home Gateway Carousel, J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Mizzou Libraries Launch New Strategic Plan to Strengthen Learning, Discovery and Community Impact

Mizzou Libraries Launch New Strategic Plan to Strengthen Learning, Discovery and Community Impact

The University of Missouri Libraries has unveiled a new strategic plan that sets a clear, values‑driven direction for the Libraries’ future as the University’s scholarly home. Grounded in sustainability, adaptability and service to the Mizzou community, the plan outlines how the Libraries will focus resources, strengthen impact and support teaching, learning and research across the University.

“Mizzou Libraries are essential to the University’s scholarly environment,” the plan states, emphasizing a commitment to empowering everyone at Mizzou to explore, learn and discover. The strategic plan affirms the Libraries’ role in delivering services and resources that help every member of the University community thrive while adapting in strategic, creative and sustainable ways to meet current realities.

Central to the strategic plan are clearly defined strategic priorities, each supported by objectives designed to guide action and measure progress. These priorities build on the Libraries’ existing strengths while ensuring that future efforts remain visible, relevant and meaningful to Mizzou and the broader community:

  1. Sustainable Revitalization: Recalibrate and revitalize programs, spaces and practices to match current realities and resources. By focusing on what is achievable and meaningful, the Libraries will deliver visible wins, strengthen morale, and focus energy where it matters most, laying the groundwork for the Libraries’ future.
  2. Every Student’s Success: Building on the Libraries’ strengths in supporting undergraduates to support students at every level. These avenues of support prepare students for a changing digital landscape and reflect that the Libraries are a cornerstone to every student’s success.
  3. Revealing Research: Showcase the Libraries’ role in creating, preserving and connecting Mizzou’s research to the world. By surfacing its role in the research process, securing durable digital infrastructure, and leveraging campus and statewide partnerships, the Libraries will ensure Mizzou’s research is visible, valued and impactful.
  4. The Library and Our Land-Grant Mission: Advance Mizzou’s land-grant mission by extending knowledge, expertise and resources beyond campus to serve the people of Missouri. Through statewide and system-wide partnerships, distinct local collections, and services responsive to community needs, the Libraries will share knowledge and tools to support the people of Missouri.

Throughout the plan, Mizzou Libraries reaffirm their core values: engaging staff and partners with respect, celebrating Mizzou’s excellence in research and creativity, and fostering a culture of learning, assessment and continuous improvement. These values guide decision‑making and underscore the Libraries’ commitment to serving students, faculty staff and researchers at every stage of their academic journeys.

The full strategic plan is available online.

home Cycle of Success, Gateway Carousel Welcome to Heba Abd El Salem

Welcome to Heba Abd El Salem

The Mizzou Libraries are pleased to announce that Heba Abd El Salam has been appointed as the Languages, Literatures and Digital Humanities Librarian. Her work combines librarianship, public history and anthropology, focusing on cultural heritage, migration and community-engaged scholarship. She is deeply committed to public service and education, which informs her approach to research support, teaching, outreach and digital humanities initiatives.

Heba began her library career as a graduate assistant at the undergraduate library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her degree from the School of Library and Information Science and a graduate certificate in digital humanities. During her graduate studies, she led an outreach project that connected immigrant communities with the history, art and culture of North Carolina and directed a multilingual digital exhibition showcasing the history of the Triangle area.

Before pursuing a career in library science, Heba earned a PhD in public history from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Central Florida. She has led cultural heritage preservation projects in Egypt and has experience as a program advisor at the American Research Center in Egypt, as well as a cultural heritage consultant at the American School of Overseas Research. Her focus has been on outreach, research and cultural heritage preservation. Additionally, Heba’s professional training includes internships at the British Museum in London and the Center for Cultural Heritage at Heidelberg University in Germany. She also served as a teaching fellow at Duke University.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services, Support the Libraries Expanding Access to Music Resources at Mizzou Libraries

Expanding Access to Music Resources at Mizzou Libraries

Mizzou is dedicated to preparing students to make meaningful contributions to the world—as performers, composers, teachers and scholars—while expanding the understanding and impact of music through performance, composition and research. Mizzou Libraries plays a vital role in this mission, and thanks to generous donor support, that role continues to grow.

Since joining Mizzou Libraries, Music Librarian Janet Hilts has been focused on strengthening and expanding music collections to better serve the academic community. Recent investments have significantly enhanced access to both digital and print resources that support performance, instruction and research across the School of Music.

One notable addition is IPA Source, a digital tool designed especially for voice performance students. This resource provides International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions of aria and art song texts, supporting accurate pronunciation and deeper engagement with vocal repertoire.
Another major enhancement is the new subscription to nkoda, a vast digital sheet music library. Through nkoda, students and faculty now have access to high-quality editions and in-copyright works for performance, analysis research and instruction. These materials were previously difficult or impossible to access at this scale.

These digital investments are complemented by substantial growth in physical collections. Between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, the number of music scores and books acquired annually increased by 123 percent. In fiscal year 2025 alone, 302 new music resources were added to the collection. This expansion was made possible in large part by the collaborative efforts of humanities librarians, who worked together to reallocate monograph funds more equitably. As a result, the fund for score and music book purchases increased by 79 percent.

With more music resources comes more behind-the-scenes work. The expertise and dedication of the Acquisitions, Collections and Technical Services team have been essential in ensuring these materials are acquired, processed and made accessible to users. Their efforts help transform donor generosity into tangible impact for students and faculty.

Collaboration between Mizzou Libraries and the School of Music continues to deepen. Currently in development is an ensemble sheet music collection project, along with ongoing efforts to add digital scores of new music by living composers. These initiatives point toward an exciting future of continued growth and innovation.

Your support helps ensure that Mizzou’s musicians have the resources they need to learn, create, and perform—today and for years to come. If you’d like to learn more about creating an endowment to support the Mizzou Libraries contact Matt Gaunt.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services Digital Media and Innovation Lab in Ellis Library

Digital Media and Innovation Lab in Ellis Library

The Digital Media and Innovation Lab (DMiL) in Ellis Library provides innovative technology and resources for your creative projects. The DMiL has an Audio Recording Booth, Digital Art Tools, and 3D Scanners in Room 156; interview recording room in Room 157, and a film studio in Room 3E21.

The DMiL is complemented by the Information Commons computers and equipment checkout at the checkout & information desk.  The DMiL is available to students for class or personal projects.

You can make a reservation and check in or stop by for a consultation in Room 153.

Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 7 pm
Friday: 10 am – 3 pm

Questions & Consultation email: ellisdml@missouri.edu

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services, Staff news Faculty Responds to New ProQuest Digital Collections

Faculty Responds to New ProQuest Digital Collections

Faculty have already begun responding positively to the newly available ProQuest Digital Collections, highlighting their value for both research and teaching. The ProQuest Digital Collections, which offer discipline-aligned, multiformat content and vast primary sources spanning six centuries, serve researchers and students of all levels. The subscription includes many rare and exclusive resources, encompassing over 160 million primary source items.

One faculty member noted prior extensive use of related collections and welcomed expanded access through the Libraries’ new subscriptions, writing that they had used HistoryVault’s labor union and NAACP records, as well as Black history newspapers, “extensively—both in my own research and in my classes,” and had been preparing to recommend that the library acquire access before learning the collections were already available.

Another faculty member, Rabia Gregory, expressed strong enthusiasm for the new offerings, writing, “This is amazing…. I am super excited to have the Early Modern Collection, which amazingly gets us Early European Books—something I have wanted for a very long time. Thank you!”

Library faculty and staff have also reported receiving “very positive faculty feedback” about the new resources, including collections that replace microfilm access and expand existing digital holdings, as well as entirely new primary source collections now available to the Mizzou community.

You may access the ProQuest Digital Collections databases from the Mizzou Libraries A-Z Databases List. Click here for more information and a complete list of database titles.

Publish Open Access for Free with New Read & Publish Agreements

Publishing open access is a great way to keep research open and retain your copyright. We do understand that publishing open access comes with a financial commitment that you wouldn’t necessarily have with traditional publishing.

To help offset costs, Mizzou Libraries has agreements with several publishers that offer discounts and support of article processing charges (APCs) for the following journals.

Want to learn more? Talk with your subject librarian about open access in your area.

Visit here for a complete list of discounts and APC support.

New Agreements:

American Chemical Society

Starting January 1, 2026, Mizzou Libraries has a Read & Publish agreement with the American Chemical Society. Authors will have the option during the publication process to have their open-access fees covered under this agreement. Click here for a list of ACS journals included in the UMECO Consortium agreement, which includes the University of Missouri.

Sage

The University of Missouri has a read-and-publish deal with Sage for open access for MU authors on its complete premier journals package for the calendar year 2026. Here is a spreadsheet of the Sage premier journals.

Springer

The University of Missouri has a read and publish agreement with Springer for open access for MU authors on all titles except Nature and Scientific American titles. The effective dates are January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services, Staff news New ProQuest Digital Collections Now Available to Mizzou Researchers

New ProQuest Digital Collections Now Available to Mizzou Researchers

The Mizzou Libraries are pleased to announce that our users now have access to the ProQuest Digital Collections, which offers discipline-aligned, multiformat content and vast primary sources spanning six centuries to serve researchers and students of all levels. The subscription includes many rare and exclusive resources, encompassing over 160 million primary source items. With broad, affordable access to scholarly content, the resource supports Anthropology, Entertainment & Popular Culture, Global Studies & International Relations, History, Literature, Performing Arts, Visual Arts & Design, Black Studies, and Women’s Studies.

Todd L. VanPool, chair of the department of anthropology, stated, “Access to the ProQuest One Anthropology Collection…will be very useful for us, including (and perhaps especially) our students. This represents a significant enhancement to our research and teaching capabilities.”

Within this collection, we have access to:

  • ProQuest One Anthropology
  • Music Online: Classical Scores Library Collection
  • ProQuest One Performing Arts
  • Music Online: Listening Collection
  • ProQuest Global & International Studies Collection
  • Early Modern Collection
  • Historical Periodicals Collection
  • ProQuest History Vault Collection
  • U.K. History Collection
  • U.S. History Collection
  • ProQuest One Black Studies
  • ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Black Newspaper Collection
  • ProQuest Gender Studies
  • ProQuest One Literature
  • ProQuest One Entertainment and Popular Culture
  • Screen Studies Collection
  • Art, Design, and Architecture Collection
  • Fashion Studies Collection

You may access these databases from the Mizzou Libraries A-Z Databases List.

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services, Staff news New Laptop Self-Service Kiosk in Ellis Library

New Laptop Self-Service Kiosk in Ellis Library

Students, faculty and staff who need a laptop can check one out from a new self-service kiosk in the Ellis Library Bookmark Café. The kiosk offers both MacBooks and PCs with standard Mizzou software, as well as portable battery chargers.

Laptops can be checked out for up to 4 hours with a valid MU ID card or digital ID.

Checking out the laptop requires four easy steps:

  1. SELECT
    Choose a Mac, PC or battery pack
  2. SWIPE
    Use your valid MU ID
  3. GO!
    It’s yours for 4 hours
  4. LOG OFF and RETURN
    Don’t forget to log off before you return the laptop to the kiosk.

Laptop Kiosk FAQ

home Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services Finding the Best Study Space

Finding the Best Study Space

We have spaces for everyone! If you prefer silence, check out rooms 114, 201 (the Grand Reading Room) and 202 in Ellis Library. Check out this Ellis Library floorplan to see all the quiet spots. Journalism also has four private personal study pods on the bottom floor that are first come, first served.

If you don’t prefer complete silence, try the Information Commons (the first floor of Ellis Library). Or the Bookmark Café on the ground floor for coffee and conversation. You can always take a look at the Ellis Library sensory map to find the best study space for you.

If it’s a group study spot you are searching for, reserve one of the group study rooms in either Ellis, Engineering, Health Sciences or Journalism. They can be reserved for up to two hours for each group. Some also have Solstice monitors to help groups studying together share information with one another. Whatever you need, make sure and plan ahead, as rooms fill up quickly!

Remember, if your program has its own library, be sure to check out those spaces, as they are often designated specifically for you!

home Ellis Library, Gateway Carousel, Resources and Services, Staff news Peer Navigator Corner: Your Guide to LibGuides

Peer Navigator Corner: Your Guide to LibGuides

Written by: Isabella Bickhaus

Almost every time I write a blog post for the Libraries I find myself linking multiple LibGuides to provide more information for our readers. When brainstorming for this post, it occurred to me that you might not know what this library jargon means! In short, LibGuides (Library Guides) are library webpages, usually created by a librarian, that hold information regarding specific topics. 

Each LibGuide on our Libraries page was created to showcase resources on themes, to highlight available resources, and/or to assist with research for a specific course. If you took English 1000, there is a good chance that you encountered this Basic Research LibGuide. Course LibGuides range from pages supporting introductory Anthropology to graduate-level Civil Engineering. Finding a course LibGuide starts with selecting the “Course Guides” button on the library’s homepage, or searching for the number of your course in the top right corner. 

Not every course has a corresponding LibGuide, and if that is the case, subject LibGuides are a great resource. These are found through the same “Course Guides” link, and then using the left-hand navigation pane to switch to“Subject Guides.” The navigation pane is actually a great example of how LibGuides themselves are organized. Each one includes a main page with a general overview of the topic, with a navigation pane either on the left or as a set of tabs across the top of the page to navigate to more specific information related to that topic. 

LibGuides are not limited to research materials, but also include interesting resources that the library and Mizzou have to offer. For example, this LibGuide gives the inside scoop on the Fun Stuff at the Library. You can explore what the BYOB Book club is reading, or this Morbidly Curious LibGuide if you “prefer the darker side of non-fiction.” You can also find resources on things like voting and applying to graduate school. The library’s most popular LibGuide provides resources on determining Price and Wages by decade, beginning in the 1700s. 

Check out this list of all the LibGuides the library has to offer!