Library Notes

The American Indian Experience (AIE), part of the American Mosaic series, is an invaluable digital resource that provides in-depth historical accounts and cultural information about the indigenous peoples of North America. It is an online collection featuring reference content, hundreds of primary documents, and thousands of images. The American Indian Experience illuminates the historical and contemporary practices and tribulations of more than 150 Native American tribes from all regions of North America. Featuring articles and essays from Native American authors and…

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Ken Kneven, Senior Consultant with AGB, the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, was on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University this week to conduct a workshop about workforce development for the region and the state, and opportunities for MSU to advance workforce development. Jessica Bennett, Rachel Besara, and Tom Peters attended from the MSU Libraries. Soft skills in the workforce, cultural consciousness, how to leverage MSU’s public affairs mission, interdisciplinary innovation spaces, and other topics were…

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The Greene County Historical Society will hold their Fall 2017 program on Sunday, October 29, 2017, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Missouri State University’s Meyer Library. State Historical Society of Missouri President Bob Priddy will provide a sneak preview of the Society’s $40 million headquarters (scheduled to open in 2019).  Located in Columbia, this new facility will be a gathering place for researchers, allow for increased gallery space to showcase Missouri art and artists, and have room for public programming….

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The recent opening for “Native Art of the Americas” was a great success with approximately 65 people attending.  The exhibit is a collaborative effort between Dr. Billie Follensbee, her students, and Special Collections and Archives.  Each year Dr. Follensbee’s advanced art history classes have an opportunity to study art and artifacts on loan from local cultural institutions and private collectors, then in the fall of the next academic year the best of the students’ work is included in an exhibit…

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The Student Government Association (SGA) at MSU has agreed to form an SGA Library Advisory Board that will meet initially with library administrators in late November.  The goal is to meet with this advisory group at least once each semester. SGA already has a list of items they’d like the MSU Libraries to work on, including more comfortable furniture, better signage, better security on the outside doors during the overnight hours, numbered tables so users can tell others exactly where…

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The Ron Seney USO Collection (M 69) in Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives contains items from Missouri State University alum, Ron Seney, documenting his participation in two USO tours with MSU’s Theatre and Dance Department (Wonderful Town for five weeks in 1968 in southeast Asia, and the “Happy Hour ’69” variety show for nineteen weeks in 1969 in Alaska and southeast Asia).  Mr. Seney had actually graduated by the fall of 1968, but he re-registered for a semester in order to participate in…

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The Ozarks Labor Union Archives Memorabilia Collection (LA 31) in Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives includes three cubic feet of pins, buttons, ribbons, banners, and bumper stickers from conventions and campaigns of various area labor unions between the years of 1902 and 1994.  Examples of some of the labor unions represented are the International Moulders Union; the Carpenters Union; the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile…

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The fall of 2018 will mark the bicentennial of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s exploration of the Ozarks region, which began in Potosi (now in the state of Missouri) on Thursday, November 18, 1818, and culminated January 1-5, 1819 at the site of a lead mine near the mouth of Pierson Creek, where it flows into the James River, just southeast of present-day Springfield. This is the reason why Highway 65 on the east side of the Springfield metro area is called…

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There is no telling what awaits Interlibrary Loan (ILL) personnel as the patron requests roll in. While the Missouri State University Libraries tries to make resources as readily available as they can, there are still many physical and digital items that the library cannot immediately provide. Those requests often require the intervention of Interlibrary loan to fulfill patron information needs. Dr. William Meadows, an MSU professor from the Sociology-Anthropology Department, is a frequent recipient of ILL services. One area of my research is…

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Containing resources that present multiple sides of an issue, this database provides rich content that can help students assess and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issues, and develop analytical thinking skills. Points of View Reference Center contains 400 topics (with more than 1,900 essays), each with an overview (objective background / description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument). Each topic features a Guide to Critical Analysis which helps the reader evaluate the controversy and enhances students’ ability to read critically, develop their…

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