Image from: Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States by Thomas G. Gentry, 1882.
Resources and Services
Is Liberal Education Out of Style
Is ‘Liberal’ Education Out of Style? – a conversation with former Chancellor Richard Wallace, UM President Emeritus Mel George and Interim Deputy Provost Patricia Okker
Stotler Lounge, Memorial Union
3-4 pm, September 16, 2014
Reception of light refreshments immediately following
This event is sponsored by the MU Libraries on the occasion of the 175th Anniversary Commemorative Week.
The word “liberal” has a nomenclature problem – it carries baggage for some people because of its political connotations. What does a “liberal education” really mean? The origin of the word is the Latin word “liber” (free), and the history of the concept goes back at least as far as ancient Greece. A common misunderstanding is that the concept describes specific subject matter (such as “Great Books”); but a liberal education is less about specific subject matter content than about the goals and emphases of the education. For example, a liberal education carries public benefit, not simply private benefit.
There are many threats and challenges to liberal education today, including financial pressures and vocationalism. In this conversation, two highly regarded MU educators lay out compelling reasons suggesting that a liberal education is even more important today than in the past and promote the idea that its continued vitality and central role in American higher education should be ensured.
Reader Request: Quackenbos’ English Grammar
Thanks to a conversation with our friend Coffee and Donatus (Twitter, Tumblr) we're kicking off a new occasional series featuring the materials you want to see from our collections. This week's request fits in perfectly with our back-to-school theme this week. It's An English Grammar by George Quackenbos (New York, 1862), from the Historic Textbook Collection.
@MUSpecColl It's hard to choose, but how about your first edition of Quackenbos' An English Grammar? http://t.co/0G7RZGgL7O
— Coffee & Donatus (@CoffeeDonatus) August 14, 2014
Quackenbos was born in New York in 1826 and became a well-known educator and author of textbooks. When he died in 1881, his obituary in the New York Times stated,
"There are few English-speaking schools in the United States where the name of Quackenbos is not familiar, for during his studious and busy life the deceased published a great many series of text-books of elementary histories, grammars, arithmetics, rhetoric, and natural philosophy. His later publications were regarded as occupying the very first rank among educational text-books. … He was an enthusiast in educational matters, and it was the aim of his life to simplify and improve the prevailing methods of instruction." (New York Times 26 Jul 1881, pg. 5)
An English Grammar is a thorough introduction, starting with a chapter entitled "Letter, Syllables, Words, Sentences" and ending with chapters on rhetoric and prosody. This particular volume once belonged to William Hudson of Hiram, Ohio, who signed his name on the flyleaf. He may also have added the date in pencil: Oct. 11th, 1865. Interesting to us, the book also includes advertisements on the front and back endpapers, which give an idea of the other textbooks in use at the time.
Reading through the textbook, my favorite was the section on interjections. Next time you need to express wonder, exultation, or weariness, why not try some of these?
- "Hoity-toity! Look at all those students studying in the library!"
- "Heyday! I found an empty study carrel in the west stacks!"
- "The library's open until 2am, but heigh-ho! I'm going back to my dorm to sleep."
Try on some rhetorical gestures while you're at it, and you'll really be communicating old school.
As we mentioned on Twitter, we think of our blogs/social media as an extension of the reading room. Here's a link to the MERLIN catalog. What will you request?
Unlock the Secrets of Ellis Library! Join Us on a Tour
Friday, August 22 11:00 am
Monday, August 25 9:00 am
Tuesday, August 26 10:00 am
Wednesday, August 27 11:00 am
Thursday, August 28 Noon
Friday, August 29 1:00 pm
Tuesday, September 2 4:00 pm
Wednesday, September 3 3:00 pm
Thursday, September 4 2:00 pm
Friday, September 5 1:00 pm
Monday, September 8 Noon
Tuesday, September 9 1:00 pm
Wednesday, September 10 2:00 pm
Thursday, September 11 3:00 pm
Friday, September 12 4:00 pm
Tours start at the West Entrance of Ellis Library, Ground Floor, near the Security Desk.
A Stereoscopic Atlas of the Chick
Books with Personality on Display in Ellis Library Colonnade
Books with Personality Exhibit, August 1-29, 2014
Ellis library Colonnade
Brought to you by the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage though time”
-Carl Sagan
The books on display, from the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library, all carry traces of their former owners. Some contain notes in the margins; others hold mementos between their pages. In either case, these traces tell stories not only about the books’ reception but about the lives of those who read them.
The one and only Mark Twain autograph in Special Collections
A letter from Samuel Clemens to journalist Walter Williams, who served as the founding dean of the Missouri School of Journalism in 1908, and was University of Missouri president from 1931 to 1935.
March 4/94
Dear Mr. Williams:
I shouldn’t be able to do it, for if I should be in America in July it would be on business & my time would be fully occupied. I am leaving for Europe day after tomorrow. The compliment of your invitation gratifies me exceedingly & I want to thank you for it notwithstanding I am debarred from taking advantage of it.
I seem to have written this letter to you before; or something like it. But surely that is not possible. I don’t know how I get the impression; & yet it is a quite strong one.
Truly Yours
S. L. Clemens
This letter is pasted onto the front endpaper of Walter Williams’ personal copy of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World – one of a couple of notable copies of that text in Special Collections. Take a look at the catalog record for information on the others. The text on the photo frontispiece is printed, not handwritten – but you can compare Samuel Clemens' signature to that of Mark Twain.
Resources for VM-1s & VM-2s
Welcome and Welcome Back!
Check out the Zalk Library guide for your first two years: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/vm1.
Here, you'll find the basics of how the library operates and information on the resources we have available for you.
And a friendly reminder that the library is often the only quiet space in the building. Respect your classmates' needs for a quiet study area…shhhhhh…
Remembering Lauren Bacall
Actress and icon Lauren Bacall passed away yesterday at the age of 89. Well-known for her film roles, she also appeared in various stage productions, including Cactus Flower (1965), Applause (1970), and Woman of the Year (1981). These are a sampling of the covers available in the Theater Programs Collection here in Special Collections, which numbers over 2,300 programs (and counting). They document Bacall throughout her stage career, from the 1960s to her appearance at Powell Symphony Hall in Saint Louis on November 17, 1997.
Find them in the MERLIN catalog: Cactus Flower, Applause, Woman of the Year, and Grand Center is proud to present a Grand Evening with Lauren Bacall.