Library Notes

The eighth Rare Wine, Rare Books event, held on the evening of Friday, July 27, 2018, was a big success. This annual summertime event sold out for the second consecutive year. Six flights of wine were served along with a sumptuous six-course dinner. Beth Domann, the featured speaker, regaled attendees with stories about the Landers Theater and Springfield Little Theatre, where Beth serves as the Executive Director. David Dain Smith again presented and described each flight of wine. All of…

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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library (EAL) provides a summary of the best available research on various nutrition topics. Content is organized in two broad categories: Library and Guidelines. Over fifty topics, either published or in process, include graded conclusion statements for questions formulated by Registered Dietitians.  Seventeen evidence-based Guidelines are currently published. They include major recommendations with corresponding rating of evidence strength and clinical algorithms showing the flow of treatment for a specific disease or condition….

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The Missouri State University Libraries offers a vast, diverse array of content, services, and spaces (both real-world and online) that benefit students, faculty, researchers, and members of the general public, near and far. While most of our activities and commitment of resources are for ongoing programs, the MSU Libraries has a substantial number of new initiatives that are in various stages of development and implementation, from active exploration to fully launched. Below, presented in outline form, is a partial list…

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On August 1, 2018 Tracie Gieselman-Holthaus will begin serving the MSU Libraries and its users as our new Archivist. Congratulations, Tracie! Since 2005 she has served as an Archives Specialist here at MSU, providing research assistance to patrons, processing collections, supervising student employees, and assisting with exhibit development. Prior to coming to MSU, Tracie worked as an Archives Associate and Office Assistant at the History Museum on the Square in downtown Springfield. Tracie observed, “After years of becoming familiar with…

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The first ever Bear POWER Summer Leadership Retreat occurred this summer.  Bear POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience) is a two-year, five-semester inclusive college program created to offer a post-secondary education opportunity to students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) transitioning out of high school.  The Bear POWER mission is “To effectively utilize existing campus and community resources to create an inclusive academic college program that generates individual outcomes for students with intellectual disabilities in the areas of…

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The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) currently is running the GREAT AMERICAN READ, an eight-part television series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey).  It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience. Ozarks Public Television (OPT),…

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The MSU Testing Center, located on the Lower Level of Duane G. Meyer Library, administered over 16,000 exams during the 2017-2018 academic year.  Approximately 70% of those exams were Missouri State Online students. This is a 59% increase in total exams given, compared to last year, and an increase of 270% in Missouri State Online exams! In addition, the MSU Testing Center has added several new exam companies, such as Accuplacer, Assessment Systems, Castle Worldwide, Kryterion, and Prov.  To help…

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A four-week course offered through ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions, Instructional Design for Online Teaching and Learning, taught by Diane Kovacs, focused on using seven steps to optimize impact in teaching and learning situations.  These could be courses, tutorials, workshops, etc. The course began with an overview of learning perspectives and learning styles.  Ms. Bennett’s biggest takeaway from that portion is no learner learns in just one way. It behooves us as teachers to offer information and materials in a variety of…

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Springfield businessman and philanthropist Guy Mace recently donated a remarkable collection of art and artifacts to Missouri State University. The gift was made to the Department of Art and Design. The MSU Libraries will house, curate, and display the items in the collection. The collection includes African masks, figural wooden staffs and ceremonial knives and spears from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries along with Native American, Asian, and Oceanic masks and headdresses. Dr. Billie Follensbee, professor in the Department of…

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