University Libraries Services at-a-glance
Shannon Cary
Political Campaign Buttons on Display in Ellis Library

The Sandi and Barry Garron Campaign collection represents a lifetime of collecting by 1971 University of Missouri Political Science and Journalism alumnus Barry Garron. Garron is the former president of the Television Critics Association and is a longtime reporter and television critic for the Kansas City Star, The Hollywood Reporter and numerous other publications. He is also a prolific collector of presidential campaign buttons, something he has done for most of his life. In 2021, he donated the entire collection to the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs.
The collection spans the presidential election of 1896, the first with campaign buttons, through the 1996 presidential election, with some buttons from more recent elections. Garron said that he felt like a century’s worth of buttons was a good goal and he has certainly accomplished it. The collection includes buttons for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, as well as third party candidates. The buttons both promote and oppose the candidates. Looking at the collection is a colorful, dynamic and fascinating way to learn about the political history of the 20th century in the United States.
Families Welcome at Ellis Library After Homecoming Parade

Visit the north side of Ellis Library on Lowry Mall immediately after the Homecoming Parade on Saturday, Oct. 9 for refreshments and family activities. The first 100 kids will receive a free mini pumpkin. This event is free and open to the public.
Research Alert: A potential Federal shutdown could darken agency websites. Prepare now.

If you are currently conducting research using federal government websites, the MU Libraries urge you to work ahead and collect any needed information before midnight on September 30. Some faculty and students with deadlines for publications and other projects were significantly inconvenienced during the 2013 and 2019 shutdowns because many government agency websites went offline for a significant period of time. We encourage you to prepare for this loss of access to information that is pertinent to your research. For more information or assistance, contact Marie Concannon, head of Government Information and Data Archives.
Sorry for the Noise: We Are Working on Improvements to Ellis Library

The following construction projects are happening in and around Ellis Library this semester. We apologize for any noise or other inconvenience that occur while we work on some much-needed improvements to the library and campus. Please contact Shannon Cary at carysn@missouri.edu if you have any questions.
- University Archives is moving from Lewis Hall to the 4th floor of Ellis Library.
- The Ellis Library auditorium is being renovated.
- The Ellis Library telepresence room will be updated in mid-October..
- Windows and masonry are being repaired or replaced at Ellis Library and Memorial Union.
- Hitt street utility system repairs are in progress.
Gift of Art Provides Inspiration and Beauty to Grand Reading Room at Ellis Library

Students returning to Ellis Library’s Grand Reading Room this fall will be greeted by four new inspiring sculptures – Lunas, Lightspire, Photon and Solaris. The bronze sculptures, by contemporary master, M.L. Snowden, were given to the University Libraries by Drs. Holly Orr and Mark Haskell Monroe. Mark’s father, Haskell Monroe, served as the University of Missouri’s chancellor from 1987 to 1993.
M.L. Snowden is the sole living inheritor of select 19th century marble carving, finishing, casting and bronze patination techniques from the Paris studios of Auguste Rodin and Antonin Mercié. She sculpted alongside her father for seventeen years as an apprentice and as a professional in Snowden Studios. In 1990, she inherited a collection of 38 of the original sculpting tools from the Rodin Studios. Rodin’s tools were bequeathed to M.L. Snowden’s father by the Swiss sculptor, Robert Georges Eberhard.
M.L. Snowden has won the world’s most prestigious sculpture prize, The International Rodin Competition in Tokyo, Japan, and most recently was awarded the inaugural Presidential Order of Merit “In Recognition of Significant Contributions to the Betterment of Humanity Through Art,” presented by the Fine Art Foundation with the sculptor’s work recently added to the Presidential art collection at the White House. The sculptor maintains studios in southern California, Paris and Austria.
Learn more about the artist and her art:
M.L. Snowden Art
The M.L. Snowden Museum
Constitution Day Is September 17

September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the September 17, 1787, signing of the United States Constitution. MU is one of many educational institutions across the nation which will be honoring this day through teaching and learning opportunities. Be sure to check your course syllabuses and school calendars for September 17 happenings, such as the lectures hosted by the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy.
In addition, the University Libraries support all such scholarship by offering hundreds of books and electronic resources on the U.S. Constitution. Our librarians are happy to provide expert assistance with primary and secondary sources. Contact us to learn more!
Christina Pryor Appointed Interim Associate University Librarian for Specialized Libraries

Christina Pryor has been appointed Interim Associate University Librarian for Specialized Libraries, effective August 1, 2021. She will also continue her role as the Interim Director of the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library. Chris joined the Libraries in 2018 as the Missouri Coordinator for the Network of the National Library of Medicine, and she began overseeing Health Sciences Library operations in December, 2019.
This position is a leadership role within the University Libraries, including oversight for libraries in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, and the Missouri School of Journalism.
Chris brings excellent experience and skills to this position. She came to the University of Missouri in 2018 from the University of Washington Health Sciences Library in Seattle, where she served as the assistant director and community health education coordinator. Her previous positions include consulting and education services manager for Amigos Library Services, reference manager for the St. Louis County Library System, and medical research librarian for Covidien/Mallinckrodt. Over her entire career, she has worked to emphasize the importance of health information to a wide variety of constituents. She has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor of Journalism from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Pryor is active in state, regional and national professional organizations. She is currently serving as President of the Reference and User Services Association, a division of ALA.
Welcome to the Mizzou Libraries

Welcome Tigers! We’re so glad you chose Mizzou, and we want to introduce you to the library resources and services that will be vital to your success at Mizzou. Visit our Welcome website to get started. We hope you have a safe and successful semester!
University of Missouri Libraries Will Transition to FOLIO

The UM Library Council, in conjunction with the UM System ILS Task Force, are pleased to announce that FOLIO has been selected as our new integrated library system. We will begin migration in September 2021 with plans to be fully operational by early summer 2022. We are excited about this opportunity to work with EBSCO as we transition to FOLIO. We view FOLIO as a forward thinking, next generation, open-source system that will allow for growth and customization for the UM System as well as the individual campuses.
We would like to thank the library staff on all four campuses for providing insight and feedback during our recommendation phase. We could not have made this decision without their participation and assessment of each system. Thanks to the task force leading this charge: Stephanie Chinn, Jaleh Fazelian, Corrie Hutchinson (co-chair), Buddy Pennington, Taylor Kenkel (co-chair), and Ernest Shaw.
The transition to FOLIO will impact almost every facet of the library’s operations. We must begin planning for and documenting processes to have a successful roll out and implementation, and we thank the task force for leading this coming phase. We look forward to working together to create a new, vibrant system that will be of use to the UM community.