The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Janet Hilts has been hired as arts and humanities librarian. Janet has a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in ethnomusicology and musicology from York University. She previously worked as a research assistant with the project “Sounds of Home: Exploring Local Music Collections and Collecting in Canada,” and as a librarian for the Learning and Instruction Division at Simon Fraser University Library.

The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Megan Ballengee has been hired as the community engagement coordinator. Megan has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Bachelor of Arts in art history and Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking from St. Cloud State University. She previously worked as an instructional services librarian at Heartland Community College and an undergraduate instruction & outreach librarian at Texas State University.

Every year since 1990, bicycle enthusiasts have converged from around the world for the International Cycle History Conference (ICHC), where papers are presented on all aspects of cycle history and culture.

Few controversies are more important to this group than that surrounding the invention of the “boneshaker,” that is, the original bicycle of the mid-19th century powered by cranks and rotary pedals attached to the front hub. Though it appears to have originated in Paris around 1863, exactly who was responsible for that breakthrough and the original Michaux bicycle company remains unclear.

Fortunately, new technologies in library research may help solve the mystery. In 2022, MU Government Information Librarian Marie Concannon presented a paper at the ICHC titled “How to use digital libraries for historical cycling research,” and spoke about advances which allow powerful full-text searching in millions of books and government records all at once.

One of the historians in attendance was David Herlihy, author of Bicycle: The History published by Yale University Press. After hearing Ms. Concannon’s presentation, he was intrigued by the possibility of using U.S. Patent & Trademark Office databases to answer a key question: in 1869, were the founders of the Michaux company trying to purchase the original bicycle patent granted by the U.S. Patent office in November, 1866 to Pierre Lallement of Paris, France? If so, that would provide strong evidence that they knew this was a valid patent. Mr. Herlihy hopes to analyze data generated by the newly retooled U.S. Patent database, together with 19th century intellectual property law, to make that case.

Ms. Concannon was able to assist with the patent database, but needed help with intellectual property law history. She asked MU Law Librarian colleagues Randy Diamond and Cindy Shearer for input, and was delighted to see all they uncovered — about a dozen articles providing exactly the sort of legal context Mr. Herlihy was seeking, including the steps a foreigner might have taken in the 1860s to either purchase or overturn an existing U.S. patent. Taking such actions could indirectly reveal that individual’s opinion of the bicycle’s rightful inventor.

For now it remains a mystery to us, while Mr. Herlihy works through all the materials sent by our team of librarians. We can’t wait to see his next ICHC paper!

The University of Missouri Libraries are pleased to announce that Navadeep Khanal has been appointed head of the newly created Teaching & Learning Department within the Research, Access and Instructional Services (RAIS) Division. The Teaching & Learning Department combines the former Instructional Services Department with the E-Learning/Digital Media unit and will support instructional services, e-learning, web content management, and the Digital Media and Innovation Lab. The head of Teaching & Learning will report to the associate university librarian for RAIS and work closely with the head of Research and Information Services to provide forward-thinking leadership in support of the libraries’ strategic goal to position the University Libraries as active partners in student-centered learning.

Navadeep has served as the head of E-Learning Technologies at the MU Libraries since 2021. He joined the MU Libraries in 2013 as the e-learning librarian. He earned his PhD in social and community informatics at the University of Illinois in 2012, and a Masters in Library and Information Science in 2005. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2002. Over the years he has worked closely with his fellow librarians, and instructional technology staff at Mizzou. He went on to set up the Digital Media and Innovation Lab in Ellis Library, and take on the additional role as web manager since 2017. Prior to coming to Mizzou, Navadeep worked at the iShool in Illinois to support research and information technology needs.

The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Mara Inge has been hired as the electronic resources and discovery librarian. Mara has a Master of Library and Information Science and a Bachelor of Arts in art history and archaeology from the University of Missouri. She worked as a senior library information specialist at the MU Engineering Library and Technology Commons since 2018. Before that, Mara was a document control coordinator at the MU Research Reactor.

Written by Ashlynn Perez

In 2016, Cassie Boness, a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences, set out to research and analyze the numerous causes of alcohol use disorder. The project was enormous, eventually amounting to nearly five years worth of work. With the long road to publication ahead of her, Boness contacted MU Libraries for help.

“They put me in contact with Kimberly who was so wonderful and patient in our massive undertaking,” Boness said. “I really felt more confident in the work knowing we had her expertise on board.”

Moeller, an instructional service and social science librarian and co-author of the review, first connected with Boness in 2016 when she was contemplating the project. What started as a few brainstorming emails quickly became monthly meetings and continual communication between the two when in September 2017, Boness secured grant funding and the road toward publication began.

Boness and Moeller’s review, entitled, “The Etiologic, Theory-Based, Ontogenetic Hierarchical Framework of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Translational Systematic Review of Reviews,” was written to look into the many causes of alcohol use disorder by summarizing and interpreting data from more specific reviews to make a broader conclusion about the field.

“It was a multi-step process,” Moeller said. “There’s already a lot of reviews out there, and we don’t need to recreate the wheel. So, we decided to review the reviews that exist.”

After the grueling, two-month process of narrowing down sources to reference in the review – an endeavor led by Moeller – came the coding of research and the extrapolation of data. While the initial research and writing of the review were time-consuming, the process of journal submission, receiving feedback, and making changes for resubmission took about half the time spent working on this project.

“Cassie, by and large, did the heavy lifting on this,” Moeller said. “She wrote at least 90% of the paper – likely even more than that – while I worked on the searches, the flowchart, and the methodology section. There was a lot of ‘in-between’ work that occurred as well, with searches added at different points to include other aspects or terminology that reviewers suggested.”

The review, pre-published in July 2021 and officially published in October 2021, has since been picked up by news organizations and created a buzz on Twitter. Boness is now a research assistant professor at the University of New Mexico.

For MU graduate students, staff and those interested in undertaking a systematic review like Boness’, Moeller recommends attending “Demystifying the Literature Review,” a workshop led by her and Christy Goldsmith from the Campus Writing Program. This workshop is offered both in-person and online, with a recording available on the MU Libraries YouTube channel for easy access, and explains both the research and writing process of compiling literature reviews. In addition, Moeller encourages researchers to talk to an MU Librarian.

“We [librarians] run these searches a lot,” Moeller said. “We’re very familiar and comfortable with which tools you might want to use, and can give suggestions to get you started. The librarian you work with can help you set up the search, run the initial search, export all of the results, and then you’re already a step ahead of the game.”

The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Steven Pryor has been appointed head of Digital Scholarship. This new position will lead the newly created unit within the Research, Access and Instructional Services division. This unit will provide critical support and leadership for digital and open scholarship initiatives that advance the MU’s commitment to research excellence.

The Digital Scholarship Unit will provide leadership for developing and maintaining repository and publishing infrastructure to preserve, curate and host content created by MU scholars or owned by the MU Libraries and will be available to consult with librarians and scholars on the implementation and use of digital scholarly tools, methods and applications. In addition, the unit will work with library colleagues to advance open scholarship through advocacy and education in the areas of open access, open educational resources, research metrics and data management.

The formation of this new unit reflects our belief that digital scholarship, digital curation and preservation, and open scholarship are part of the critical infrastructure necessary to support scholarly research at a large research university.

Steven Pryor previously served at MU as digital scholarship librarian since 2018 and as the interim head of Digital Services since April 2021. Steven has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Southern Illinois University. Steven previously served as head of information and technology services (ITS) operations for the University of Washington Libraries. Before that he served as the ITS special projects librarian. Other previous positions include director of digital initiatives and technologies at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville and technology manager for Saint Louis University Libraries.

The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Rae Thudium has been appointed as the head of the Veterinary Medical Library. Originally from Springfield, Missouri, Rae earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Columbia College and a Master of Library and Information Science at the University of Missouri. She has served as the interim head librarian since the departure of Kate Anderson in July, 2021. Previously, she was a library associate at the Daniel Boone Regional Library and the interim executive assistant at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. Her goals for the veterinary library include ensuring the library is a safe, quiet place for all, and updating the print collection to include additional eBook options.

The MU Libraries are pleased to announce that Vera Elwood has been hired as the head of the Journalism Library. Vera comes to Mizzou from Central Methodist University, where she was the instructional services librarian for three years. Prior to that, Vera served as young adult librarian and, later, outreach librarian at the Hays Public Library for three years. Vera may have gotten her Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University in Kansas, but she became a third generation Mizzou legacy when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication from the University of Missouri.