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’.”

The University of Missouri Libraries are pleased to share the appointment of Kara Whatley as vice provost for libraries and university librarian, effective Sept. 16, 2024. Whatley comes to us from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she served as the chief executive of the Caltech Library system.

Whatley’s previous roles include positions of increasing leadership at Texas Tech University Libraries and New York University Libraries. Throughout her career, she has shown a consistent strategic focus on catalyzing information discovery, preservation and sharing to support the university mission.

She is a member of the Association of College Research Libraries (ACRL) and is currently serving as the ACRL Division Councilor and the ACRL representative to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Science and Technologies section. She also currently serves as a member of the Elsevier North American Library Advisory Board, the EBSCO North American Deans and Directors Library Advisory Board and the Springer Nature Library Advisory Board.

The Libraries are also thankful to Jeannette Pierce, who served as interim vice provost for libraries and university librarian after Deb Ward’s retirement in May. Please join us in welcoming Kara Whatley to Mizzou and congratulating Jeannette Pierce.

Research Librarian Rachel Brekhus has been lauded for her instrumental role in the success of a new course, “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity,” taught by Dr. Clarence Lo, Associate Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Instructor of Peace Studies, during the Summer 2024 semester. The course, which was cross-listed for credit in the Sociology and Communications departments and the Peace Studies Program, aimed to explore the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence and its implications for humanity.

As AI literature burgeoned in Spring 2024, Dr. Lo identified a dozen essential books for his online summer course. Since many students would be away from Columbia during the summer session, access to digital versions of these books became necessary. Brekhus, collaborating with acquisitions librarian Jennifer Walker, procured multiple digital licenses for the required readings, ensuring that all students, regardless of location, could easily access the latest works on AI.

This effort had a significant impact on the students’ performance. With seamless access to the most current AI literature, students were able to produce insightful papers that demonstrated a deep understanding of the ethical, regulatory, and practical challenges associated with AI in various work settings.

While librarians support the work of faculty instructors and researchers, faculty can also contribute to the resources of the libraries. Brekhus said, “Library-engaged faculty like Dr. Lo help me build relevant collections in my subjects, even from a distance, not only to support any single class, but to strengthen our collections in the areas of high scholarly interest and activity.”

Dr. Lo also noted Brekhus’s consistent support over the years, particularly in managing an ever-growing reading list for his longstanding course, “Technological Futures, Security, and Civil Liberties.” With an enrollment that has expanded to 150 students, the course has benefitted greatly from Brekhus’s curation of resources in this high enrollment setting. In several of Lo’s courses, Brekhus has taught engaging, in-person sessions, which have become a highlight for students.

Dr. Lo stated, “Rachel Brekhus’s contributions have not only enriched the learning experience for students but have also fostered stronger connections between faculty, library staff and students across multiple departments.” He expressed his deep appreciation for Brekhus’s dedication, highlighting her as a key factor in his courses’ ongoing success.

The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Contest seeks to recognize and reward outstanding research conducted by undergraduate students at the University of Missouri.

This year the winners of the first place prize of a $500 scholarship are Rosie Johnson and Cailey Southard. Their project was “Explorative Materials & Sustainable Fashion in the Fashion Industry.”

The second-place winner and recipient of a $250 scholarship is Nina Schmolzi. Her project was “A Symphony of Suffering: Exploring Masochistic Love in Lady Mary Wroth’s ‘Urania.'”

Both of these papers will be archived in MOspace, MU’s digital repository. You can see their projects, as well as past winners’ projects, here.

Special thanks to the Friends of the University of Missouri Libraries for their support of this award.

Marie Concannon, head of government information and data archive at the MU Libraries, is the recipient of the 2024 James Bennett Childs Award. This honor, which is awarded by the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, is a tribute to an individual who has made a lifetime and significant contribution to the field of documents librarianship. Concannon received the award at the American Library Association Conference this summer in San Diego, California.

From the award letter: “The Awards Committee noted that the support letters for your nomination focused on your dedication to the profession and your lifetime of service. Your role in Government Documents practice has been exemplary. Your work with Prices and Wages by Decade has been beneficial not only to the government information community, but to the wider community as well. It is a privilege to honor you with this award for your years of dedication and service to Government Information.”

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.