home Ellis Library Welcome to Julie Housknecht

Welcome to Julie Housknecht

The University Libraries are pleased to announce that Julie Housknecht has been hired as technical services librarian. She has been with the Libraries since the spring of this year. She has previous experience as a tech services librarian at Reed Library, Fort Lewis College, and University of North Georgia Libraries. Julie has a Master of Library and Information Science from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

home Ellis Library Welcome to Joseph Askins

Welcome to Joseph Askins

The University Libraries are pleased to announce that Joseph Askins has been hired as the head of instructional services. Joe has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri. He is coming to us from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, where he was the information literacy programs librarian. Prior to working in South Carolina, Joe was the assistant librarian at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.

home Ellis Library, Events and Exhibits “Infamy”: One Read Program Exhibit on Display in Ellis Library

“Infamy”: One Read Program Exhibit on Display in Ellis Library

Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves is this year's One Read Program selection. The One Read Program is sponsored by Mizzou Law and MU Libraries in order to facilitate conversations of diversity, inclusion, and social justice throughout the MU community. This year's selection, Infamy, tells the shameful story of the United States' forced relocation of thousands of Japanese-Americans to internment camps during the Second World War.

An exhibit in the Ellis Library Colonnade features a list of internment camps throughout U.S. history and a map of their locations. In addition to general information and a timeline of events relating Japanese-American internment, photos capturing various elements of life in the camps show viewers a glimpse of this reprehensible part of our history. Examples of propaganda from the time are also highlighted. The exhibit will be on display through September 29.

For more information on the book, events, additional resources, and information on the One Read Program, see this guide. Copies of the book are available for checkout in Ellis Library, the Journalism Library, and the Law Library.

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services, Support the Libraries Thank You, Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee

Thank You, Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee

Mizzou Libraries would like to thank the Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee for funding new furniture for the computer and work areas on the first floor of Ellis Library. The furniture includes numerous much-needed chairs in the computer and work spaces on the first floor, with a few more yet to come.

This photo shows a work area near Government Documents that has been refreshed with new tables as well as chairs. The furniture was chosen to make collaborative work easier.

The Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee provided $50,000 of funding for this improvement project.

Thanks also to Mizzou Libraries staff who helped with the project, including Gwen Gray, who filed the SFCIC proposal; Ann Riley, who envisioned the collaborative space; Pat Jones and Kathy Peters, who helped select the furniture; and others who provided assistance with the project.

 

 

One Read Program Events

The following events have been scheduled to facilitate conversation regarding this year’s One Read Program selection: Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves. Infamy tells the shameful story of the United States’ forced relocation of thousands of Japanese-Americans to internment camps during the Second World War.

August 30 @ 4 pm: PBS Documentary – Of Civil Wrongs and Rights
If you don’t have time to read Infamy or if you want to learn more, this is the event for you. This PBS documentary tells the story of Japanese-American internment through the experience, resistance, and trial of Fred Korematsu.
Ellis Auditorium

September 6 @ 1 pm: Dr. Michael Hosokawa
Dr. Hosokawa, a Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the MU School of Medicine, will share his experience behind barbed wire in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.
Hulston Hall 7

September 25 @ 1 pm: Dr. Jacqueline Font-Guzmán
Dr. Font-Guzmán is a professor of Law at Creighton University and is a certified mediator and arbitrator by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Her research explores healthcare disparities, law, and conflict engagement in addition to how marginalized individuals create counter-narratives to address institutional injustice.
Hulston Hall 7

October 6 @ 12:30-2 pm: Baher Azmy
Baher Azmy is the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and is known for his litigation and advocacy for civil and human rights, specifically the rights of Guantanamo detainees. He has additionally litigated cases challenging police misconduct and the violation of immigrant and prisoner rights.
Hulston Hall 7

October 18 @ 5 pm: How Fear Leads to Atrocity
Join a panel of MU faculty from a variety of departments to discuss how social, political, and psychological rationales can lead to discrimination and injustice.
Ellis Library 114A

The One Read Program, which promotes conversations regarding diversity, inclusion, and social justice through students, faculty, and staff reading a particular book together, is sponsored by Mizzou Law and MU Libraries.

For more information on the book, events, additional resources, and information on the One Read Program, see this guide or check out the exhibit in the Ellis Library Colonnade through September 29. Copies of the book are available for checkout in Ellis Library, the Journalism Library, and the Law Library.

OER Event at Ellis Library

OER Initiatives & SPARC
Presentation in Ellis Library
Tuesday, August 1
2:30-3:30pm
Ellis Library – 114A
Please RSVP on Eventbrite

Interested in learning about ways to support and implement Open Educational Resources (OER)?

As the University of Missouri moves forward with its own system-wide OER initiative, it’s useful to learn about how faculty at other universities have made progress in Open Education initiatives. Katie Steen, SPARC Open Education Fellow and Mizzou graduate, is coming to campus to explain how the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) supports the creation and adoption of OER. Ms. Steen will share what SPARC has learned in working with other colleges and universities on OER: what methods for implementing OER have created the most impact in affordability and equitable learning, and strategies for how we can increase OER use and impact at our own university.

Open to all faculty, students, staff, across campus—anyone interested in creating, using, or supporting OER is encouraged to attend! 
Presentation will be 30 minutes with up to 30 additional minutes for Q&A.
Click here to RSVP on Eventbrite.

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Open Education is the critical link between teaching, learning, and the collaborative culture of the Internet. SPARC supports policies and practices that advance the creation and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) — academic materials that everyone can use, adapt, and share freely.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) is a global coalition committed to making Open the default for research and education. SPARC empowers people to solve big problems and make new discoveries through the adoption of policies and practices that advance Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education.

home Ellis Library Ellis Library Drinking Water Safe Again

Ellis Library Drinking Water Safe Again

The lab test results are in, and the boil water advisory in Ellis Library is officially over. The water from the drinking fountains and water bottle refill stations is once again safe to drink.

Recorded Sound Update

With the retirement of David Truesdell, the Recorded Sound Center is no longer open for walk-in service.  Materials will still be available for checkout.

To check out a compact disc or album, use the MERLIN Catalog to find the item, then press the "REQUEST" button at the top left and enter your MyZou login (pawprint) and password. The pickup location should default to MU Ellis Library Circulation, so next hit the submit button.

Circulation will pull the item from Recorded Sound and notify you by email that it is available for pickup at the Circulation desk. Usually within 24 hours. 

Contact Mike Muchow, Humanities Librarian, at muchowm@missouri.edu or 573-882-3224 if you have additional questions.

home Ellis Library Boil Water Advisory in Ellis Library

Boil Water Advisory in Ellis Library

We have been notified that Ellis Library is still under the water boil advisory through today (Tuesday 7/18) and tomorrow (Wednesday 7/19) until notice of the lab results. We will provide updates when we have them. Please continue to find other sources of water during this time. 

home Cycle of Success, Ellis Library, Resources and Services OER Librarian Chosen to Lead Open Textbook Network Initiative

OER Librarian Chosen to Lead Open Textbook Network Initiative

Cycle of Success Interview with Outreach Librarian, Grace Atkins

Q: You’ve been selected by the MOBIUS Board to serve as a MOBIUS System Leader for the Open Textbook Network Initiative. Congratulations! What does this mean?
A: Thank you! Let’s break it down: MOBIUS is a network of 192 libraries that provides access to shared information resources, services, and expertise. When one of our university libraries doesn’t have a book or other resource, we go into the MOBIUS online catalog and see if one of the other branches has what we need. In turn, we do the same for other MOBIUS partners.
The MOBIUS system just gained membership to the Open Textbook Network (OTN), which provides access to the Open Textbook Library, a set of peer-reviewed, customizable academic textbooks. Over 350 campuses are part of the OTN, and now Mizzou faculty will have access to their huge set of online textbooks that are free to students.

Q: This sounds like a form of OER?
A: Yes, free textbooks are a form of an Open Educational Resource (OER). An OER can be “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others." To over-simplify, an OER is a free textbook or any other teaching resource/tool that students don’t have to pay for. Which is great, because right now a student at Mizzou currently spends an average of $500—$700 each year on course materials (see May 2017 OER report for more stats).

Q: Why were you nominated for this position?
A: I’ve been the coordinator for our campus’s OER Interest Group for two years, and I recently presented on OER at MOBIUS’s annual conference a few weeks ago. I’m currently working to support the new MU System OER Initiative that Dr. Choi announced today.

Q: How does being a member of the Open Textbook Network support the UM System’s new OER Initiative?
A: The Open Textbook Network (OTN) promotes access, affordability, and student success through the use of open textbooks. Founded and run by the University of Minnesota's Center for Open Education, the OTN manages the Open Textbook Library which contains open textbooks licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. With our membership, we now have access to these resources, which provide options for faculty who pursue the MU System OER Initiative.
Of course, we’ll also be working with OpenStax, SPARC, and other OER organizations and discovery tools. With an UM System initiative this big, it’s useful for faculty to have many options when it comes to OER, and it’s even more useful to have a trained experts and librarians such as myself to provide resources, instruction, and support for those faculty. 

Q: So, what is the role of a System Leader in the Open Textbook Network?
A: The Open Textbook Network has what is essentially a train-the-trainer program for new members. As a System Leader, I’ll be trained to train the other libraries in the MOBIUS system, including the libraries here at Mizzou. I’ll be going to a summer institute at the University of Minnesota in August to learn all about how to use and customize the resources and templates in the Open Textbook Library, and then I’ll train other librarians in our MOBIUS system to teach faculty, staff, and other educators on how to use these free resources in their courses.

Q: How does a leadership role with the Open Textbook Network contribute to the libraries’ Cycle of Success?
A: Providing access to course materials at no cost creates a more equitable learning environment for students. When all students can afford to access the textbooks they need, their academic performance and retention improves. If I teach librarians how to teach faculty to use the Open Textbook Library, then the libraries have established a cycle that ultimately results in student academic achievement.

You can learn more about Open Educational Resources (OER) at libraryguides.missouri.edu/OpenEducationalResources

Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.