbishment of the southwest quadrant of the Second Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University was well-nigh completed over the winter holiday break now ending. We’re just waiting for a few missing parts and pieces, but the area is ready to use now. The new space, known affectionately by some as “The Wedge,” sports new carpeting, more electrical outlets, great views of campus, and completely new furniture. More popular little study pods…

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Meet MSU Libraries’ Student Employee of the Month for January, Stephanie Lor! Works in: Meyer Library’s Circulation Major: Global Studies Favorite Book: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Something students should know about the libraries: “One thing I think students should know about the library is that if you ever need help with your research at all, the librarians would gladly help you with it. Also, the library has comfortable chairs.”