Library Notes

On Saturday, February 3, Special Collections and Archives of the Missouri State University Libraries, had the opportunity to join one of the many celebrations of Black History Month in Springfield. Tracie Gieselman-Holthaus shared selected items from the Ora Logan Collection that focused on Mrs. Alberta Ellis (Ora Logan’s mother). She was the owner of Alberta’s Hotel, a local business promoted in the Green Book. In addition to business cards and photographs, the hotel’s Tourist Register was opened to display to names…

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Last week Distinguished Professor Jim Baumlin from the MSU Department of English donated to the MSU Libraries an original copy in good condition of the Saturday, August 31, 1861 issue of Harper’s Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. The cover contains a full-page etching of “General Lyon at the Battle of Springfield,” which is now commonly called the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, which was fought on August 10, 1861 twelve miles southwest of the square. Although the Son of the South…

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Every member of the Library Science Faculty at Missouri State University engages in Teaching/Librarianship, Research, and Service. Joshua Lambert, Associate Professor of Library Science, has graciously agreed to help the MSU Libraries position itself for continued success by focusing the Teaching/Librarianship aspects of his professional life on the following areas:  60% Research and Instructional Services (one-shot information literacy lectures, for-credit teaching, research consults, LibGuides, etc.) 20% Digital Scholarship Support Services 20% Stacks Strategist and Statistics, including building coordination tasks in…

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The renovations to the Skylight Area on the east side of the Second Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University are almost complete. New carpeting has been installed, and all-new furniture is being assembled for users of this area.  Also, special new shelving is being assembled that will hold our oversized volumes. When the renovation of this area is complete, it will become another popular study area. This renovation project is just one…

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Over forty years ago, in the late Seventies, a documentary film team, led by faculty and staff from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University), documented the life, culture, and society in Shannon County, Missouri, one of the more impoverished areas of the multi-state Ozarks region. The footage gave rise to two separate but related documentary films: “Shannon County: Home” and “Shannon County: The Hearts of the Children.”  These films always have been available in earlier video formats, and…

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The Springfield African-American Read-In, chaired by MSU Library Science faculty member Grace Jackson-Brown, is sponsoring several special events in February. The MSU Libraries is a co-sponsor.  On Friday evening, February 28, beginning at 7 p.m., enjoy a storytelling presentation with storyteller Gladys Caines Coggswell in celebration of the Springfield African American Read-In. Ms. Coggswell is recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Missouri Humanities Council. She will share stories that she has collected professionally over many years, as well…

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Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost at Missouri State University, recently gave the MSU Libraries the go-ahead to begin a search to fill a new position, E-Resources Strategist. Andrea Miller, a Library Science faculty member who had been managing our e-resources program, which comprises approximately one-third of our annual operating budget, recently graciously stepped forward to help the University Libraries in another critical area of need, cataloging and metadata services.  The E-Resource Strategist, a new staff position, will provide operational support in…

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Information Literacy is an important service at the Missouri State University Libraries, and it has many diverse facets, including, for example, media literacy and financial literacy. Ambassador V. Mitchell, MSEd. from MSU, is one of the leading experts on Child Financial Literacy in Springfield, Missouri and serves on the Prosper Springfield Financial Literacy Committee, headed by Francine Pratt. Ambassador states, “Financial Literacy is an asset, and children should be taught about money often, at an early age.” Recently he also…

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An article by student reporter Brenna Lumbley in this week’s Standard, the student-run newspaper at Missouri State University, highlights the current “Over There” exhibit about Missouri involvement in the First World War.  The exhibit was a great collaboration, not only with the Missouri Humanities Council and the Springfield-Greene County Library District, but also within the MSU Libraries. Numerous units worked together to help transport the display cases, assist in exhibit construction, and create supplemental displays. Craig Amason helped coordinate the…

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