It’s National Library Week – a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians, and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide – and the perfect time for our campus community to come together @ the MU Libraries-Your Connection to Knowledge.

The MU Libraries are celebrating National Library Week by holding a party for the MU faculty, staff and students. Please join us for refreshments and library information at Ellis Library on Wednesday, April 16 starting at 11 a.m.

“Everyday, libraries in big cities and small towns, colleges and universities, in schools and in businesses help transform their communities,” says Jim Cogswell, Director of Libraries. “At our libraries, people of all backgrounds can come together to access the Internet, research and write papers, use a study room, get assistance from a subject specialist, check out DVDs, meet up with friends or grab some coffee in the Bookmark Cafe.”

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

For more information contact Shannon Cary at carysn@missouri.edu or (573) 882-4703.

Graduation no longer means losing access to the valuable resources of the University of Missouri-Columbia Libraries. A partnership between the MU Libraries and the Mizzou Alumni Association now connects members of the Association with several of the library resources available to students daily.

The MU Libraries have created a Library Resources for Alumni Web page, which can be viewed at http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/resourcesfor/alumni.htm. Among its multiple features, the page provides users with quick access, from the comfort of home, to thousands of articles in reliable journals found in EBSCO Academic Search Alumni Edition and Business Source Alumni Edition.

“Accessing library services online has been a growing need for many alumni”, says David Roloff, Director of Membership & Marketing for the Mizzou Alumni Association. “Providing access to these databases provides additional value to MAA membership.”

Typically, academic libraries sign license agreements that allow only students and faculty to access library electronic resources via the Internet. However, when EBSCO Publishing, a major library database provider, began offering alumni packages to schools, it became possible for alumni to access the resources also. The convenience of instantly finding useful information is something MU students, faculty and staff have grown accustomed to on campus. The expectation is that alumni will appreciate that power too.

“When you want to know more about a topic, you can retrieve full-text online articles that are more authoritative and reliable than many Internet sites found via Google,” stated Jim Cogswell, Director of Libraries.

For more information about accessing alumni resources, contact Rhonda Whithaus at whithausr@missouri.edu or (573) 882-9164.

For more information about the Mizzou Alumni Association, visit www.mizzou.com.

These databases are available only to University of Missouri-Columbia alumni. The resources can be utilized by alumni in accordance with copyright regulations for personal, non-commercial use.

Many books in the MU Libraries are fragile, others need minor repairs, still others require extensive help if they are to survive this century. Those of us who consider books our friends cannot bear to lose them, and it is in that spirit that the Friends of the MU Libraries have initiated the Adopt-A-Book Program. By adopting a book, you will ensure that it gets the help it needs to remain with us for years to come. Please consider sponsoring a book. All monies will go directly to the care and maintenance of rare, fragile and just plain good books. As our thanks, your adoption will be noted in the MERLIN online catalog, and you will be invited to an annual Celebration of the Book event, sponsored by the Friends of the MU Libraries.

For more information and to adopt a book online, please visit http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/about/adoptabook/adoptabook.php

Join us for an amazing performance by the Contreras Saxophone Quartet on April 8 at noon. Since its formation in 2005 at MU, the Contreras Saxophone Quartet has quickly established itself as one of the premiere collegiate ensembles of its kind in the country. Now, you can enjoy their music in the beautiful Grand Reading Room (Room 201) of Ellis Library. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information contact Shannon Cary at carysn@missouri.edu or (573) 882-4703.

Celebrate National Poetry Month! The MU Libraries are hosting a reading and signing by Walter Bargen, the first Poet Laureate of Missouri. As Poet Laureate, Mr. Bargen is responsible for promoting the arts in Missouri and for
composing an original poem in honor of Missouri.

Mr. Bargen, of Ashland, has published nine books and two chapbooks of poems over the past 28 years. Among his work is The Feast: Prose Poem Sequences, which won the 2005 William Rockhill Nelson Award for best poetry book by a Missouri writer. His work has appeared in more than 100 publications, and he has received a National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship as well as various other awards.

This event is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 9, 3-4 p.m.
Ellis Library, 1st Floor Colonnade

For more information contact Shannon Cary at carysn@missouri.edu or (573) 882-4703.

Patrons may now keep a record of the MERLIN materials that they check out. After logging into “My Library Account” on the MU Libraries home page (mulibraries.missouri.edu), you may activate this feature by clicking on “Reading History” and choosing “Opt-in.”

You may choose whether or not you would like this feature enabled within your library account. However, there are some important considerations that you should keep in mind:

1. The list of items in your Reading History will display only MERLIN (MU, MST, UMKC, UMSL) materials that you have checked out. In other words, nothing that you borrow from MOBIUS or Interlibrary Loan will be included in this Reading History list.
2. The Reading History list will only include materials you check out from the point that you turn on your Reading History. Materials that were checked out prior to turning on your Reading History will not be included in the list.
3. The information that you allow to be collected in your Reading History is not protected by any privacy laws. Any records retained by an individual or institution, including your Reading History, could be subpoenaed through the proper legal channels. The UM Libraries will protect a user’s privacy to the fullest extent possible. However, under the State of Missouri Records Law, library records are not exempt from disclosure.
4. Once an item has been returned, the libraries maintain no record of what you borrowed, and library staff have no access to your reading history.
5. If you are concerned about someone else seeing a list of what you are reading, the safest step is not to turn on your reading history.

Consider these factors prior to agreeing to “Opt In” to your Reading History.

For more information, contact Judy Maseles at MaselesJ@missouri.edu or (573) 882-2715.

View the “Women in History” mural created by the 5th grade students of West Blvd. Elementary School under the guidance of their teacher, Jonette Ford. This exhibit will be on display throughout March in honor of Women’s History Month.

Join us for an amazing performance by the MU Bassoon Ensemble on March 11 at noon. This new ensemble is comprised of members of the MU bassoon studio. They made their debut at Whitmore Recital Hall and were later featured in performance at the St. Charles Community College Double Reed Day. Now, you can enjoy their music in the beautiful Grand Reading Room (Room 201) of Ellis Library. This event is free and open to the public.

CHICAGO-The Acquisitions Section of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) has selected Karen Darling, head of acquisitions at the University of Missouri Libraries, to receive the 2008 Leadership in Library Acquisitions Award. The award will be presented on Sunday, June 29, at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2008 American Library Association (ALA) meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

The Leadership in Library Acquisitions Award, sponsored annually by Harrassowitz, is given to a librarian to recognize contributions and outstanding leadership in the field of acquisitions and includes a $1,500 gift.

Darling has a strong record of dedicated service to all of the institutions in which she has worked and the associations with which she has been active. She brings a global perspective to her work in Missouri through her international affiliations (and through the fact that she earned her advanced degree in London). Darling has demonstrated leadership in developing electronic collections at Missouri and has, in the words of one of her nominators, “helped faculty see librarians as moving the campus forward in electronic access, leading change rather than defending the status quo.”

Darling has had a long and distinguished career. She is currently the head of the acquisitions for the University of Missouri Libraries at Columbia and has held positions at the University of Oregon, the University of Texas at Austin and also the University of Arizona. Darling has presented many papers at ALA and at IFLA on serials and acquisitions management. She has been involved with ALCTS for many years in both the Acquisitions and Serials sections. Most recently, she has served on the ALCTS Board as director at large. She has also served on the ALCTS nominating and membership committees. In addition to being active in ALCTS, she has been on IFLA committees dealing with serial publications and has been a valued member of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG).

“Leadership in Library Acquisitions Award presented to Karen Darling.” American Library Association. 2008.

http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/february2008/darling08.htm (Accessed 21 Feb, 2008)

The Ellis Library Chamber Series presents the Missouri Quintet on Tuesday, February 12 at noon in the 2nd floor Reading Room (Room 201). The Missouri Quintet is quickly generating a reputation as one of the finest woodwind quintet chamber music ensembles in the country. Please join us for this amazing performance. This event is free and open to the public.