Library Notes

Many types of plants grow naturally in the Ozarks and are gathered for various purposes, including nutritional and medicinal reasons. Black walnuts are gathered each fall in the Ozarks, with the hull, the shell, and the nutmeat having various human uses. More black walnuts are collected in the Ozarks than any other region in the U.S. Hulling stations pop up each fall at various locations in the Ozarks to collect and begin processing this harvest, almost always foraged by ordinary…

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Joshua Lambert, associate professor of Library Science at the Missouri State University Libraries, has created a new LibGuide that explains how data about COVID-19 are rapidly collected and reported, both locally and globally.  How do government entities get the numbers they use to make policy decisions related to COVID-19? What laws govern the collection of data for those numbers? Have you been in conversation with friends and thought it would sure be helpful to have the answers to the questions…

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When it comes to creating, finding, and using information in support of university research, teaching, and learning, people and technology make it all happen. This is true in 2020, and it was true 28 years ago, back in 1992.  A four-page insert in The Standard, the student-run newspaper on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University, celebrated Library Awareness Week in mid-September of 1992. An employee of the MSU Foundation recently sent the old insert to the Libraries. She found…

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The Missouri State University Libraries does great things. Gifts from friends and supporters enable us to do even better in providing excellent services, collections, expertise, and spaces to meet the information needs of the MSU community and beyond.  In years past, we inserted a printed “wish list” of books, equipment, and other things that would enable us to do even better. Donors have been very generous with their support to acquire these things.  This year, the MSU Foundation worked with…

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The annual report for the 2019/2020 academic year will be out soon. In the past, we typically have finished and distributed our annual report in the later summer. Because of the global pandemic in 2020, getting this annual report finished, printed, and distributed has taken longer than usual.  Despite all of the challenges caused by COVID-19 during the final five months of the previous academic year, overall it was another good year for the Missouri State University Libraries. For the…

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The fall 2020 issue of OzarksWatch Magazine is off to the printer. Because of COVID-19, the two issue of 2020 have been especially challenging to produce. Kudos to Susan Croce Kelly, Nathan Neuschwander, all the contributing authors, and to everyone who makes this magazine a joy to read. Subscribers, due to printing schedules, your copies will be mailed out in January. This issue focuses on individuals and groups coming to the Ozarks Region seeking a better life, however they defined…

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MSU Libraries Associate Professor Andrea Miller has had a book chapter proposal accepted for future publication in Project Management in Technical Services. This book will be an edited volume focused on the adoption and implementation of project management within technical services. The scope of the book covers two primary perspectives: (1) implementation of project management within technical services units; and (2) specific case studies on topical areas such as ILS migrations, Scholarly Communications, Digitization, equity, diversity, and inclusion, or workflow analysis. The…

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Allen Eskens, author of Nothing More Dangerous Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Virtual author visit sponsored by Meyer Library Crime novelist Allen Eskens will be a featured guest author through a Zoom webinar hosted by the Ozarks Studies Institute, an initiative of the MSU Libraries, on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Central Time.  Eskens will be reading from his own work and talking about the craft of writing. He will also take questions from participants.  Allen Eskens is the bestselling author of Nothing More Dangerous, a successful blend of…

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On Thursday, January 7, 2021 twenty employees of the Missouri State University Libraries will receive special training from Amigos Library Services on the topic of providing excellent online library services. With the current pandemic forcing many library users to seek out and use our online content and services, the demand for online library services is growing both locally and around the globe.  Getting research help online is easy. Just click on the “chat now” tab in the pop out chat…

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