Library Notes

On Thursday, August 1, 2024, Vanessa Lockhart will start as Administrative Assistant II for the Missouri State University Libraries. This is a new position at the MSU Libraries, emerging from the former Executive Assistant position.  Vanessa’s principal work area will be in the Ozarks Room on the Third Level.  Vanessa previously has worked as an Information Specialist in the Financial Aid Office at MSU, as well as at the Ozarks Small Business Incubator in West Plains, and the Titanic Museum…

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The Kentwood Series of talks and presentations about various facets of Ozarks history and life continues this evening (Thursday, July 11th) beginning at 7:00 p.m., when the renowned author, educator, and historian Steve Wiegenstein will speak. His talk will focus on utopian communities in Missouri, past and present. Nineteenth-century Missouri was home to several alternative communities, often termed “utopian communities” for their emphasis on social betterment and a different way of life. But although their neighbors sometimes considered these utopians…

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New Year’s Day                                                       January 1, 1934 Had a good time last night. Aunt Me and I went to the midnight show, ‘Convention City,’ at the Paramount…” This begins the 1934 diary of a Springfield teenager. Agnes Rita Walsh spends the next several months documenting her life – her plans, the people she knew, and…

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Special Collections and Archives inside the Duane G. Meyer Library is exhibiting the memorabilia of Ramona McQueary’s time involved in the P.E.O. Sisterhood. P.E.O. stands for Philanthropic Education Organization. Founded in 1869 at Iowa Wesleyan University by seven female students, P.E.O. exists for the betterment of women, sisterhood, and loyalty through grants, scholarships, awards, and loans that help women to attain their educational goals. McQueary herself was very active at Missouri State University, then known as SMSU. She served on…

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Staff from the Missouri State University Libraries will be at PrideFest this upcoming Saturday representing the Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives (OLGA). This collection works to document the LGBTQ+ community in our region. Among the holdings are photographs, oral histories, records of organizations, and scrapbooks. Shown here are Tracie Gieselman France and Jeffrey Lawson as they practice putting up the new tent that will keep us out of the sun (and possibly the rain!). This tent and other outreach materials…

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On Friday, June 7, 2024 and Saturday, June 8, 2024, the Ozarks Studies Institute, an ongoing initiative of the Missouri State University Libraries, will serve as a vendor at the 30th annual Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains, MO. The OSI booth will have books and magazines for sale at a table underneath a canopy. Funded partially by the Missouri Arts Council and the Missouri Folk Arts Program, the festival, which began in 1994, exists to acknowledge talented…

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A recently completed collaborative project is “Our Food: Our Stories,” an oral history series containing sixteen interviews that seeks to preserve experiences of Ozarks farmers and the rich Ozarks agricultural heritage. Interviews have been collected from a diverse group of farmers across the region with particular emphasis on the stories of indigenous people, as well as immigrants, veterans, those who are underserved, the socially disadvantaged, individuals of color, as well as beginning and seasoned farmers. This project is a collaboration…

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The Kentwood Series of talks and presentations about various facets of Ozarks history and life will continue on Thursday, July 11th, beginning at 7:00 p.m., when the renowned author, educator, and historian Steve Wiegenstein will speak. His talk will focus on utopian communities in Missouri, past and present. Nineteenth-century Missouri was home to several alternative communities, often termed “utopian communities” for their emphasis on social betterment and a different way of life. But although their neighbors sometimes considered these utopians…

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The Spring/Summer 2024 edition of OzarksWatch Magazine is fresh off the press! This volume’s theme is Ozark Treasures. This unique issue is a smorgasbord of stories. Inside, you’ll find articles on everything from music to visual art, sports, photography, history, and much more. The issue is complete with 7 book reviews in the back.  “All this, and more are just out there waiting, and we’re not sure that everyone knows that. So we decided  to give you a sample of…

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