Library Notes

The MSU International Travel Grant was created to support the international presentation of research that advances the university’s mission, with the winning proposals selected by the faculty on the International Travel Awards Committee. Full-time, permanent faculty members actively involved in research are eligible for this grant funding.  Preference may be given to junior faculty members for whom the trip is more likely to advance their careers. These awards will be administered by the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College and…

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This comprehensive database includes over 60,000 maps, including over 5,000 high-resolution modern maps of the world, regions, countries, and states. There are outline maps, political maps, physical maps, population maps, environmental maps, climate change maps, and other thematic maps from NASA, USGS, USFS, NOAA and other scientific, technical, and conservation organizations. Featured are 15,000+ Google Earth “Skins,” interactive maps, and animated maps. New maps are added to the collection every month. There are also 7,000+ antique world, regional, country, and…

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One of the many items available in the Digital Collections from Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives is a 1919 booklet for the Springfield Association of Musicians union, Number 150 (SC-LA-004), containing their price list, constitution, by-laws, and rules.  Membership was exclusive to whites, as stated in the by-laws, and presumably to white men only, judging by the description of a uniform (with trousers, and no description for a women’s uniform). This booklet pre-dates by a few years the invention of…

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Several years ago the Missouri State University Foundation started “Bears in the Know,” an ongoing series of luncheon meetings to showcase unique areas at Missouri State University and connect personally with our friends and supporters in the community. It has proven to be very popular and successful. Thank you Arvest Bank for supporting this series as the Presenting Sponsor! On Wednesday, January 23, 2019, the MSU Libraries will be the focus of the Bears in the Know luncheon. The abstract for…

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On Monday, July 9, 2018, Lindsey Taggart will begin working for the MSU Libraries and the entire university community as our Director of Resource Management and Discovery, a new position. Lindsey will begin as a tenure-track, 12-month, full-time Assistant Professor. For the past two years, Lindsey has served as the Assessment and Collection Development Librarian and Assistant Professor at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She has worked previously at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, at the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology…

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A search committee has been formed (Brooks Travis (Chair), Marilyn McCroskey, Raegan Wiechert, Nathan Neuschwander, and Jir Shin Boey) to undertake a search for a Library Associate III, a new position. Principal responsibilities will include: Assists the Cataloging and Metadata Unit (50%) Assists the Library Information Technologies Unit (25%) Assists the Libraries’ Graphic Designer (25%) Duties will include cataloging and withdrawing library materials, video editing, maintenance of the Library’s online catalog and other metadata services, and loading new database files…

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The University Exit Exam (UEE) is a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students at Missouri State University. Beginning in August 2017 and continuing through the academic year, the University Exit Exam has been expanded to add two items gauging student attitudes toward MSU Libraries’ overall value and services. The responses of all students who completed the Fall 2017 administration of the UEE are presented below. The first question asked: The MSU Libraries provides books, media, databases, services, and study spaces to help…

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On the afternoon of Friday, April 30, 1926, while a large Rotary convention was in town, Cyrus Avery and John Page from Oklahoma, along with B. H. Piepmeier and probably John T. Woodruff from Missouri, met in the Colonial Hotel, located in the southwest quadrant of the corner of East St. Louis Street and Jefferson Avenue near the central square in Springfield, Missouri, to try to resolve a months-long disagreement with the federal government and other states concerning what number should be assigned to a proposed federal…

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The end-of-semester “Dead Day” party will be held on Friday, May 11, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. CDT to 1:00 p.m. CDT in LIBR 301 (“Club 301” — newly re-carpeted and refurnished) on the Third Level of Duane G. Meyer Library. Hot pizza and cool, refreshing beverages (non-alcoholic) will be provided by the Libraries using private funds. Attendees are encouraged to bring a side dish and/or dessert to share. Attendees also are encouraged to bring their own non-disposable plates, cups, and…

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The Robert Wallace Collection (M 1) in Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives features a large amount of material about author Robert Wallace and his publishing company Bits Press. Robert Wallace (1932-1999) was a Springfield native who started writing poems around the age of ten.  When he was sixteen his humorous poem “Tee Hee,” about his experiences as a golf caddy, was published in The Rotarian magazine.  He graduated from Springfield High (now Central High School) and went on to Harvard (A.B. in English, 1953)…

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