In October, the University Libraries hired Jennifer Thompson as electronic resources librarian for the University of Missouri System. Jennifer has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia, where she studied religion and architectural history. It was while studying the design of the Boston Public Library that she fell in love with libraries. Previously, Jennifer served as technology and resource sharing consultant for the Missouri State Library and as director of the library at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC.
For over 23 years, Tami Day has worked for the University of Missouri’s Health Care system receiving all her education from the MU’s Sinclair School of Nursing and utilizing the library a lot over the years.
Tami appreciates how helpful the librarians have been throughout her nursing education. Back when Tami first started nursing school, she’d find journals and make copies of the articles; now she can find articles online and email them out. “That has been a huge game changer in the 25 years I’ve been at the university,” she said. “Back then I’d physically go to the library and find the books, now you’re just a few clicks away from the information you want.”
A few years ago, Tami went back to school to work on her master’s degree. This program focused on evidence-based practice with an emphasis on approaches to clinical care and taking clinical problems to design improvement projects. Tami relies heavily on the librarians and their research skills. For Tami, Taira Meadowcroft, information services librarian at the Health Sciences Library, became an invaluable resource. Tami first met Taira when Taira was assigned to the Positive Individual Proactive Support (PIPS) program. Taira provided research support to the PIPs to help improve the quality of health in the hospital.
Taira Meadowcroft
Since Taira was providing support to the PIPS, Tami asked Taira for help in her master’s program as most of those projects would help Tami’s work in the hospital. For example, Tami said she can email Taira the topic of a project and ask for the highest level of evidence. In one instance, Taira sent Tami 23 articles within one hour. It would have taken Tami several hours to find the same information.
When Taira receives a request to find literature, she spends a good amount of time educating herself on the topic in order find the best evidence. ”A librarian should be one of the first steps before starting a project. Seeing what information is out there is important when deciding if and how to pursue that project,” said Taira. “It’s easier and more efficient to have a librarian do a search and it frees up your time.”
Tami and Taira’s working relationship continues to evolve and now Taira is supporting Tami with her doctoral program and in her new role as coordinator of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice. As coordinator, she’s working to make University Hospital a Magnet designated hospital through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Achieving this designation would place MU Health Care in an elite group of hospitals, resulting in better patient outcomes and less nursing turn over through evidence-based practice.
”Nurses are busy people and searching for literature is just one more thing you are asked to do, but it’s important for the overall health of the patients,” said Taira. “My favorite part of my job is that I can help contribute to the health of patients, working behind the scenes to find the best evidence, while nurses tend to a patient’s bed side.” Taira’s searches are also assisting in the goal of the Magnet designation.
In October, the University Libraries hired Taylor Kenkel as a technical services librarian. Taylor will serve as the ILS manager for MERLIN, and is responsible for the overall maintenance of the ILS for the University of Missouri System. Taylor has a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, and a Bachelor of the Arts degree in journalism from American University in Washington, DC. Previously, Taylor worked as a technical services and metadata librarian at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA.
Colton Ochsner, a history doctoral student at MU, does research on the origins of fantasy and science fiction films in modern German history. Colton chose the German cinema as his concentration because German films have become very influential. “They made a lot of movies that have spread across the world and influenced film, especially to America. Anything from Blade Runner to Star Wars has been inspired in some way by a lot of these older movies, especially visually. I have been drawn to these older movies in particular because I have known about the occult and I have seen it working in these movies and yet no scholar has pointed it out,” he said.
Knowing how specialized his research could be, Colton sought the help of Ellis librarians. “My research wouldn’t be possible without the librarians help because the books and movies from this era require Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to access them,” Colton said.
“The research Colton is doing on film and esoteric groups in Germany in the 1920s requires materials that are pretty sparse and many have not survived World War II and post-war disruptions,” said Anne Barker, humanities librarian. Anne is also fluent in German and how German libraries are structured, which makes it easier to fulfill Colton’s research requests. Anne helped Colton with deciphering references as he was trying to locate books and articles often with incomplete information. Anne said, “We’re so used to finding things online, it’s easy to forget that many things have not yet been digitized or indexed well.”
Since 2013, the ILL department processed more than 1,200 ILL requests for Colton. Oi-Chi (Ivy) Hui, head of ILL borrowing, works with Colton to fulfill the obscure requests. “It’s teamwork,” Ivy said. She has requested materials for Colton from Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada and throughout the United States. “Since these requests were not processed through the system, tracking correspondence manually and signing papers for copyright compliance is a challenge. Some of these materials took months before they got here,” Ivy said.
“The basic related teachings of the occult during this time-period that includes writings and images are important because in Germany people associated images, ideas and emotions with films,” Colton said. The research materials gave Colton the confirmation he needed. During his research, Colton found a poster from a 1919 film. While looking at the poster, he discovered the name of a book he had never heard. It turns out only two libraries in the world had the book. “It was a piece of pulp fiction literature from 1919. It was only published because it was going to be used to make an action and adventure movie,” he stated. Ivy was able to find the obscure book with the minimal information available and successfully filled the request.
With Anne and Ivy’s help, Colton continues to work on his research with a projected graduation date of 2023.
Cycle of Success is the idea that libraries, faculty, and students are linked; for one to truly succeed, we must all succeed. The path to success is formed by the connections between University of Missouri Libraries and faculty members, between faculty members and students, and between students and the libraries that serve them. More than just success, this is also a connection of mutual respect, support, and commitment to forward-thinking research.
If you would like tosubmityour own success story about how the libraries have helped your research and/or work, please use the Cycle of Success form.
Where do you go if the information you need isn’t online? To the library, of course!
Dr. Karl Hammond, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, supports the Engineering Library by using its resources in his own work and by designing assignments that integrate library resources into student learning outcomes.
In the library he is known for an assignment that requires students (typically Juniors in Chemical Engineering) who are enrolled in Thermodynamics II to find experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium data for a pair of compounds assigned to each individual student. This assignment typically requires students to consult either online or in-print books containing compilations of vapor-liquid equilibrium data from the literature, often from the early- to mid-twentieth century. Professor Hammond asks the staff at the Engineering Library & Technology Commons to place several of these books on reserve during the assignment –the library staff typically assign them their own cart behind the circulation desk.
One of Professor Hammond’s goals for this assignment is to engage students with the library’s printed collection, which often showcases data that are difficult or impossible to access online, thus making students aware that not all useful information has been or will be digitized. According to Dr. Hammond, “If you don’t show students a resource exists, they won’t know to look for it.” The wealth of tabular data available also allows Professor Hammond to assign each student in the course a unique pair of compounds to look up and then plot results from models against measured data to get a sense of how accurate the models are and how to use them. Knowing the full breadth of resources available to find thermodynamic data is an essential skill for success in Design I and II, which students take in their final year in the Chemical Engineering major.
Cycle of Success is the idea that libraries, faculty, and students are linked; for one to truly succeed, we must all succeed. The path to success is formed by the connections between University of Missouri Libraries and faculty members, between faculty members and students, and between students and the libraries that serve them. More than just success, this is also a connection of mutual respect, support, and commitment to forward-thinking research.
If you would like tosubmityour own success story about how the libraries have helped your research and/or work, please use the Cycle of Success form.
Joe Askins, head of instructional services for the University of Missouri Libraries, has been selected as a fellow in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, an intensive professional development program to empower library professionals with the knowledge, skills and community connections to lead successful open education initiatives that benefit students.The two-semester program blends online, peer-to-peer and project-based learning to build a comprehensive understanding of the open education space coupled with practical know-how to take action on campus and beyond. Joe is one of 27 fellows selected from a competitive application pool for the program’s 2019-2020 cohort.
“The University Libraries are committed to supporting open education on campus. We are proud that Joe has been selected for this program, and believe that his work will benefit students at Mizzou,” stated Ann Campion Riley, Vice Provost of Libraries.
The SPARC Open Education Leadership Program spans two semesters, beginning with an intensive online course in the fall to build open education subject matter expertise. In the spring, Joe will work with a mentor to implement a capstone project that will help advance open education at MU and contribute back to the broader open education community as a whole. Joe will join the rest of the cohort in attending the 16th annual Open Education Conference in Phoenix, AZ in late October.
“The UM System’s A&OER initiatives were taking flight right as I arrived at the University of Missouri Libraries in 2017, and I’ve followed the A&OER Task Force’s efforts with great interest in the two years since. The SPARC Open Education Leadership Program represents a great opportunity to learn more about being an effective advocate for open education across the curriculum,” stated Joe Askins.
To support faculty in transitioning to more affordable and open educational resources, the University of Missouri System A&OER Taskforce has created a faculty-first grant funding programs for all UM System faculty who wish to adopt or develop new A&OER course materials. The University of Missouri is also part of the Open Textbook Network through their membership in the MOBIUS academic library consortium, and has a group in the MOBIUS OER Commons hub.
“Academic libraries sit at the intersection of faculty, students, and high-quality resources, and therefore are essential partners in advancing open education on campus,” said Nicole Allen, Director of Open Education for SPARC. “A large part of what makes our program successful is the unique and valuable perspective each participant brings to it, and a vibrant community of practice develops amongst the cohort. We are proud to have Joe Askins among our 2019-2020 class.”
The University Libraries is a member of SPARC, which is a global coalition dedicated to making Open the default in research and education. For more information about the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, visit sparcopen.org/our-work/open-education-leadership-program.
In May, the University Libraries hired Seth Huber as a technical services librarian. He will serve as the head of cataloging for the Libraries. Seth has a Master of Library and Information from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Music from Gardner-Webb University. He previously worked as the metadata services librarian at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. In addition, he served as a catalog librarian at Livingstone College and a paraprofessional cataloger at Western Carolina University.
In March, the University Libraries hired Rachel Alexander as a research support librarian for the Health Sciences Library (HSL). Rachel graduated with her Master of Library and Information Sciences from Mizzou and a Bachelor of Science from Lyon College. She comes to Mizzou from the Missouri Senate Library. She has previously worked as a research assistant at the Sinclair School of Nursing and as a graduate library assistant at HSL.
Laura Buck, senior library information specialist at the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library, has received a 2019 College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Dean’s Impact Award.
Each year, the Dean recognizes individuals who “have had significant positive impact on college programs.” Laura’s nominating letters pointed to her helpfulness, friendliness, and dedication to everyone in the College.
Laura began her service with the University of Missouri Libraries in 1989, moving to the CVM’s Zalk Veterinary Medical Library in 1999. One nomination cited her “sincere dedication, can-do attitude, and excellent organizational skills.” Another noted, “she has always been a positive force in the library, keeping the needs of the students, faculty, and staff foremost in her mind.” Another called her “reliable and helpful,” while yet another called her “an essential, vital resource within the library.” One nominating letter wrote of Laura, “She is the institutional memory of the library. Wouldn’t it be cool on her 30th year at MU that she received this well-deserved award?”
It is, indeed, cool that Laura has received this award. Congratulations, Laura, and thank you for 30 years of supporting the University Libraries’ Cycle of Success.
Laura Buck (right) being presented the award by CVM Dean Carolyn J. Henry (left)
Every year, undergraduates across all disciplines are encouraged to submit research projects to the University Libraries Undergraduate Research Contest. Their research projects can be traditional research papers, musical compositions, works of art, videos, web pages, or other creative works. The projects are judged by a cross-disciplinary panel of librarians who evaluate the sophistication of their research process and their use of University of Missouri Libraries resources.
One 1st prize $500 scholarship and one 2nd prize $250 scholarship are awarded to an individual or group project. Winners have their projects archived in MOspace, MU’s digital repository.
This year’s winners were recognized at the Friends of the Libraries council meeting on Saturday, April 6. Awards were presented by Rachel Brekhus, Humanities and Social Science Librarian.
1st Prize Winners: Ashley Anstaett, Phong H. Nguyen and Andrew J. Greenwald Conceptual Design of Microfiber Removal Using Pressure-Swing Filtration
Their engineering paper is so much more than a design blueprint. It is a well-written and well-organized document that includes, not only the physical science involved with an invention, but also practical considerations of how the product could be maintained in real-world environments, how it could be marketed, and why it’s important to have products that remove microfibers from the environment, at the household level.
Their interdisciplinary group project required both library spaces and library resources. They described the Engineering Library’s collaborative space as “preferred” and “work-conducive,” and as providing software necessary for the conceptual design of the invention. The group also described their use of general and specialized online research tools. The process paper was more specific than most in describing how their keyword searching was done, and they identified the specialized e-journal database, Science Direct, which they used, not only for the review of literature, but also during the design process. Their process paper makes clear that in the world of product design, research is iterative and tightly connected with the creative process.
Vice Provost of University Libraries Ann Campion Riley (far left) and Humanities and Social Science Librarian Rachel Brekus (far right) present Ashley Anstaett (middle left) and Phong H. Nguyen (middle right) with their certificates. Brekhus is holding the certificate for Andrew J. Greenwald, who could not attend.
2nd Prize Winner: Erielle Jones Fly Like an Eagle: The Success of STOP-ERA in the Missouri Senate 1977
In her paper, Jones did an excellent job of linking the rhetoric in Phyllis Schlafley’s Eagle Forum with the rhetoric used in the Missouri State Legislature to argue against passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), including associating passages of the ERA with affirmative action measures, unpopular among Missouri white conservatives.
The process paper detailed, not only Jones’s ultimate choice of primary historical sources, but also her independent exploration of other primary sources in pursuit of an earlier approach to the topic, which did not yield the hoped-for documentation. The paper showed the role of discipline, assistance from library and archives professionals, and serendipity in finding and selecting sources while maintaining focus on a well-defined research question. Sources examined included correspondence, leaflets, newsletters, invitations, and receipts from the personal archives of state representatives, state senate testimony, surveys, news sources, and court transcripts.
Her process showed a commitment to both the importance and the limitations of historical documentation, and understanding of the social and racial context of both the political-opinion media environment, and this media’s impact on the legislative process. Certainly, the practice in popular conservative media of linking proposed legislation not directly related to race, with narratives of governmental interference with default racial distributions of privilege, continues to be relevant today.
Vice Provost of University Libraries Ann Campion Riley (left) and Humanities and Social Science Librarian Rachel Brekhus (right) present Erielle Jones (middle) with her certificate
