Library Notes

On Tuesday evening, June 14, 2022, beginning at 7 p.m. in Room 101 of Duane G. Meyer Library on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University, there will be a screening of segments of a documentary film, followed by a panel discussion, on the topic “Route 66: The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road.” This event is free and open to the public.  This documentary film series explores how women overcame segregation and gender discrimination tobuild fulfilling…

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Let’s talk about mules!   Please join us in person in the Magnolia Room in the West Plains Civic Center or online via Zoom on Saturday, June 4, 2022 beginning at 1 p.m. CDT for a lively discussion about Ozarks Mules.   https://missouristate.zoom.us/j/93745684459   We’ll have a panel discussion and storytelling session devoted to these stubborn-yet-endearing animals that have made indispensable contributions to life in the Ozarks and beyond.   Richie Dement of Centerville, Missouri, who coordinates the annual Hirsch…

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Do you know someone in Missouri who should be recognized for their work in libraries? Do you know of a Missouri library doing exemplary or outstanding work that deserves to be rewarded? Consider making a nomination for a Missouri Library Award! The deadline to submit a nomination is June 25, 2022, and the process is easy! The Missouri Library Association Award categories, which link to descriptions & application details, are here: Missouri Library of the Year Outstanding Library Employee (non-MLS)…

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The Missouri State University Libraries’ E-Learning Librarian, Jessica Bennett, was recently awarded the 2021 Certified Distance Educator (CDE) Award, sponsored by the Distance Education Committee (DEC) at Missouri State University.

Beginning Monday, August 1, 2022, Rachel Kersey will be the new Managing Editor at the Missouri State University Libraries. This is a new high-level staff position. Her office will be in Meyer Library 006A on the Lower Level.  Rachel has a wealth of writing, editing, and publishing experience, having worked for the University Press of Kentucky, HarperCollins, a literary agency in NYC, a DC-based lifestyle magazine, and several newspapers, including a military newspaper. She earned a BA in Journalism from…

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Special Collections and Archives, part of the Missouri State University Libraries, is excited to announce the addition of a new finding guide available online. The Plaster Student Union Collection documents the numerous services, recreational and social activities, and organizations housed in the Student Union, later known as the Robert W. Plaster Student Union. The collection contains photographs, publications, the Ozarks Millennium Quilt and plaque, and scrapbooks. Sixteen scrapbooks document the activities and events of the various incarnations of the Campus…

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The Ozarks Studies Institute (OSI), an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, located on the main Springfield campus, has launched a new oral history project called “Songs of the Ozarks.”  Emily Flatness, a student at Missouri State, conceived and launched the series. Craig Amason is editing the raw files and adding metadata about each recording, including transcriptions.  Three oral histories have been published to date: Casey and the Atta Boys: https://youtu.be/v0ax5OEG3l8 The Creek Rocks: https://youtu.be/o1vhPh-fkyQ Lonesome Road: https://youtu.be/UBi9EROExrE …

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The National Mall will resonate with sounds of the Ozarks this summer when the Missouri State University Libraries offers a preview of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region.” The concert is part of the Festival’s “Next Up” series. This free and open-to-the-public event will be held Sunday, June 26 from 4-6 p.m. EDT (3-5 p.m. CDT) on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. In addition to…

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A recent news report on longtime local TV station KY3 focused on the Ozark Jubilee Digitization Project, a massive multi-year project organized and managed by the MSU Libraries in conjunction with the UCLA Film and Television Archive and many donors and supporters, including the catalyst for the project, Wayne Glenn, the Old Record Collector. KY3 reporter Chad Plein worked on and reported this piece which runs approx. four and a half minutes, with lots of original footage from the Jubilee….

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Associate Dean of Libraries Rachel Besara, Coordinator of Public Services Holly Kouns, and Technology Strategist Nathan Neuschwander recently traveled to two libraries in our region to form connections with colleagues and to see outstanding examples of thoughtful design and innovation. The trio visited both the Fayetteville Public Library and the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC).  At the Fayetteville Public Library, the group focused on the recently created J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Center for…

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