Library Notes

From recording music to collecting books, Gordon McCann has spent decades preserving, sharing and documenting the Ozarks. His countless hours of dedication will now live on through Missouri State University Libraries, which has acquired his books – numbering in the thousands – regional memorabilia and ephemera, local music recordings and more.  “Many items in Gordon’s collection are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable,” says Tom Peters, dean of MSU Libraries and director of the Ozarks Studies Institute. “His years of work are monumental to…

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A good old-fashioned Ozarks Jamboree, a type of variety show common to the Ozarks for over 100 years, from the Weaver Brothers & Elviry in the early 20th century to today’s Branson shows, is being organized by the MSU Libraries, in conjunction with the MSU Alumni Association and the Office of the President, for Friday evening, May 12th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. CDT in the new John Goodman Amphitheater on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University.  The…

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The new “Songs of the Ozarks” playlist is performing well on the dedicated YouTube channel of the Missouri State University Libraries. The “Songs of the Ozarks” series is part of Missouri State University’s scholarly content leading up to its participation in the 2023 Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival. The festival will feature the history and culture of the Ozarks region, presented in part by the university, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Emalee Flatness started this oral history project with…

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Last weekend Tom Peters, Dean of Library Services on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University, attended the annual meeting of the Research Route 66 group, which is organized and led by Kaisa Barthuli, the program director of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program of the National Park Service. The meeting was held at the El Vado Motel on old Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This meeting partially overlapped with the annual meeting of The Road Ahead Partnership,…

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The Missouri State University Libraries, located on the main Springfield campus, is collaborating with Missouri Humanities and other cultural memory organizations on a cluster of “Roots & Routes” Signature Series events in Springfield on Friday and Saturday April 28-29, 2023. These events are free and open to the public.  The Sixth annual symposium will focus on the theme “Roots & Routes of the Ozarks: People & Pathways.” Conversations will center around the movement of people into, out of, and within…

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The Missouri A&OER Conference (Affordable & Open Education Resources) was another success!  The 4th annual conference was organized by the Missouri A&OER Conference Planning Committee, chaired by MSU faculty librarian, Tracy Stout.  The conference was held virtually on March 9th and had 191 registrants, an increase from last year. Highlights from the conference include a keynote by Dr. Robin DeRosa titled, “Pedagogy and the Power of Open” and a workshop for faculty titled, “Make an Impact with OER!” All sessions were…

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The Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, is helping to produce the upcoming 5th Annual Showcase of the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest, to be held in the Shrine Mosque, May 18-20 of 2023 (Thursday – Saturday).  Western Swing Music is a type of American country music that was popular in the Thirties and Forties, primarily in the Southwest, from the Ozarks to California. Swing music is an amalgamation of rustic, cowboy,…

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Susanna Reichling, who serves as the library liaison to MSU’s Music, Theatre, and Dance Departments, recently attended the combined Music Library Association/Theatre Library Association National Conference in St. Louis. The conference offered the opportunity to talk with vendors and view new scholarly publications/streaming media services, attend a variety of presentations on all aspects of performing arts librarianship, and share ideas within smaller interest group and regional chapter meetings. Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion was voted the #1 area of interest among…

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On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 the Chronicle of Higher Education held a Virtual Forum on the topic “In Defense of Libraries.” The event announcement noted: “Libraries are no longer dusty, dimly lit spaces reserved for quiet research and solitary study. Today college and university libraries are striving to become vibrant centers of student connection and creativity. How can they overcome outdated notions and reassert their relevance in a time of competing expenses and priorities?” The three panelists were: Todd Carpenter,…

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