Library Notes

Springfield locals may remember strolling around downtown and stopping to look in the window of Ozark Camera on East Walnut. For a long time, a studio camera from the early 1900s was in that window, reminding people how much photography has changed. When the owner, Eugene (Gene) Anderson, retired from the business in the late 1990s the camera made its way to Missouri State University. It spent most of its time on campus in the office of Photographic Services (now…

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The Missouri State University Libraries is happy to announce that Scott Fischer is transitioning from working in the Innovation Lab to the MSU Testing Center, effective April 1, 2024. Scott will fill a crucial role assisting with accommodated exams and other duties in the Testing Center, a need made more acute with Chris Edwards’ recent retirement. Scott currently serves a central role in supporting the Sunday and evening hours with Access Services, and his full transition will not occur until…

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Tonight (Thursday, March 14, 2024), beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom of MSU’s Kentwood Hall, almost directly across from the Shrine Mosque on East St. Louis Street, Rachael West from Eating the Ozarks will present about being a four-season forager in the Ozarks. Learn how to forage where you are.  This event, part of the Kentwood Series, is free and open to the public. Events in the Ketwood Series are held on the second Thursday of each month….

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Missouri Humanities, a non-profit organization, is working with several local organizations, including the Missouri State University Libraries, to present the 7th Annual Springfield Symposium in April. Join us on April 12th-13th in Springfield, Missouri, for an immersive experience that explores “Ozarks Marvels: Innovation for the Common Good.” All sessions are FREE and open to the public, with the option to attend any or all events. The kick-off event will be held on Friday evening, April 12th, in Kentwood Hall. The…

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For the second year in a row, the Ozarks Studies Institute will serve as a sponsor of the annual showcase gathering of the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest. The Springfield showcase, one of five held each year in various locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, which is now in its sixth year, will be held in the Shrine Mosque from Thursday, May 16th through Saturday, May 18th.  Western Swing music goes back to the time of the band…

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As of this week, the Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, is printing its latest monograph, Saving Bull Creek by Loring Bullard and Robert Kipfer. The book, which is slated to be published by the end of March, chronicles the history of the Bull Creek watershed from Native American habitation to the present and looks at the impact of human activity on a fragile ecosystem. Today, as Springfield and Branson expand and crowd into…

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Alesha Cerny, the Architectural Historian for the Southeast Region of the National Park Service, will be on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University today (Thursday, March 7, 2024) to give a talk about “giraffe-style” native flagstone architecture in the Ozarks.  The event, free and open to all, begins today at 4:00 p.m. in the Ozarks Room on the Third Level of Duane G. Meyer Library. Light refreshments will be served. Metered parking is available nearby in MSU Lot…

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The Missouri State University Libraries had a table at the annual MSU@OTC Day held on Thursday, February 15, 2024 in the Information Commons of the Springfield campus of Ozarks Technical Community College.  The purpose of MSU@OTC Day is to provide an easy and convenient venue for current OTC students to explore and learn more about how they can seamlessly transition from OTC to MSU and be engaged and successful in the next phase of their higher education.   The event lasted…

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Giraffe-style native flagstone architecture is a distinctive feature in the Ozarks. It was a common construction method during the first half of the twentieth century.  Alesha Cerny, Architectural Historian for the Southeast Region of the National Park Service, will be on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University on Thursday, March 7, 2024 to give a talk about “giraffe-style” native flagstone architecture in the Ozarks.  The event, which is free and open to all, will begin at 4:00 p.m….

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The Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, is hosting Kitty Ledbetter on Thursday, April 18, 2024 for a talk on her new book, Broadcasting the Ozarks: Si Siman and Country Music at the Crossroads. Ledbetter co-authored the book with Scott Foster Siman, son of Si Siman. It will be published by University of Arkansas Press in mid-March.  Ledbetter is professor emerita of English at Texas State University. Her talk is entitled, “A Golden Moment in…

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