Staff news
Sage Skills Project
Jill Kline has been working with our Sage Engagement Librarian, Kelleen, to design a creative way for students to interact with the Sage Skills Platform. Since the project was connected to the Check Us Out tabling series, the theme was wellbeing and focused on skills supporting the eight dimensions of the Wellness Wheel. Together, Kelleen and Jill curated a list of skills, and the marketing team at Sage worked with Kelleen to create the trading card-like deck. Check Us Out was a success with over 40 people stopping to explore the cards, and even more after Check Us Out tabling was over (the cards were left in the library colonnade over the weekend). See more information about the collaboration between Kelleen and Jill here.
Three New Staff Join Special Collections
Special Collections is delighted to grow its team with three new staff members, supporting our operations and department goals. Our new staff is crucial to providing patrons with increased access to our collections and excellent service. They are:
Julie Cismoski joined Special Collections in July as Instruction & Exhibitions Librarian, a key role in the department. An experienced librarian and educator, Julie has worked in special collections at the University of Southern Maine Library (Portland, ME) among other academic libraries, as well as an English as Additional Language teacher abroad and in nonprofits in Portland, OR. Julie is working with faculty and students to develop and facilitate our primary source instruction program. She also develops and collaborates on digital and physical exhibitions and other outreach initiatives in Special Collections.
Grace Brosi is our Research Services Coordinator, a new position in Special Collections. But Grace is not new in our team: She has worked as a student with Special Collections and Preservation for the last four years and worked as a library information specialist earlier in the summer. Grace coordinates the reading room operations, ensuring our visitors have a great experience as they conduct their research.
Kennedy Thomas has joined our team as graduate professional assistant, a two-year assistantship position. Kennedy’s work focuses on assessing and promoting the use of our music holdings, for which she will develop several projects. Also, she is behind Special Collections’ social media posts. Kennedy has worked in the library since February 2025, first in the Acquisitions, Cataloguing & Technical Services (ACTS) unit.
Welcome, Julie, Grace, and Kennedy!
Library Management Team
Library Management Team Notes 8/18/2026
Thank You to All the Escape Room Helpers!
We had another successful escape room event during Welcome Week this year! We had over 200 students register and about 150 attend! The students had a great time and that is thanks to all of those who helped this year!
You can see the photos of the groups and their different times they escaped here.
Thanks to everyone who helped!
Jara Anderson
Megan Ballengee
Rachel Brekhus
Shannon Cary
Alexandra Clussman
Heba Abd El Salam
Gwen Gray
Noel Kopriva
Mara Inge
Dylan Martin
Erin Merril
Abby Oldt
Jeannette Pierce
Rhonda Whtihaus
Some others we need to thank: Ellis Library Circulation, Engineering Library, and the Health Sciences Library for letting us use all the ipads; Ellis Library shelving for shelving all the books we used during the event. And to anyone else we may have missed. 🙂
It takes a lot of people to help with this event and we appreciate all the time, big or small, you’ve contributed to make this fun event happen for the new Mizzou students.
In the News
“Show me stars and Tiger stripes: Photos from the Missouri State Fair”
Show Me Mizzou, August 17, 2026
Help MULSA Celebrate Your Birthday
MULSA is updating our list of employee birthdays in order to send a personalized card to those who would like one. Participation is completely optional. If you would like to add your name and birthday, visit the Mizzou Libraries Birthday form here, Please submit any information before 9/18.
MULSA also extends support and recognition to employees celebrating life events such as births, weddings, or retirement. We also reach out to employees who are hospitalized and offer condolences in the event of a death in the family. If you are aware of an employee in need of acknowledgement, please contact me, the current MULSA Courtesy Chair, at dmgvnq@missouri.edu. Thank you in advance for your help!
Mizzou Libraries Reading Challenge
We are excited to announce that Mizzou Libraries is trying a new year long reading challenge. The whole campus, (staff, students, and faculty) can participate. The reading challenge runs from September 2026 to April 2027.
To participate in the challenge:
- Read (or listen to) a book based on each month’s theme
- Tell us about what you read which enters you into the prize drawings
- Winners will be drawn at the beginning of each month. The grand prize will be drawn at the beginning of May.
The marketing team will be promoting the challenge, but we hope that you all can share with your subject areas and with other colleagues and students you interact with. We will have a news post soon you can share around and we have a guide you can point people to: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/readingchallenge
If you have any questions, send Taira Meadowcroft or Shannon Cary an email.
Power Outage Monday Morning
There will be a power outage in Ellis Library next Monday, Aug. 3, from 6:00 – 7:00 am while Campus Facilities is working on equipment in the sub-basement. Please plan to come to work after 7:00 am on that day.