Library Notes

Dr. Grace Jackson-Brown, Professor of Library Science at Missouri State University, and Dr. Deborah Robinson, Research Investigator at the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan, were notified last week by IMLS, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, that their grant application had been funded. Under the auspices of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the proposed research, which Dr. Jackson-Brown and Dr. Robinson co-wrote, and which they will co-direct, A Taxonomy of Black History…

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Earlier this week furniture installers from Scott-Rice unpacked and assembled most of the new furnishings for a major area on the west side of the Second Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University.  This is another step in the massive multi-year project to completely redesign and refurbish the public areas of Duane G. Meyer Library.  Once again the Space Committee of the MSU Libraries has done an excellent job of exploring how various…

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The Missouri State University Libraries invites individuals to apply for an important and exciting new position in our dynamic, forward-thinking library: E-Resource Strategist. Although MSU currently is under a university-wide hiring freeze, resulting in five open positions in the MSU Libraries being frozen, both President Smart and Provost Einhellig approved the launching of this search to fill this vital new position.  This will be a national search. The short version of the job advertisement reads: The Missouri State University Libraries,…

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The Standard, the student-run campus newspaper at Missouri State University, recently featured a story by reporter Jack McGee about our “Enduring COVID-19” collaborative collecting initiative and included information about the partnership with the History Museum on the Square, the State Historical Society of Missouri, and  the Springfield-Greene County Library District.  Ozarks Pubic Television created a webpage about the “Enduring COVID-19” project that provides more information and links about the collaborative project: If you’d like to submit your story about the…

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As we all prepare for the new academic year, in light of our ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, changing user needs and expectations, a university-wide hiring freeze, major systems changes, and increased fiscal constraints, several Libraries employees (faculty and staff) have stepped up to assume additional roles and responsibilities for the MSU Libraries and its users, beginning in August: David Adams will devote more of his professional time and talent to BearWorks, MSU’s Institutional Repository, and our expanding e-publishing…

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For the past 18 years, since the newer part of Duane G. Meyer Library building opened, we have used a security gate at the top of the interior ramp up to the main level to count the number of visitors. We always knew it was under-reporting the total number of visitors to the building, because some people enter Meyer Library and use the lobby, 101, Outtakes, the vending machines, the restrooms off the lobby, and even the Open Access Computing…

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The week before the start of Fall Semester always is a busy time on the MSU campus. This year is no exception. Among many things, it’s the week when new faculty members receive orientation.  Because of the current pandemic, including the need to maintain social distancing, Duane G. Meyer Library will play a bigger role in New Faculty Orientation.  On Monday, August 10, the group will meet in the recently renovated Sunderland Foundation Auditorium — Room 101 off the main…

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With the plethora of changes, dangers, shortages, fiscal constraints, and unknowns we all are confronting this year, the job of establishing the fall hours for Duane G. Meyer Library on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University has been much more challenging than during a typical year. Holly Kouns, Coordinator of Public Services, did an excellent job of considering all of the factors, including previous usage data for the building, to construct the following schedule.  Beginning Saturday, August 15, the…

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During the first half of July 2020 the Missouri State University Libraries received quite a bit of coverage in the local media about various initiatives: On July 9, Anne Baker, Head of Special Collections and Archives, was interviewed by Josh Conaway from KSMU, Ozarks public radio, about how materials in Special Collections are being curated and protected during the current pandemic. You can listen to the interview here.  Also on July 9, Ash Garza, a reporter for The Standard, the…

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To keep up with accessibility trends and best practices, Jessica Bennett, a member of the Library Science Faculty at Missouri State University, recently attended the HighEdWeb Accessibility Summit.  Many valuable sessions were offered during the day-long virtual conference, but the keynote stood out as something new and unique to consider as we work towards reworking the library website.  The Keynote: Kickstarting Accessibility with Design Systems presented by Heather Battaglia and Robert Jolly (both with 18F) introduced the United States Web Design…

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