Creative Challenges for January
Shannon Cary
Workshop Showcase: Piecing Together Provenance
Ellis Library Colonnade
From December 2024
A showcase from the new “Piecing Together Provenance” exhibit is now on display with research and creative works completed by students enrolled in the cross-listed Fall 2024 ARH_VS course, “Museum Studies: Theory and Practice.” Taught by art historian Dr. James van Dyke with contributions by archivist Dr. Sarah Buchanan, the course examines contemporary issues in museum and curatorial studies through project-based, object-based learning – the two crucial issues this semester are provenance and restitution. Provenance research in theory comprised the first third of course content with discussions about museum definitions, collecting, and object dispositions. Then students looked at existing provenance narrative structures and resources for researching provenance data; finally they team-workshopped their insights to create visually engaging panels that show their processes taken and tried – emphasizing both information found and gaps remaining.
Provenance stories enhance the visitor experience not only in art museums, but also in collections like the Enns Entomology Museum, which students visited as it marks its 150th anniversary year. Hearing directly from museum curators Kristin Simpson, Mackenzie Mallon, Candace Sall, Rima Girnius, and Benton Kidd about their everyday efforts to bring together provenance facts led students to develop the theme of clues gathered, pinned, and strung to corkboard for their exhibit. Do visit their fully detailed exhibit in the Bingham Art Gallery, where “Mind the Gap: Piecing Together Provenance” is on display through April.
Here in Ellis Library is provided a selection from the six artwork panels illustrated there with student research findings about the artistic legacies of 15th and 18th century Italian artists di Matteo and Joli, 17th century artists van Goyen (Dutch) and Neeffs (Flemish), a Roman-era Egyptian textile, and the early 20th century American artist Hirst. For their additional contributions to the success of the course we gratefully thank: Megan Ballengee, Daniel Eck, Amanda Harrison, Madeleine LeMieux, and Kristin Schwain. Solve the mysteries of history with provenance!
Welcome to Piper Brown-Kingsley
The MU Libraries are pleased to announce the hire of Piper Brown-Kingsley as the Information and Data Services Librarian at the Health Sciences Library. She began over the summer. Piper is a May 2024 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Information School. In addition, she’s been working as a remote Data Curation Intern at the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) at the University of Michigan. We’re so excited to have her join the Information Services Team at the newly renovated Health Sciences Library.
Library Events and Resources for First-Generation Student Week
National First-Generation College Celebration Week is November 8-16. We will be celebrating 5,000+ First-Gen students, faculty, staff, and alumni at our 20+ events campus wide. Please visit the first-gen website and register today! Events open to all; faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.
We also want to share a few ways the MU Libraries will be participating in supporting First-Generation Students this week, and ways that we are working to support First-Generation students throughout the full year!
Library Events for First-Generation Student Week
- Library Book Display (Library Colonnade) – ALL WEEK!
Books and resources for first-generation students and for those interested in supporting first-generation students! This display will also feature quotes from first-generation faculty and staff sharing their stories and sharing their hopes and advice for our current first-generation students! - TEAMS Library Scavenger Hunt – Tuesday, November 12, 6:00PM-7:00PM
Join us for a scavenger hunt in Ellis Library to learn more about the library and its resources! Maybe you’ll find your new favorite study space! Meet us at the North Entrance of Ellis Library! - Tie Dye T-Shirts – Wednesday, November 13, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Bring your first-generation celebration week t-shirt to tie dye at this event in the Fine Arts Building Room 134!
Additional Ways the MU Libraries are Working to Support First-Generation Students, Faculty and Staff at MU!
- A new list of library webpages for First-Generation students.
- The NEW Wellbeing Collection that will be on the first floor of Ellis Library soon with resources for first-generation students and other campus groups as well as books for leisure reading.
- Jill Kline, Student Success Librarian, is a member of the First-Generation Student Success Advisory Board. This board meets regularly to ensure we are continuing to best support our first-gen students, and promoting services, starting initiatives, and creating goals for the First-Generation Student Initiatives Board.
- We are starting a Faculty and Staff First-Generation Initiative where any faculty and staff can join our reading group starting January 2025, we will meet over coffee to discuss articles on first-generation topics. At the end of the semester, we will discuss our thoughts on the chosen book, First Gen: A Memoir. Please fill out our doodle poll if you would like to join!
- MU Libraries and our partnership with First-Generation initiatives were discussed on an episode of the FirstGenFM Podcast!
- A new partnership with TRiO Student Support Services that allows any TRiO Student who meets with a librarian for research help to get an entry into their $500 scholarships. Learn how to meet with your librarian here.
Royal Society of Chemistry Added to Open Access Publishing Agreements Available to MU Authors
Publishing open access is a great way to keep research open and retain your copyright. We do understand that publishing open access comes with a financial commitment that you wouldn’t necessarily have with traditional publishing.
To help offset costs, Mizzou Libraries has agreements with several publishers to offer discounts and author processing charge support for the following journals.
Want to lean more? Talk with your Subject Specialist about open access in your area.
NEW AGREEMENT: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
The MU Libraries now has a Read & Publish agreement with the Royal Society of Chemistry, starting in 2024 and continuing through 2025. All charges for publishing in Hybrid, Gold and RSC Advances journals are covered for MU corresponding authors. Articles published open access in RSC journals are downloaded more often, which helps raise the visibility of your work Here is a complete RSC Journal list. Find out more.
American Chemical Society (ACS) Journals
The American Chemical Society offers a discounted open access fee to MU affiliates since MU is a Subscribing Institution. Members of ACS receive an additional discount. ACS Open Access Fee Chart
Astronomy & Astrophysics: A European Journal
Starting in 2022, the EDP Sciences journal Astronomy & Astrophysics will be published under the Subscribe to Open (S20) model. MU affiliated corresponding authors can publish their articles Open Access without paying APC’s (article processing charges) as long as the University of Missouri Libraries continue to subscribe to this title.
BMJ Case Reports
The Health Sciences Library subscription to BMJ Case Reports includes a waiver of the individual membership fee of £273 normally required to publish cases. Submission instructions.
Cambridge University Press Journals
MU Libraries has entered into a transformational “Read and Publish” agreement with Cambridge University Press. This agreement greatly expands electronic access to Cambridge University Press journals and provides 10 APC waivers for MU corresponding authors to publish their work OA.
Because of the limited number of waivers available with this agreement, MU Libraries has decided to support authors on a first come, first served basis. If there are remaining waivers at the end of the year, MU Libraries can retroactively make other articles OA with the approval of the author. Read more about the agreement and see a list of eligible journals
Company of Biologists
From 2023 through 2025 MU is participating in the Company of Biologist’s Read & Publish Open Access Initiative. MU authors can publish OA at no charge. Some of the journals Company of Biologists publishes include Development, Journal of Cell Science, and Journal of Experimental Biology.
Electrochemical Society (ECS) Journals
MU is a subscriber to ECS Plus, an agreement that allows MU faculty to publish their articles in Electrochemical Society (ECS) journals (Journal of the Electrochemical Society and ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology) as Open Access with no charge to the author. There are no limits on the number of papers that can be published in any given subscription year. Find out more.
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
The University of Missouri has joined the shareholder consortium of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. This open-access journal features interdisciplinary academic research and practice articles on all things food systems. The shareholder membership, good through April 2024, covers the University of Missouri-Columbia, including MU Extension. This membership waives the typical Article Processing Charge for publishing in this journal.
Proceedings of the National Academies of Science of the United States of America (PNAS)
MU researchers publishing articles in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) receive a discounted open access fee of $2,000, compared to the regular fee of $2,500, to make their papers immediately free online. Find out more.
Celebrate Open Access Week: How to Increase Your Research Impact
Every year we celebrate a week of open access. It’s an opportunity for the academic community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of open access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make open access a new norm in scholarship and research. This year’s theme is Community Over Commercialization. For more information about Open Access, visit our website.
Celebrate Open Access Week with us by reviewing the Open Access Library Guide and attending a virtual workshop:
- Predatory Journals: The Dark Side of Open Access, 1 p.m. Oct. 22.
- MOspace: How to Preserve and Share Your Research Digitally, 1 p.m. Oct. 23
- Increase Your Citations Through Open Access, Preprints and Postprints, 2 p.m. Oct. 24
And if you have some additional time, be sure to check out some of our other blog posts about the different facets to consider when making your research open:
- Make Your Research Open
- Retaining Your Author Rights
- Increase Your Scholarly Impact: Use the SPARC Author Addendum
- Use MOspace to Measure the Worldwide Impact of Your Research
- Publish For Free (Or for a Discounted Price) in These Journals and Keep Your Author Rights
Want to lean more? Talk with your Subject Specialist about open access in your area or request a Zoom workshop for your department, team or lab.
Check Out Your Books 24/7 With Our Pickup Lockers
Did you know we have two locations on campus where you can pickup your library books 24/7?
Users can choose Ellis Locker or Lottes Locker as their pickup location when requesting MU Libraries materials. Once the item is ready, users will receive an access code to pick up their items.
Patrons who select the pickup locker location will receive an email saying they have three days to pick up their library materials. At this time, only regular library items will be included in the pickup lockers; no equipment, reserve materials or ILL materials.
The Ellis Library lockers are located inside the vestibule of the west entrance, which is near Speaker’s Circle. The Health Sciences Library Pickup lockers are located in the Medical Science Building, just across the courtyard from the Medical Annex.
Questions? Contact mulibrarycircdesk@missouri.edu.
Congratulations to Paula Roper, Winner of MLA Outstanding Professional Librarian
Dr. Paula Roper was named Outstanding Professional Librarian at the 2024 Missouri Library Association Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. First awarded in 2017, the Outstanding Professional Librarian Award recognizes a librarian with an MLS or MLIS degree who has made a significant contribution to the improvement and advancement of library and information services. Nominees must have at least five years post- MLS/MLIS work in the library profession.
Dr. Paula Roper has worked for University of Missouri Libraries for nearly 40 years, beginning her career at Ellis Library as part of the inaugural MU postgraduate “Intern-Scholar Program” in 1986. During her time at Ellis, Dr. Roper has worked closely with the MU School of Education and the Black Studies Department to aid both students and faculty, from the early days of online catalogs to the current challenges of navigating AI software. She has also advocated for the Library’s involvement across campus, including large, public events like Black History Month programming and National History Day. Her experience, knowledge, and drive is valued by both her library colleagues and the faculty at her liaison departments. As one of her colleagues puts it, Dr. Roper “encourag[es] and valu[es] her less experienced colleagues, spurring us to get out of our academic comfort zone, and embrace the power we have, as architects of ‘extracurricular curriculum’.”
MU Libraries Integral to Research on Kafka
Assisted by the MU Libraries, humanities researcher Carsten Strathausen is constructing a comprehensive visual database encompassing all adaptations of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.” This resource aims to serve scholars and students for years to come.
Research Librarian Anne Barker consulted with Carsten on the project by identifying and acquiring materials, suggesting strategies for gathering data, and pointing him to other library staff who could assist. Seth Huber, head of cataloging acquisitions and collection development,
searched for and downloaded the catalog records of versions and translations of “The Trial.”
In addition, Steven Pryor, director of digital initiatives, developed a Python web-crawler to gather metadata on these resources and played a key role in organizing the dataset. He also helped to created an Excel sheet containing vital information to track advancements, which will be useful to continue these research endeavors.
The Interlibrary Loan team played a crucial role in acquiring numerous adaptations of “The Trial” from around the globe, including artworks, films, graphic novels and more. Ivy Hui, head of the ILL Borrowing/Requesting Unit, and her dedicated team maintained regular communication with Dr. Strathausen, updating him on their progress in locating these elusive adaptations of Kafka’s text.
Dr. Stathausen is continuing his work with a grant from the MU Center for the Humanities and is organizing an international symposium on “Digital Kafka” that will take place this fall at Georgetown University.
For more information on this project and an interview with Dr. Strathausen, visit Research, Innovation and Impact.
Changes to the Library Catalog
This summer, the University of Missouri System Libraries changed the search features that affect how to search for library materials. The contract for our previous library catalog had ended, and that vendor chose not to submit a bid to renew the contract. Consequently, we had to choose a new vendor. We know that change can be disruptive, and we appreciate your patience as we all learn how to use the new catalog, which continues to evolve. Despite the changes, the MU Libraries continue to be committed to providing our faculty and students access to the library resources needed to be successful in learning, teaching and research. We hope you’ll reach out to staff for assistance as needed.
Please visit our Changes to the Catalog page, for information on how to use the new search system.