Library Notes

This summer a team from Missouri State University, led by Professor Tracy Stout (Library Science), participated in a kickoff event for a program through the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The AAC&U Institute on Open Educational Resources provides a year-long engagement opportunity for teams to actualize an ambitious strategy to broaden campus engagement with adoption on OER.   Later this month, Tracy Stout and Chris Craig (College of Education) will present at the August 16th FCTL Showcase about lessons…

Read More Read More

Work began last week to replace the carpet on the Third Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University. The work, the first step in a larger renovation project for the Third Level, is expected to last two weeks. The project will generate some dust,  noise, and inconvenience. In the coming months new furniture will be deployed, supported in part by the MSU Student Government Association. 

The Reference and Instructional Services (RIS) Department of the Missouri State University Libraries, located in Duane G. Meyer Library on the main Springfield campus, seeks a graduate assistant to assist with the Library Media Specialist Certificate and Information Literacy instructional programs. The Library Media Specialist certificate provides secondary certification for Missouri K-12 teachers. In addition, the department is responsible for providing face-to-face research instruction for undergraduate and graduate courses and instructional support for distance learning. Work responsibilities: Assist instructors with…

Read More Read More

Greta Cross, the Trending Topics Reporter for the Springfield News-Leader, recently researched and wrote an article about the white oak logs that were transported from the forests of the Missouri Ozarks to the National Mall in DC, to be used for demonstrations of white oak basket making during the Ozarks Program of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  In her reporting work, Greta Cross focuses on localizing national trends and highlighting Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ and arts communities. Greta also enjoys long-form feature reporting…

Read More Read More

Craig Amason, a special projects librarian at Missouri State University, recently was interviewed on the “Making Democracy Work” weekly program on KSMU, the local public radio station, about his research into the increasing diversity of the population in Noel, Missouri, in McDonald County, located in the extreme southwest corner of the state.   Most of the population change has occurred in the past 30 years. Jobs have driven this diversification, especially the poultry processing plants in McDonald County, but the impact…

Read More Read More

Many good things came out of the Ozarks Program recently held on the National Mall in DC as part of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. One of them was a new map of the Ozarks.  The planning committee for the Ozarks Program wanted to create a new map of the region specifically for this Festival program, and we commissioned Curtis Copeland to work with the committee on the design and details. Copeland is a GIS Manager for the City of…

Read More Read More

Join us on Friday June 16, 2023 beginning at 10:30 a.m. for coffee and pastries and check out the NEW “Broadcasting the Ozarks” exhibit! Created by the State Historical Society of Missouri-Springfield Research Center, the “Broadcasting the Ozarks: A History of RadiOzark Enterprises” exhibit showcases the history of Springfield’s RadiOzark Enterprises, the company behind nationally-known syndicated radio programs such as “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show,” “The Red Foley Show,” and Shorty Thompson’s “Saddle Rockin’ Rhythm”.   Learn about Springfield’s legacy…

Read More Read More

Mark Arnold, who has served the Missouri State University Libraries and its users for over 30 years, has decided to retire at the end of July. His current position is Library Systems Administrator – Support Specialist.  Just a few highlights of Mark’s amazingly productive career: He served as chair of the search committee that led to the hiring of David Adams as Systems Librarian. Mark is a citizen scholar and lifelong learner. Eleven years ago he earned a Master of…

Read More Read More

OLGA, the Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archive, located in Special Collections and Archives, part of the MSU Libraries on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University, had a information table at the Ozarks PrideFest held last Saturday on the square in Downtown Springfield.  Did you know the Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives, or OLGA, was founded almost 20 years ago? Professors Holly Baggett and Ralph Smith approached the Library in 2003 to establish a cooperative project with the Missouri…

Read More Read More

Yesterday, June 7th, was National VCR Day! Machines to record on videotape were introduced in the 1950s, which was the beginning of the death knell for the kinescope, but they were so expensive (around $50,000 in 1956!) that only television networks and large stations were able to afford them.   The first commercial VCRs for home use were released in the 1970s. Betamax and Jack Valenti were soldiers in this format (and popular culture) war. In the early 1980s, the…

Read More Read More