Shannon Cary
Need a Break? Work on Puzzle in 104 Ellis
If you need a break or just happen to be walking by, please visit us in 104 Ellis Library to help out with a puzzle, featuring the TV show The Office.
In the News
“Gwen Gray receives Business Librarianship Award”
Show Me Mizzou, May 1, 2025
First-Generation Students View Libraries as an Essential Campus Resource

As a first-generation student, I have always been passionate about supporting first-generation students! After joining Mizzou as a Student Success Librarian, I started supporting first-generation student initiatives. Eventually, I became a member of the First-Generation Student Success Advisory Board, which meets regularly to ensure we continue supporting our first-generation students best, promoting services, starting initiatives, and creating goals for the First-Generation Student Initiatives coordinator.
When students in Tri-Alpha, the first-generation honor society, answered a question about which campus resource impacted them the most, they all answered the library. One student wrote, “The library and the helpfulness of the faculty! The library has been an amazing resource as someone who needs to study and lives in a place with multiple roommates. The faculty has helped guide me throughout my years here and point me in the direction I needed.”
In the past year, I have built tools and initiatives at the library that support our first-generation students both directly and indirectly. I’ve presented at student events, to student parents, and at tabling events to share library tools with first-generation students, and I am so excited that they have found our resources helpful! Here are a few resources that might be helpful for first-generation students or faculty and staff who are interested in discussing how to support first-generation students better:
• A new library webpage for first-generation students sharing resources and tools that are curated specifically for first-generation students. Find it here: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/firstgen
• The NEW Wellbeing Collection on the first floor of Ellis Library includes resources for first-generation students and other campus groups, as well as books for leisure reading.
• A Faculty and Staff First-Generation Initiative, where any faculty and staff can join our reading group. We meet to discuss articles on first-generation topics monthly, and one book per semester.
For more information, contact me: Jill Kline, jill.kline@missouri.edu.
Special Collections Open House, May 7
Graves and Gray Author Poster at Research Day
Rebecca Graves and Gwen Gray were coauthors on a poster at Ellis Fischel’s Research Day – titled “Lymphedema Adaptive Clothing Experience (LACE): A Scoping Review of Lymphedema Apparel Issues”.
Touching a Global Past in a Private Collection of Books and Manuscripts

Tuesday, May 6, 2025
2 to 3:15 pm
114A Ellis Library
Open House Research Presentation
ARH_VS 4160W / 7160: Global Encounters in Art History
Prof. Anne Rudloff Stanton
By Ellie Cearley, Alexis Cornett, Fynn Lamanske, Sara Lawson, Jake Mangan, Kaitlyn Melton, Adakunle Ogunleke, Muditha Pathirana, Greg Pekurney, Didintle Setzin, Xiaoran Tang, and Hanxue Zhang
Granger Receives Chancellor’s Staff Award
Ashley Granger received the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award in the Technical/Paraprofessional category. From the award letter: “We are pleased to share that you were selected to receive the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award for Technical/Paraprofessional! Each year we recognize staff members who reflect the best of our University community through their job performance, job-related personal qualities, relationships with associates and commitment to our mission and values. Congratulations on receiving this honor.”
The recognition ceremony is on May 21 at 1:30 pm.
Highlighted Posts of the Week
- Ellis Library Open Extended Hours for Finals Study
- Countdown to Finals: Additional countdown posts will be posted for the next couple of weeks.