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New Muse Posts

Scrapbook Workshop

Stephens Lake Park Plant Sale

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In the News

“12 students bring home awards at the 2023 Visual Arts and Design Showcase”
Show Me Mizzou, May 1, 2023

“MU recognizes published authors in 2022”
Show Me Mizzou, April 28, 2023

home Staff news Staff Advisory Group Minutes for April

Staff Advisory Group Minutes for April

2023_04_20_SAG_Minutes

home Staff news Copier Removed From Ellis Library

Copier Removed From Ellis Library

The coin-operated copier that was located in the Ellis Library colonnade has been removed. Patrons should be directed to use the KIC scanner in IC2.

home Staff news Congratulations to Gabriel Harman

Congratulations to Gabriel Harman

Gabriel Harman has accepted a position at the Engineering Library. He will be transferring from Access Services/Circulation to Engineering, effective May 15.

home Staff news Highlighted Posts for the Week

Highlighted Posts for the Week

home Staff news Marketing Highlights

Marketing Highlights

home Staff news In the News

In the News

“A special place for learning”
Show Me Mizzou, April 27, 2023

“Faculty Excellence Week kicks off”
Show Me Mizzou, April 27, 2023

“Students and mentors recognized for Show Me Research Week accomplishments”
Show Me Mizzou, April 27, 2023

home Special Collections and Archives, Support the Libraries Samir Husni Magazine Collection Donated to MU Libraries

Samir Husni Magazine Collection Donated to MU Libraries

Samir Husni, a leading expert on magazine publishing, has donated his archives to the University of Missouri Libraries Special Collections and Archives division. These wide-ranging research materials will be available to scholarship as the Samir Husni Magazine Collection.

Dubbed “the planet’s leading expert on new magazines” by the Chicago Tribune and “a world-renowned expert on print journalism” by CBS News, Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, Ph.D., has studied magazine launches for over forty years. Husni received his undergraduate degree from Lebanese University in Beirut, where he was top of his class, earning a scholarship to work on advanced degrees in the United States. He went on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas in 1980 and a Ph.D. in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri in 1983. He is the founder and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media at The University of Mississippi, where he served as a professor of journalism from 1984 to 2021.

The Samir Husni Magazine Collection represents a lifetime of research in media history and magazine publishing. Husni’s yearly publication, Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines, was in print from 1985 to 2011, and is published electronically to date. The Guide documents more than 40,000 first issue magazines published in the United States in the twentieth century, all of which are contained in the collection. A significant percentage of first edition magazines in the U.S. never published a second issue, so much of the content of the collection is extremely rare. The collection also includes longer or near-complete runs of other periodical titles from the early twentieth century, as well as merchandise and marketing kits created by magazine publishers, and Husni’s professional papers. Taken as a whole, the Husni Collection provides a detailed view of the landscape of American periodical publishing for a large span of the 20th century.

Dr. Earnest Perry, associate dean of graduate studies and research at the Missouri School of Journalism said, “The collection is a history of our pop culture from the 20th century and beyond and a snapshot of what has happened in America from news, to war, to culture and entertainment, to science and beyond.”

The Special Collections and Archives Division is home to a diverse collection of rare, unique, and historic materials across many formats: manuscripts, papers, rare books, maps, posters, comic art, architectural plans, photographs, and film. The collections are a highly used resource that support a busy program of reference, instruction, and outreach to the University of Missouri community and beyond. More information about the Samir Husni Magazine Collection is available on the Special Collections website. Researchers are encouraged to contact Special Collections librarians with questions.

home Cycle of Success Using Government Research to Uncover the History of the Bicycle

Using Government Research to Uncover the History of the Bicycle

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!