Library Notes

September 2016:  The MSU Libraries did a soft launch of BearWorks, an institutional repository (IR) for Missouri State University. Institutional repositories are  archives for collecting, preserving, and disseminating the intellectual output of an organization. They are particularly common in research institutions and often include not only articles and reports, but also organizational documents, data sets, and even multimedia.   Graduate theses were the first records entered into BearWorks. As of spring 2017 there were over 3,000 citations with full text…

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GeoRef contains a vast amount of indexed information, including 3.8 million bibliographic records from more than 3,500 journals covering a wide spectrum of geoscience literature. Other records featured within the database include indexed books, maps, government reports, conference papers, theses, and dissertations. GeoRef is also constantly adding new material to its collection, with more than 100,000 records added annually. Subjects covered include mineralogy, hydrogeology, economic geology, hydrology, environmental geology, marine geology, engineering geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, oceanography, geophysics, and paleontology. Coverage within the database includes the geology of…

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The Ozark Jubilee Digitization Project is off to a rip-roaring start. Donations of money, new footage, and support have come from as far away as England, and as close as Springfield. Since going live last month, two of the uploaded episodes have had well over 1,000 views. The Ozark Jubilee was a live, nationally broadcast country-western variety show originating from the Jewell Theater — “the heart of the Ozarks” — in downtown Springfield from 1955 through 1960 — 297 episodes total. Many…

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Qualtrics is coming to MSU. It’s an experience management platform. According to their website, “Experience management is software for improving the experiences organizations provide to every stakeholder, whether it’s customers, employees, prospects, users, partners, suppliers, citizens, students, or investors.” Quoting from the Wikipedia article, “Qualtrics software enables users to do many kinds of online data collection and analysis including market research, customer satisfaction and loyalty, product and concept testing, employee evaluations and website feedback.” Some cost centers at MSU have…

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There will be four Sunday evening free carillon concerts again this summer, beginning at 7:00 p.m. CDT each evening. The MSU Music Department organizes this concert series, and the MSU Libraries is the host. Each concert last about an hour. Carolyn Bolden will be the carilloneur at the July 9th concert. Jerry Chesman will play on two of the remaining dates. The complete schedule is still being finalized. Here are the four dates, always the second Sunday of the month:…

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In this time when phrases like “post-truth era” and “false news” have entered the vernacular, the concept of information literacy (one of the programs of the MSU Libraries, as well as most other academic libraries) is gaining increasing attention and scrutiny. On February 27, 2017, the Chronicle of Higher Education published an article on this topic. Najmabadi reports that a research study conducted at Stanford University and released last November found that many college students “had trouble identifying partisan or…

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During the 2016-2017 Academic Year now ending, the MSU Libraries made good progress on several initiatives within the MSU Libraries 2020 Long Range Plan. Here are a few of the many advances: Content New Content Areas: BearWorks, MSU’s Institutional Repository, launched in FY17. Several unusual formats are being digitized, including glass plate negative photos, kinescopes, and a carved walking stick. The MOBIUS consortium agreed to provide access to the Open Textbook Network, which will commence in FY18. Digitization Lab: The…

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As its name implies, this full-text database covers key areas of education and related fields of study. Content areas include educational specialties, administration, funding, and more. Education Full Text is an essential source for education research and is ideal for education students, professionals, and policy makers. Education Full Text provides full-text coverage dating back to 1983 and indexing back to 1969. This database also features in-depth coverage of special education, with 30 full-text journals dedicated to this important topic. All of this content makes Education Full Text…

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The Route 66 Association of Missouri works to preserve the stretch of the “Mother Road” that crossed Missouri.  Among the organization’s efforts is the Route 66 Oral History Collection (M 67), containing stories of individuals who lived and worked along the Route 66 historic corridor. This collection includes oral histories collected by volunteers, as well as photographs and publications shared by the interviewees.  They share stories of Route 66, including businesses, economic changes, personalities, and noteworthy experiences. With support from…

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Last Wednesday morning, May 10th, the Space Committee of the MSU Libraries received permission from the MSU Office of Planning, Design, and Construction (PD&C) to work directly with major furniture vendors, such as Steelcase and KI, to select furnishings, spec them out, bid (if necessary), order, have shipped to MSU, installed, and deployed for use. Prior to this modification of practice by PD&C, the MSU Libraries had had to work through PD&C to select, spec out, and order furnishings, which…

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