Missouri State University is now in the third week of the fall semester. The Core Executive Team managing the university’s response to COVID-19 meets weekly — more often, if need be — to get updates on the effects of the pandemic on the university community, the immediate vicinity to campus, and the entire county and state. Dean Peters is a member of this team. The leadership team of the MSU Libraries meets weekly, too, to discuss recent developments and to…
A research group of librarians from the Missouri State University Libraries will be conducting a survey of MSU Springfield campus faculty to gain additional knowledge about the faculty’s scholarly information discovery processes. Faculty are encouraged to complete an online survey which aims to provide greater insight into the following: What are faculty looking for? Where are they looking? Where and how are they encountering difficulty or barriers in discovery of and access to information? What is the anticipated end product…
“LibGuides” are handy, useful online subject guides to various topics of interest to members of the university community, from Accounting to the United Nations. They are created, maintained, and updated locally by the faculty and staff of the Missouri State University Libraries. We currently offer hundreds of LibGuides. Usage of these LibGuides is one of the Key Performance Indicators of the MSU Libraries. The software system we use to create and present these LibGuides keeps anonymous statistics on the number…
In Fiscal Year 2020 (July 2019 through June 2020), the use of the dedicated YouTube Channel of the MSU Libraries remained very strong. Items in this growing collection of video content were accessed 819,911 times. The total amount of “watch time” was 16,458,739 minutes. The average watch time per access of a video file was 20.07 minutes. In FY19 our collection of video content was accessed 450,140 times, with a total watch time of 7,498,068, making the average watch time…
At the MSU Libraries we strive to help the university community, sometimes in unusual ways. One of those ways takes place in Special Collections and Archives. For the last fifteen years, Special Collections has worked with Dr. Billie Follensbee (professor, Art and Design) to improve her students’ research skills through hands-on study of art and artifacts. Dr. Follensbee found she could borrow objects from individuals or other institutions, as long as they are secure. Special Collections supplies the storage and…
Before each quarterly release of FOLIO, the growing global group of FOLIO users conducts a community testing program, known as “Bug Fest”. The Bug Fest for the Q2 2020 release of FOLIO, a.k.a Goldenrod, was held from approximately June 22-26, 2020, and featured 946 test cases, covering nearly every corner of FOLIO functionality. A team of nine (out of 60 total community testers) faculty and staff from Missouri State Libraries led the way among participating libraries, completing 153 test…
As of late last week, the third and most recent publication of the Ozarks Studies Institute (OSI), an initiative of the MSU Libraries, is available for sale. Living Waters: The Springs of Missouri, written by Loring Bullard, is a collaborative publishing effort between the OSI and the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks. In this book Bullard explores the rich variety of Missouri springs, placing them in the state’s patterns of settlement and development. From the founding of towns — including…
August 18, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Organizations, archives, and museums are offering exhibitions and events in commemoration of this special anniversary, and this includes local entities such as Missouri State University Libraries and the History Museum on the Square. We are excited to share a pop-up exhibition created by the National Archives, Rightfully Hers, on the third floor of Meyer Library, located just outside of Special…
The collection of oversized books in the main circulating collection in Duane G. Meyer Library have been consolidated into one double-sided range in the newly refurbished Skylight Study Area on the Second Level. Several years ago this area was named in honor of James F. and Mary Asher Tearney, based on their generous supporting gift to the MSU Libraries. James passed away several years ago. Many of these oversized volumes contain splendid photos, drawings, maps, and other images and useful…
Have an idea of something that should be added to the collections of the MSU Libraries? Use our “Request New Materials” form to let us know the ebooks, electronic materials, or other items that you’d like us to consider for purchase. To use the form, please visit our “Services” page and scroll down to “Request New Materials”. After logging in with your BearPass, you will be able to request new items for purchase. The form also includes the…