Resources and Services
New Service! Get Bound Journals from Other Campus Libraries
You can now request that a bound journal from the Health Sciences Library (or Ellis or Engineering…) be sent to the Vet Library!
Request a bound volume via MERLIN:
- Find the journal in the MERLIN catalog;
- Click on the request button;
- Log in with your Username;
- Choose your pickup location. Don’t worry, you’ll choose the journal volume on the next page.
- You’ll get an email when the journal is ready for pick-up.
Faculty, staff, graduate and professional students can borrow bound journals for 3 days; undergraduates can borrow them overnight.
Easier Access to Bound Journals
- Bound journals can be requested from any of the MU Libraries through the MERLIN catalog and shipped to any library:
- Ellis
- Engineering
- Geology
- Health Sciences
- Journalism
- Math
- Veterinary Medical
- Bound journals can be requested through the MERLIN Library Catalog. Faculty, staff, graduate and professional students can borrow for 3 days; undergraduates can borrow them overnight.
Adopt a Book Update
Thanks to our generous donors, the Friends of the Libraries, and conservator Jim Downey, we have been able to do much-needed repair work on many of the fragile, valuable, and irreplaceable books in our collections. Below are just a few of the most recent examples of the amazing work the Adopt a Book Program accomplishes. As always, there are new books available for adoption as well. Click over to our Adopt a Book page and take a look!
A few of the books now available for adoption:
Congratulations to Caryn Scoville
Caryn is the recipient of the Resident Appreciation Award from the Child Health department. As librarian for the Child Health department, she received a plaque in recognition of the training and support she provides to residents, assisting them in preparing for their weekly Evidence Based Medicine Conference and teaching them to find answers to their clinical questions.
Congratulations, Caryn! 
I Scream, You Scream…
Marco Polo is often credited with bringing sherbet and ice recipes to Europe after having learned them on his famous voyages. These were again kept mostly by the royals and others in the higher tiers of nobility. Some of these recipes may have been known to the English royalty earlier, as there are reports of Richard the Lionhearted eating sherbets in 1191 while on a Holy Crusade.
When people realized that adding salt to snow and ice helped to increase the coldness and help keep it, clever chefs now had more freedom than ever to experiment with different flavors and mixtures. The French chef Jacques, from the court of Charles of England and Vatel, the chef of King Louis XVI have both been cited among the inventors of cream ice which, with the help of the Germans, Spanish, Italians, and possibly the Scandinavians, contributed to what became known as ice cream when these recipes came to America, where it was further influenced mostly by English and French methods.
The first written evidence of ice cream in America comes from a letter written May 17, 1744 by a guest of Governor Bladen of Maryland that describes this curious ice cream treat. In the latter half of the 18th century, ice cream's popularity really picked up with those that could afford it, including such well-known figures as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Have a happy National Ice Cream Day!
Arbuckle, W. S. The Little Ice Cream Book. [S.l.]: W.S. Arbuckle, 1981. Print.
"International Dairy Foods Association." July Is National Ice Cream Month. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2013. http://www.idfa.org/news–views/media-kits/ice-cream/july-is-national-ice-cream-mon/.
Mertens, Randy. "About Us." Buck's Ice Cream Place:. N.p., 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 July 2013. http://bucks.missouri.edu/about/history.php.
More online access to Wiley journals!
We recently purchased the “backfiles” of several Wiley journals. You now have electronic access to all years of:
Equine Veterinary Journal (1968 – present)
Journal of Small Animal Practice (1960 – present)
Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (1991 – present)
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (1987 – present)
Veterinary Clinical Pathology (1972 – present)
Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound (1960 – present)
Veterinary Surgery (1971 – present)
Previously, these titles were available online from 1997 to present.
Enjoy!
Wildfire Prevention
While we’re feeling the heat as truly summer-like temperatures in the 90s are making themselves known, the risk of wildfire increases throughout the country.
At the time this was written, 24 wildfires were burning throughout the country. Maps put out by the National Interagency Fire Center (like this one) show the location of “large incidents,” or large uncontrollable fires that were currently burning at the time of map-making. Other maps (like this one) can help you determine the likelihood of a wildfire starting in your area.
As a wise bear has said, we all have the power to prevent wildfires and forest fires. Here at Special Collections, anyone looking through our poster collection will find several 1940s-era posters reminding us of this fact.
Smokey Bear, the bear who has such confidence in us humans to prevent forest fires, is the longest running PSA campaign in United States history. In 1950, a bear cub was orphaned by a forest fire in New Mexico. Rangers rescued him from the fire and nursed him back to health until he eventually left for a zoo in Washington, D.C. where he became the living symbol for the Smokey Bear fire prevention campaign that is still popular today.
As the poster to the left suggests, the importance of preventing wildfires was felt very strongly in the forties, due to the war-effort. In fact, the first half of that decade was when this awareness/prevention campaign really started to spread like wildfire (pun intended). Large, uncontained fires would take attention and supplies away from the troops that were in need of them, making forest fires not only a danger to those near them, but also to those overseas. Luckily for all of us, there are several easy steps to take to prevent uncontained fires conveniently recorded on this poster, such as making sure your campfire has been put out thoroughly before breaking camp.
In addition to putting forth practical reasons for being careful with fire, the forestry service around this time also tugged at the heartstrings of Americans by issuing posters with Bambi and friends, imploring those that look upon them to not burn down their homes. As the Disney movie had just debuted the previous year, this poster would have been particularly effective in its message of reminding people of the devastating effects fires have on forest wildlife.
So remember:
- “only you can prevent wildfires”
- to see these posters (and others) all you need to do is visit us at Special Collections!
Baby, It’s Hot Outside
The dog days of summer are finally upon us after a long and snowy winter. As the mercury rises, we all begin to hear (and ask) that famous age-old, sarcastic question: “Can it possibly get any hotter?” Special Collections is here to forever lay that question to rest by providing the answer.
Yes. Much hotter.
One hundred years ago today, on July 10, 1913, the hottest temperature ever was recorded, right here in the USA. The appropriately named Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California reported a sizzling 134 °F (56.7 °C). According to the National Park Service, summer temperatures in Death Valley average 120 °F throughout the day, before dropping into the nineties at night.
A century-old Washington Post headline shows off the new world record.
Swing on in to Special Collections to escape our own summer heat wave. Access to any of our books, microfilms or comics (along with our air conditioning) is, of course, free of charge.
Terrific Tales Exhibit
“Terrific Tales: From Fairies to Fables” is on exhibit in the Library Colonnade. The exhibit is brought to you by Special Collections and will be on display July 1st – August 15th.