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This is just a friendly reminder to help keep the library safe and clean by following our food policy.
You may bring drinks and snacks like chips and granola bars from the vending machines into the Engineering Library. However, things like fruit, yogurt, pizza, sandwiches and other foods attract bugs. Please eat these foods out in the hall before you come into the library to help protect our materials.
Thank you!
Join MU Libraries for the Graduate Student Research Workshops March 18-21 and you'll be on your way to better research. You will learn about tools that help you save time, organize your research, stay current in your field, and even maximize your research impact. Sessions are offered both in person at Ellis Library or online through Blackboard Collaborate. Find full details and register at https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/gradworkshops.
The semester is well under way and our study rooms are becoming very busy. Please remember to be courteous to your fellow students as you all must share in the use of these rooms. A group is allowed to reserve a room for two hours at a time. After the two hours, and if no one else needs to use the room, your group may reserve another two hours. Read the full engineering study room policy at the bottom of this page.
It's never too early or too late to start your job search, and MU provides many opportunites for finding a career after college.
Network with employers and find out about engineering job and internship opportunities at the Engineering Career Fair next week on February 11, 2014. Learn how to prepare for the career fair, and check out the calendar of other upcoming professional development events for engineers.
The College of Engineering provides tutoring services for students. Several of these are held in the Engineering Library. See the full schedule and locations: http://engineering.missouri.edu/study-sessions/.
Visit the MU Libraries new EndNote guide with video tutorials, troubleshooting help, and contact information for MU EndNote librarians: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/endnote
You can also sign up for an EndNote class at Ellis Library.
"To catch a spirit, or to protect your spirit against catching, or to release you caught spirit – this is the complete theory and practice of hoodoo."
The above quote opens the five volume set of books entitled Hoodoo–conjuration–witchcraft–rootwork : beliefs accepted by many Negroes and white persons, these being orally recorded among Blacks and whites by Harry M. Hyatt that can be found in Special Collections. Published in 1970, these books represent the culmination of years of interviews conducted by the author over a large portion of the Southern United States.
Not to be confused (as it commonly is), with voodoo or vodou, which are both religions derived from West African religions with a dash of Christianity thrown in, hoodoo is often classified as folk magic and is practiced mainly in the Southern United States. The difference between hoodoo and voodoo and vodou is similar to the distinction between Wicca and witchcraft. Also similar to Wicca and witchcraft is the fact that people often use all these terms interchangeably, though they have different meanings. Thus, one can belong to the voodoo religion and practice hoodoo, but they don't have to, and vice versa.
In hoodoo, a practitioner draws upon the spiritual power residing within them to perform a ritual to bring about power or success. Today's mainstream culture often portrays hoodoo as a negative thing because of the common misconception that all who practice it are greedy or corrupt.
Hoodoo–conjuration–witchcraft–rootwork is a record of people's interactions with hoodoo, containing many accounts about how the interviewee was affected by a conjure or how someone they knew was affected. One woman relates the experience she had when her neighbor put a conjure on her by burying a bottle containing sulfur, hair, a bluestone, and roots of some sort. According to her, this was the reason she was unable to stay up past ten o'clock each night. She proceeds to relate how she destroyed the bottle and its contents and was able to stay up much later the following night while the next day the woman next door had to go to the hospital due to a major problem with her leg. Another interviewee tells the author about a common practice of putting sulfur and ashes from the fireplace in a bag and keeping it in your pocket to ward off those that would do you harm.
Whether or not you believe that hoodoo works, these books make for interesting reading and are a comprehensive relation of a common practice here in the United States that most of us are largely unfamiliar with. So if you get a chance between your Halloween celebrations, come see us at Special Collections where you can find the books mentioned here along with many others!
For this installment of the Content Matters interview series of the National Digital Stewardship Alliance Content Working Group I interviewed Edward McCain, digital curator of journalism at RJI and University of Missouri Libraries.
Read more at the Reynolds Journalism Institute blog: Content Matters: An Interview with Edward McCain of the Reynolds Journalism Institute
Last week marked the 146th anniversary of the birth of Arthur Rackham, illustrator extraordinaire. Best known for his work on children's books, fairytales, and classics, Arthur Rackham's distinctive style continues to be recognized and admired by modern illustrators, art lovers, and readers alike.
Arthur Rackham was born on September 19, 1867 to Anne and Alfred Rackham. One of twelve children, Arthur grew up to follow in his father's footsteps and began work as a clerk with an insurance company when he was eighteen. He soon grew bored with that and began taking night classes at a nearby art school. In 1892, he began work as a full time illustrator with the Westminster Budget where his drawings of everyday life in London and famous personalities were a hit. They were so popular that he often was assigned to draw royal events, such as the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1893, who would later be known as King George V and Queen Mary.
As photography began to become more popular in the newspapers, Rackham turned to book illustrations, contributing for several travel books and developing his style by contributing to other works before his first major success in the form of the illustrated Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales in 1900. The book that really put him on the map, as it were, was his 1905 illustrated Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. In this book, Rackham's iconic style is fully developed and becomes enormously popular with each successive year seeing at least one new work published with illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
Rackham is known for various elements that combine in his work such as:
In addition to his stunning watercolor prints, Rackham would more frequently do black and white line drawings. Occasionally he would experiment with silhouette, and this is showcased beautifully in his illustrated The Sleeping Beauty (shown below).
Rackham continued his illustrative work until his death from cancer on September 6, 1939. His last work, completed just before his death, was an illustrated Wind in the Willows that was published posthumously in 1940.
We have a wide range of books and folios showcasing Arthur Rackham's work, including those from the Limited Editions Club and some first editions. So if you get the chance, come celebrate the life of one of the most beloved children's/fairytale illustrators with us here at Special Collections.
Sources used:
Author Self-Portrait:
http://www.art-prints-on-demand.com/kunst/arthur_rackham/self_portrait.jpg
On September 1, 1963, fifty years ago this week, youngsters were greeted by a new comic book series on the shelves. Marvel Comics, after finding success in creating individual characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, decided to take a chance on telling the story of a group of heroes. These heroes were teenagers who, through no action of their own, developed powers through genetic mutations. After being ostracized from society for merely being different, they banded together under the leadership of Professor Charles Xavier and became…
…The Uncanny X-Men! To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the mutant menagerie, Special Collections has put together a list of fun facts and trivia about the superhero squad, both in print and on film.
Did you know that…
…the original five X-Men were Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl? Only Beast was in X-Men: First Class, the film adaptation about the formation of the X-Men.
…Professor Xavier named his students “X-Men” because of the “extra power” their mutation gave them?
…because of the way the X-Men are shunned for being different, mutants have been used as an ongoing allegory of minorities in society, such as African Americans and homosexuals?
…the character Wolverine first appeared in a 1974 issue of The Incredible Hulk?
…the entertainment website IGN lists X-Men arch nemesis Magneto as the greatest comic book villain of all time? He ranks above (or below, depending on your perspective) the Joker, Lex Luthor and Loki.
…Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has appeared in six movies (X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine), and he will make his seventh appearance in next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past? He holds the record for most film appearances as the same comic book character, followed by Robert Downey, Jr.’s five appearances as Tony Stark (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3).
…X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds has appeared on film as three different comic book characters? He’s portrayed Wade Wilson (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Hannibal King (Blade: Trinity).
…the X-Men film franchise has grossed $2.2 billion worldwide, beating out the Indiana Jones, Superman and Star Trek franchises?
…Hugh Jackman has expressed interest in Wolverine joining The Avengers in an upcoming movie? Unfortunately, that’s unlikely to happen, as Fox owns the film rights to Wolverine and the X-Men, while Disney owns the film rights to The Avengers. However, Fox also owns the rights to the Fantastic Four, and comic book author and screenwriter Mark Millar has hinted at a Fantastic Four/X-Men crossover film.
…the cast of X-Men: Days of Future Past contains three Academy Award-winning actresses? Jennifer Lawrence, Anna Paquin and Halley Berry have all taken home an Oscar.
…when Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier) was married in 2013, he asked his friend Ian McKellen (Magneto) to officiate the ceremony? McKellen obliged.
…all of the pictures on this page were taken from comics and graphic novels contained in Special Collections? We encourage everyone, mutant and human alike, to come in and take a peek at what we have to offer!