Library Notes

On Friday evening, May 12, 2023, a crowd of over 200 assembled in the new John Goodman Amphitheater (JGA) on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University to enjoy an Ozarks Jamboree, hosted by Jeff Houghton.  This was the first public event in JGA, held on a beautiful spring evening when the newly renovated pedestrian walkway under Grand Street finally opened after a prolonged construction period.  The audience was treated to three fantastic groups during the two-hour concert: David…

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Last week, Elaina Kersey, managing editor of the Ozarks Studies Institute at the Missouri State Libraries, attended the 2023 Library Publishing Coalition Forum. The conference was virtual and was held on Zoom, drawing attendees from all over the United States as well as from countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and China.  In two keynote sessions, speakers Dorthea Salo and Deborah Poff covered ethics in library publishing ranging from censorship to ChatGPT, paper mills, and predatory publishing. The keynotes…

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Joshua Lambert, a member of the Library Science faculty at Missouri State University, recently published an article named Evidence-based library book shifting in the Journal of Access Services. This article describes an evidence-based process to shift books. The process involves measuring books, creating a moving plan, and specifying goals, or waypoints, to keep the shift on track. One of Joshua’s previous articles, Predictable book shifting, described a Python script librarians could run to help plan a book shift. This latest article presents a similar method but using…

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The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $7,000 to Springfield Community Gardens in support of the project, “Our Food: Our Stories”. The MHC is the only state wide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971. Springfield Community Gardens is sponsoring this progroject in partnership with Missouri Humanities and with support from the Missouri Humanities Trust…

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Ashley Morrill recently joined MSU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives as a non-student, part-time employee. Ashley completed an internship with Anne Baker during the spring 2023 semester and graduated with a Master of Library and Information Sciences from the University of Denver. While Anne is on leave, Ashley will assist with processing archival collections, answering reference questions, and digitizing materials. Welcome to the Missouri State University Libraries, Ashley!

Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Library Center auditorium, local golf pro Rick Grayson will be having an author talk. His book, Horton Smith: A Masters Legacy, was published in December 2022 by the Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries. The biography chronicles the life of Smith, a Springfield native, from birth through his rise as a professional golfer, to his PGA presidency and the controversial events regarding race in sports history, and on…

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Melissa Eiken, Executive Assistant II for the MSU Libraries, recently accepted an executive assistant position with the Conservation Division of Bass Pro Shops at their Base Camp corporate offices on East Kearney Street in Springfield. Melissa is excited about this new opportunity and is looking forward to working closely with projects funded through the Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation. Her last day at MSU will be Friday, May 12. Melissa has served the MSU Libraries since March 2018. A farewell reception…

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