home Cycle of Success Chistina Pryor Elected President-Elect of Reference and User Services Association

Chistina Pryor Elected President-Elect of Reference and User Services Association

Christina Pryor has been elected the 2020-21 President-Elect of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Pryor will serve her Presidential term during 2021-22.

“RUSA has been my professional home since I joined ALA as a student in the MLIS program and I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue my service to the Association that has provided me with so much professional growth throughout my career.”

Christina Pryor has been back in Missouri since 2018 where she currently works as the Interim Assistant Director of Library Operations for the University of Missouri J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library and the Library Engagement and Missouri Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Mid-Continental Regional Medical Library. Pryor has also held positions with the University of Washington Health Sciences Library, Amigos Library Services, the St. Louis County Library, and Covidien. She has expertise in the areas of training, management, outreach, advocacy, marketing, and public services and has published and presented on a variety of topics including library partnership management, wellness initiatives for library employees, and implementing change in library services.

Pryor earned her BS in Journalism with a specialization in Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and her MLIS from the University of Missouri Columbia where she currently serves as an adjunct instructor for the program teaching a course in medical librarianship.

home Cycle of Success, Newsletter Friends of the University of Missouri Libraries Celebrates the 2020 Stuckey Essay Contest Winners

Friends of the University of Missouri Libraries Celebrates the 2020 Stuckey Essay Contest Winners

The Friends of the University of Missouri Libraries is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 Robert J. Stuckey Essay Contest, the first-place winner will be awarded a $1,500 scholarship and the second-place winner is awarded a $750 scholarship. The first-place winner is Addison Rinehart of West Platte High School in Weston, MO for her essay entitled “A Pessimist’s Reading List.” The second-place winner is Marina Firman of Boonville High School in Boonville, MO for her essay entitled “Growing Up With Books.” Each teacher of these students, Helen Penrod and Marjorie Brimer, will also receive a $250 award.

The Friends of the Libraries have been affiliated with the University Libraries and the University of Missouri since 1960. The Friends have administered the Robert J. Stuckey Essay Contest for the University for the past several years. The late Robert J. Stuckey was a member of the 1963 junior class of Farmington High School and had planned to attend college. He was vitally interested in current events and enjoyed reading. This annual contest is presented in memory of him.

Each year the contest is open to Missouri High School students in grades 9-12, and only one entry is accepted from each school. Each entry must address one or more aspects of books reading. Common student topics for essays include literary analyses, accounts of personal experiences and fictional short stories. Each essay should be originally composed by the student without assistance, and should not have been submitted to any previous contest of have been previously published.

“We are delighted to offer this scholarship opportunity to smart, ambitious, and creative high school students as a way to support their college education,” says Kelsey Thompson, President of the Friends of the University of Missouri Libraries. “Mizzou is a world class institution and we hope all high school students consider continuing their education here.”

Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

home Cycle of Success, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Interlibrary Loan Key to Completion of Textbook on Male Fertility

Interlibrary Loan Key to Completion of Textbook on Male Fertility

Dr. Erma Drobnis, PhD., is no stranger when it comes to using the library. “Back when I was working on my master’s and PhD., I’d go to the library to make copies of information I needed from books and put the copies in my huge research file. I’d often have to refer back to the file because the older information is harder to get,” says Drobnis.

With her office located at Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Drobnis uses library databases, but has found that most articles pertinent to her research are in the older literature that is not readily available online. As the director of the andrology (the branch of medicine which deals with diseases and conditions specific to men) laboratory at MU Health Care, Drobnis is often asked if certain medications can affect male fertility. Each time these questions come up, she must sift through the literature for the answer. Close to ten years ago, she started keeping a list of all the medications she was asked about, along with their effects. This list eventually turned into a book chapter, then into a book when she realized a chapter was too small for the amount of information she needed to share.

Drobnis says, “Interlibrary Loan was a big help to me because it’d be three in the morning and I’d need a specific paper published in 1970. A PDF would be emailed to me a few hours after I requested it. I ended up with thousands of references and the library provided me any of the papers I needed so I didn’t have to spend time driving there myself.” Drobnis was able to devote that extra time to writing her book. It took Dr. Drobnis nine months of 80 to 90-hour work weeks to write the book. According to Drobnis, “There is no book out there on this subject and it’s information people need to know.”

Since its publication in 2017, Impacts of Medications on Male Fertility  has been downloaded over 13,000 times and cited 18 times. It is available for check out at the Health Sciences Library.

home Cycle of Success Journalism Library Saves Students Money with E-Books

Journalism Library Saves Students Money with E-Books

The cost of textbooks for students can be expensive, especially in certain disciplines or if a student has a heavy course load. Many students are required to purchase a book for a class that they will only read a few chapters of—or never open at all.

As the School of Journalism redesigns its curriculum, the plan is to incorporate as many open educational resources (OER) as possible. OER are freely accessible, openly licensed materials. This will include creating new content, accessing free and low-cost content created by other educators and working with the journalism library to find eBooks with either multi or unlimited user licenses.

Dorothy Carner, the head of libraries at the Missouri School of Journalism, said she is trying to purchase as many free resources for students as possible. She has already purchased unlimited access textbooks for use in several courses, including Journalism 2000, 4250 and 8000. In addition, e-textbooks will also be available for several communication classes.

Carner estimates that by the end of the upcoming spring semester, over 1,200 Journalism 2000 students will have had the option to access an e-textbook. The e-books are especially useful for online students since they don’t always have access to a physical textbook, Carner said.

Carner recommends that students who don’t want to read the e-book on a computer screen should download the section they need and print it. Not having to purchase the printed textbook will save students money.

Because the Journalism Library collects faculty syllabi each semester, Carner is able to see which textbooks will be used in each class. If possible, she will order those textbooks as multiuser e-books.

Faculty are encouraged to collaborate with the library on OER and request e-textbooks as they plan their courses. In addition, it is important for instructors to show students how to access, download and print these resources as needed.

Written by Christina Mascarenas and Dorothy Carner

home Cycle of Success Interim Library Appointments

Interim Library Appointments

Deb Ward has been appointed interim vice provost for libraries and university librarian, effective Nov. 28, 2019. Ward has been the director of the MU health sciences libraries, which includes the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library and the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library, for over 20 years. In 2016, she also became the associate university librarian for specialized libraries. Ward has been active in local, regional and national library organizations. Ward was a co-creator of the Missouri AHEC Digital Library, an information service for health care providers in the state of Missouri, created in partnership with the Mid-Missouri Area Health Education Center. In addition, she has been the principal investigator for the Missouri coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine since 2002. She is a partner with three other campus collaborators in the three-year project “Librarians as Catalysts for Healthy Communities,” funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services. Previously, Ward held a number of administrative appointments at three other academic health sciences libraries. She earned a bachelor of arts in German and a master of arts in education from Eastern Kentucky University. She also earned a master of library science from the University of Kentucky.

Other interim assignments:

  • Kate Anderson, veterinary medical librarian, Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries Division, assigned oversight for three additional specialized libraries
  • Corrie Hutchinson, associate university librarian, Acquisitions, Collections and Technical Services Division, assigned oversight for technical services functions of the Health Sciences Library
  • Jeannette Pierce, associate university librarian, Research and Instruction Services Division, assigned oversight for the division currently assigned to Ann Riley
  • Chris Pryor, NNLM coordinator, Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries Division, assigned oversight for the Health Sciences Library Circulation Department and responsibility for facility and administrative aspects of the Health Sciences and Specialized Libraries divisional operation
  • Diane Johnson, assistant director for the Health Sciences Library Information Services and Resources, will take on additional temporary duties including serving on the Collection Steering Committee
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Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

home Cycle of Success Welcome to John Henry Adams, Research & Instruction Librarian for Special Collections

Welcome to John Henry Adams, Research & Instruction Librarian for Special Collections

In November, the University Libraries hired John Henry Adams as a research and instruction librarian for Special Collections & Rare Books. John Henry has a PhD in English literature from Arizona State University and a Master of Library Science with a specialization in rare books and manuscripts from Indiana University. He has previously worked as a curatorial assistant and a reference assistant at the Lilly Library. He is especially interested in book culture and people’s relationship to their books and has published on how that relationship is represented in early modern literature.

home Cycle of Success Fulbright Scholar Appreciates Journalism Library Resources

Fulbright Scholar Appreciates Journalism Library Resources

By Christina Mascarenas

Going to America was more a dream than reality to Indah Setiwati, a 30 hour plane ride dream. Indah was the deputy editor for the Jakarta Post in Jakarta, Indonesia when she decided to make a change and apply to graduate school.

In the beginning, Indah only applied to local scholarships even though studying abroad is a goal for many Indonesians. Indah had her family to think about. Not wanting Indah to limit her academic potential, a friend encouraged her to apply for the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. If Indah was accepted, she would finally have her ticket to the United States.

After weighing the pros and cons, Indah decided to go for it and applied to four scholarships including the Fulbright program. One day, she was taking the train to work when she received an email telling her she was accepted into the Fulbright program. “It was surreal,” she said. “The Fulbright Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship on earth.”

Indah did research to find the best journalism school in the U.S. that would fit her interests. She chose the Missouri School of Journalism because it was the best journalism school and was affordable with her Fulbright Scholarship.

According to Indah, the Journalism Library at Mizzou has extremely knowledgeable librarians. “Sue is really helpful and resourceful,” she stated referring to Sue Schuermann, senior library specialist. Sue took the time to show Indah how to do precise searches and search for specific journals. “She is very helpful. She is a great resource, all you have to do it ask,” she said.

When Indah needed a book that the library didn’t have, Sue was able to purchase the book for the library. Indah was especially grateful for the “really cool” interlibrary loan program. When she wanted to read a particular book, she was asked if she’d like to read the PDF or the book, she chose both. She thought it was great to get the book in three days.

“Books in Indonesia are precious. They are like a treasure,” she said. “Especially children’s books, it’s really hard to get English children’s books in Indonesia, they are expensive.” In addition to the Journalism Library, she has used Ellis Library and the Daniel Boone Regional Library. She said, “American libraries are like wow.” In Indonesia, according to Indah, “If you want to get an affordable children’s English book. You have to go to a second-hand store. The upper-class Jakartans donate or sell their books to the second-hand stores. You can only find books at certain places.”

“I’m happier here to see the library resources,” she said. “Another cool thing about the library is you have access to the New York Times and other publications, and you don’t have to spend your money to subscribe to them since the library already subscribes to them.”

 

home Cycle of Success RJI and University Libraries Receive Mellon Grant

RJI and University Libraries Receive Mellon Grant

The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) and University of Missouri Libraries received a $250,000 grant this fall from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help ensure the survival of today’s digital news record for future generations.

During a yearlong project, a team from the Journalism Digital News Archive, a joint initiative of RJI and University Libraries, plans to visit news outlets across the U.S. and Europe. Edward McCain, digital curator of journalism at RJI and the University Libraries, said that during these visits, the team will identify what’s hampering the process of preserving online content by examining the outlets’ technology, workflows and policies.

This project builds on work done during the Journalism Digital News Archive’s five Dodging the Memory Hole conferences, which brought together librarians, memory institutions, newsroom leaders and others between 2014 and 2017 to have conversations about how to preserve and protect “the first rough draft of history.”

For more information, visit Mizzou News.

 

home Cycle of Success Welcome to Jennifer Thompson, Electronic Resources Librarian

Welcome to Jennifer Thompson, Electronic Resources Librarian

In October, the University Libraries hired Jennifer Thompson as electronic resources librarian for the University of Missouri System. Jennifer has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia, where she studied religion and architectural history. It was while studying the design of the Boston Public Library that she fell in love with libraries. Previously, Jennifer served as technology and resource sharing consultant for the Missouri State Library and as director of the library at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC.

home Cycle of Success, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Library Research Support Assists Nurse with Evidence-Based Practices

Library Research Support Assists Nurse with Evidence-Based Practices

For over 23 years, Tami Day has worked for the University of Missouri’s Health Care system receiving all her education from the MU’s Sinclair School of Nursing and utilizing the library a lot over the years.

Tami appreciates how helpful the librarians have been throughout her nursing education. Back when Tami first started nursing school, she’d find journals and make copies of the articles; now she can find articles online and email them out. “That has been a huge game changer in the 25 years I’ve been at the university,” she said. “Back then I’d physically go to the library and find the books, now you’re just a few clicks away from the information you want.”

A few years ago, Tami went back to school to work on her master’s degree. This program focused on evidence-based practice with an emphasis on approaches to clinical care and taking clinical problems to design improvement projects. Tami relies heavily on the librarians and their research skills. For Tami, Taira Meadowcroft, information services librarian at the Health Sciences Library, became an invaluable resource. Tami first met Taira when Taira was assigned to the Positive Individual Proactive Support (PIPS) program. Taira provided research support to the PIPs to help improve the quality of health in the hospital.

Taira Meadowcroft

Since Taira was providing support to the PIPS, Tami asked Taira for help in her master’s program as most of those projects would help Tami’s work in the hospital. For example, Tami said she can email Taira the topic of a project and ask for the highest level of evidence. In one instance, Taira sent Tami 23 articles within one hour. It would have taken Tami several hours to find the same information.

When Taira receives a request to find literature, she spends a good amount of time educating herself on the topic in order find the best evidence. ”A librarian should be one of the first steps before starting a project. Seeing what information is out there is important when deciding if and how to pursue that project,” said Taira. “It’s easier and more efficient to have a librarian do a search and it frees up your time.”

Tami and Taira’s working relationship continues to evolve and now Taira is supporting Tami with her doctoral program and in her new role as coordinator of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice. As coordinator, she’s working to make University Hospital a Magnet designated hospital through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Achieving this designation would place MU Health Care in an elite group of hospitals, resulting in better patient outcomes and less nursing turn over through evidence-based practice.

”Nurses are busy people and searching for literature is just one more thing you are asked to do, but it’s important for the overall health of the patients,” said Taira. “My favorite part of my job is that I can help contribute to the health of patients, working behind the scenes to find the best evidence, while nurses tend to a patient’s bed side.” Taira’s searches are also assisting in the goal of the Magnet designation.

Written by Christina Mascarenas