Library Notes

For several years now, the Missouri State University Libraries has offered a chat reference service, enabling users to ask questions and receive prompt responses right online, while they seek, use, and create information. When the physical libraries on campus closed abruptly in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MSU Libraries expanded its hours of chat reference service and made it even easier to find and use on the Libraries’ website.  In just one month, from mid-March to mid-April,…

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For years now, the MSU Libraries has provided online access to premium content from The Chronicle of Higher Education (except for the Daily Briefing newsletter) to all MSU users, wherever they are located. For years the Office of the Provost has provided financial support for this service, but currently, during this “Stay at Home” order, this anywhere-anytime access to CHE content and reporting is especially appreciated.  The Libraries’ subscription can be accessed either directly through this link  (suitable for bookmarking)…

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To better support the needs of our Dual Credit students, E-Learning Librarian Jessica Bennett created customized Subject Guides for 134 high schools participating in MSU’s Dual Credit program across the state of Missouri.  Each guide contains a welcome video, a page containing basics for beginning research, pages specific to the courses taught at that high school, a tutorials page, and a faculty resources page.   The Missouri State University Libraries has long supported English Dual Credit students with tailored Information Literacy…

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The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of a severe influenza pandemic that spread worldwide in 1918-1920, and researchers often ask about archival materials that document this time period on campus. Missouri State University’s Special Collections and Archives’ staff pull from various collections to provide an idea of how the pandemic impacted campus and the Ozarks, but the campus did not address the pandemic like one would expect. Due to World War I, the student yearbook the Ozarko wasn’t published from 1918 to 1921. The…

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This spring and summer, several acquisitions team members will be participating in “Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions,” a four-week online course hosted by ALCTS (The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services). The course provides an overview of acquiring, providing access to, administering, supporting, and monitoring access to electronic resources. 

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) provides overall oversight and accreditation for MSU as an institution of higher learning. Quoting from the HLC website: “The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the [19-state] North Central region….” MSU often is providing self-studies and reports to the HLC. Recently, HLC asked this Question: How does MSU  provide students…

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InterLibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that enables Missouri State University faculty, students, and staff to request items that are not freely available from the MSU Libraries, databases, or general Internet sources. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, while the physical library building is closed, ILL services are ready to provide digital delivery of any item that other information suppliers are willing and able to send us. This may include book chapters, journal articles, and theses. You can make ILL requests…

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The Missouri State University Libraries has added two additional trial modules to the Draw It To Know It database, which already covered human Neuroanatomy. The new modules facilitate understanding of Gross Anatomy and Physiology and are on a 30-day trial, which began on March 30. Each module contains detailed tutorials, flashcards, and a question bank. Gross Anatomy and Neuroanatomy also include a muscle/nerve directory. The Neuroanatomy module includes a brain atlas. Students can formulate a customized study plan, and progress at their own pace through the interactive tutorials.   The Gross Anatomy module takes a…

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After this global pandemic subsides and Duane G. Meyer Library reopens, books and other items in MSU Libraries’ physical collections will become even easier to find, thanks to a new software tool called StackMap. With StackMap, every study room and every book on the shelf will be precisely physically mapped for users looking for these things in our online and virtual spaces. For example, when a user searches the catalog for an item or books, a map to the exact…

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