Library Notes

The Historic Springfield Collection (M 26) in Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives contains photographs of properties and publications created or collected by the not-for-profit corporation named Historic Springfield. The corporation formed in 1999 to promote the preservation of Springfield’s “cultural resources” and provide historic consultation throughout the community. Historic Springfield aspired to demonstrate historical preservation through the restoration of The Mosher House on East Walnut Street as the Living History House Museum. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs of…

Read More Read More

To encourage recycling, and by extension reduce the amount of trash generated from public spaces, Meyer Library is conducting a trial of two sets of new recycling and trash containers. Each set consists of one paper, one bottle/can, and one trash container. For the trial Meyer Library chose Rubbermaid Untouchable 23 gallon containers with lids. The trash container is black with a square-holed lid. The paper recycling container is blue with a narrow slot while the bottle/can container is green…

Read More Read More

Please help us celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the Springfield AARI (African American Read In) in 2019! Save the date of Friday, February 1, 2019 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm to attend the Opening Reception for the showing of the “Telling a People’s Story:  African-American Children’s Illustrated Literature Traveling Exhibit” at The Library Center on S. Campbell Avenue for an evening of songs, dramatic readings, games, and other festivities. The reception will begin several months of events in conjunction with the…

Read More Read More

Lindsey Taggart, an assistant professor and Director of Resource Management and Discovery in the MSU Libraries, was awarded an ACRL 2019 Early Career Scholarship. The scholarship includes registration and a travel stipend to participate in this year’s ACRLConference, to be held in Cleveland, Ohio, April 10-13. Lindsey is also the winner of the 2019 ER&L First Timer Award. The award covers registration and lodging for the Electronic Resources & Libraries conference in Austin, Texas, March 3-6. Congratulations, Lindsey!

In December of 2018, Bill and Virginia Darr donated $13,000 to the MSU Libraries. Their generosity was in response to a one-page wishlist of items that had been inserted into the annual progress and highlights report that the MSU Libraries mailed last fall to friends and supporters of the Libraries. These funds will be used in the following manner: $1,000 to enhance the Pillars of Public Affairs Collection $1,500 to purchase two Cricut Maker die-cutting machines, enabling MSU students, faculty,…

Read More Read More

Outreach is an important component of the public affairs mission of the MSU Libraries. Many faculty and staff members of the MSU Libraries engage in outreach activities on a continuing basis. For instance, on Monday Dean Tom Peters gave a talk about the Weaver Brothers, Elviry, and the Home Folks during the monthly luncheon gathering organized and sponsored by the Music Monday of the Ozarks group. Approximately 40 members of the public attended, including several descendants of the Weaver family…

Read More Read More

MSU Libraries’ digital archivist, Shannon Mawhiney, was recently elected Vice-Chair of the Missouri Hub Steering Committee.  The Missouri Hub (or MOHub) consists of several partner institutions from around the state, including Missouri State University, and is currently sponsored by the MOBIUS consortium.  MOHub aggregates information about digital objects, such as letters and photographs digitized in Meyer Library’s Special Collections, and supplies these records to the Digital Public Library of American (DPLA)—which makes content discoverable through a single search interface.  This allows the items in Missouri State University’s Digital Collections to…

Read More Read More

The Tenth Anniversary of the Springfield African American Read-In (AARI), a community literacy initiative, begins on Friday, February 1, 2019 with an opening reception for the traveling exhibit Telling a People’s Story: African American Children’s Illustrated Literature.  This is the first major museum exhibition devoted to the art found within the pages of African-American children’s books. The reception, free and open to the public, will be held from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at The Library Center (4653 S. Campbell Avenue), with ample parking. …

Read More Read More

Hundreds of students took time out from studying for finals on Tuesday afternoon, December 11, 2018 to interact with seven teams of dogs and owners from Pet Therapy of the Ozarks. Two of the teams were new to this event. The dogs, their owners, and the students congregated in the new Living Room on the First Level of Duane G. Meyer Library on the Springfield campus of Missouri State University. Everyone had a great time. Anne Baker, Head of Special Collections…

Read More Read More

The President’s Office Publications (RG 1/1/2) in Meyer Library’s Special Collections and Archives contains several different regular publications produced by Missouri State University’s President’s Office, including President’s Report (1963-1994), SMSU Focus (1993-2005), and Friday Focus (2005-2010). President’s Report summarized information about each school year, such as events, achievements, and financial information. Some issues also covered information about “long-range plans.”* Friday Focus was an occasional publication from the Office of the President.  First published as SMSU Focusin 1993, the brief (2-4 page) publication contained information from the university president for the campus…

Read More Read More