Library Notes

Brooks Travis, the Coordinator of Information Technology at the Missouri State University Libraries, is presenting today at WOLFcon, the World Open Library Foundation Conference, which is being held online this year. “This annual conference is open to all members of the community, and to anyone who wants to learn more about the Foundation and the open source communities that are a part of it.” This is the third such conference, which attracts approximately 250 attendees.  Brooks is one of nine…

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The sixth edition of the popular, acclaimed professional book, Cataloging Correctly for Kids: An Introduction to the Tools and Practices, has been published by the American Library Association. Two Library Science Faculty members at MSU made significant contributions to this book. Marilyn McCroskey, who recently retired, is one of the three co-editors of this volume. Raegan Wiechert contributed a chapter, “Cataloging for Children in an Academic Library.”  The description of the book notes: “Cataloging library materials for children in the…

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The annual Rare Wine, Rare Books event lives! Mark your calendars. We have a date (Friday, July 16th) and a location (the stacks of Duane G. Meyer Library, but of course). The rest of the details are being worked out.  This unique event is a fundraiser for the Fraley Family Rare Books Endowment, which enables the Special Collections & Archives area of the MSU Libraries to acquire more old, rare, important books for students, faculty, and researchers to study and…

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While the label “big data” makes us think of major technology companies, the MSU Libraries collects and evaluates many points of data as well. The library technical infrastructure is constantly gathering data about services, collections, and spaces, and library employees are regularly adding to and enhancing those data. When people use the MSU Libraries web page, Missouri State Digital Collections, or MSU Libraries’ YouTube channel, Google Analytics counts their visit and tracks their behavior while maintaining patron privacy. Later the data are used to…

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The MSU Libraries’ E Learning Librarian, Jessica Bennett, was recently awarded the 2020 Certified Distance Educator (CDE) Award, sponsored by the Distance Education Committee at Missouri State University. The purpose of the CDE Award is to: Encourage continued professional development in distance education.      Provide recognition of continued growth in distance education.       Foster instructional innovation. We congratulate Jessica on her continued efforts in online learning innovation and excellence in distance delivery.

The new Ozarks Room on the Third Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University is now open. In general, the room will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, books and other library materials in the collection in the Ozarks Room can be retrieved whenever the library is open by going to the main service counter on the main level, right at the top of the interior…

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For the first time in a long time, the Missouri State University Libraries soon will welcome two new employees with approximately the same start in late May and early June. Both new hires will be filling newly created positions. As announced last month, Mohammad AlHamad will join our team as our E-Resources Strategist, and today we’re announcing that Laura French will join as our Marketing and Communications Specialist.  For the past seven years Ms. French has served as the Strategic…

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Jessica started with Missouri State University Libraries as a student assistant and quickly became a student manager for Access Services. She has worked as non-student part time since her December 2020 graduation by providing leadership over the department’s student hiring and training. We are thrilled to announce that Jessica accepted a full-time position at the Springfield-Greene County Library District and started last Thursday. We were sad to see her go, but excited for this next step in her post-graduate career. 

A new collection of stereograph cards created by photographer Domino Danzero has been digitized by Special Collections and Archives, part of the Missouri State University Libraries, and are now viewable in 3D in the online Digital Collections. Domenico (“Domino”) Danzero, born in Italy in 1871, immigrated to the United States at the age of 19.  He and his wife Bridget settled down in the Ozarks in the mid-1900s and moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1907.  Among other hobbies and professions,…

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Eight full-time staff employees of the Missouri State University Libraries reached a 5-year service milestone in calendar year 2020.