home Resources and Services Poetry Reading by Author Toi Derricotte

Poetry Reading by Author Toi Derricotte

poems that stick with you like a song that won’t stop repeating itself in your brain, poems whose cadences burrow into your bloodstream, orchestrating your breathing long before their sense attaches its hooks to your heart.”
—Washington Post on Captivity

Tuesday , April 24
10:30 a.m.
Ellis Library Colonnade

Reception
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Berlin Theatre

Performance of Mama’s Kitchen
6:30-7:00 p.m.
Berlin Theatre

Mama’s Kitchen is a short play by Teresa Stankiewicz based on the memoir Bread on the Water: the Olden Times by Antonia Baquet.  Growing up during the Great Depression Nootsie lives with her mother Regina while serving in the house of the “Rice King of the South” in Crowley, Louisiana.   The memoirs of Toi Derricotte’s mother take us through a journey of strength and love of the African Americans who served the rich white families in the American south.  This brief glimpse into the lives of three women shows us the love, laughter and hardship that all of them rose above.


We learn the painful lessons of history in our parents’ beds.  I believe we are sent out on their mission; their un-spoken dreams, the true self that was neglected and even buried because it was a miracle if they just survived to make the lives of their children better.  These are the words that came through my mother and the poems that come through me today
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–Toi Derricotte

Confederate Currency

The Special Collections Department holds many treasures; most items are books and microforms. However, we do have some miscellanea specimens one would not expect to find in our collection. One such holding is our set of Confederate currency. These monetary notes of the Confederate States of America were given to the MU Libraries in 1912 by the U.S. Treasury department as a teaching tool. In all, there are 135 specimens.

Confederate currency was first issued at the beginning of the Civil War and used widely in the South as a legitimate means to purchase goods and services. Some currency was printed by the Confederate States of America as a whole, some by individual states, and some by private banks. The bills in our collection were all issued by the Confederate States of America. Due to various printers, confederate currency tended to vary from printing to printing and state to state. Bills issued by the C.S.A. were hand signed and individually numbered by the Treasurer and Register, however, the duty became taxing with the number of bills produced, so secretaries were hired to sign the bills in later printings. It was not uncommon for notes to be printed on a single side or cut unevenly. Ultimately, by the end of the war, Confederate currency was nearly worthless, in part due to forgery as well as the loss of confidence in the Confederacy.

The following image file numbers correspond to the reference book "Criswell's Currency Series Vol. 1", RARE-R HG526 .C7 1957

Criswell 402-7 large

Criswell-402-7-back-large

Criswell 75 front large

Blog criswell back large 75Criswell-376-large

Criswell-376-back-large

 

 

 

home Resources and Services Upcoming FindIt@MU changes.

Upcoming FindIt@MU changes.

Over the next few days, some changes will take place in FindIt@MU article linking. You will still see the same familiar button , but the screens along the way will look a bit different.

If you run across any problems, please use the button to let us know. (No need to include your name.)

home Resources and Services Changes to Findit@MU article linking

Changes to Findit@MU article linking

Over the next few days, some changes will take place in Findit@MU article linking. You will still see the same familiar   button , but the screens along the way will look a bit different.

If you run across any problems, please use the  button to let us know.  (No need to include your name.)

home Resources and Services You Belong @ MU Libraries This National Library Week, April 8-14

You Belong @ MU Libraries This National Library Week, April 8-14

It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwideand the perfect time to discover why you belong @ MU LibrariesYour Connection to Knowledge. The MU Libraries are celebrating National Library Week by holding a party for the MU faculty, staff, students and our community users. Please join us for refreshments and library information at Ellis Library on Tuesday, April 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where Did We Come From?
New Insights into Our Oldest Ancestors

Perhaps no subject fascinates us more than the mystery of our origins and evolution. Teams of scientists working throughout the world are recovering record numbers of fossils of our earliest ancestors, and these fossils are expanding and refining the picture we have of how we evolved.

Dr. Carol Ward has been involved with the discovery and analysis of many of these fossils, and will present some of the more exciting ones.  She will share how these fossils speak to scientists through their anatomy and biology, and how they reveal to us that our evolutionary history was more complex and nuanced than we have imagined.

Wednesday, April 4
1-2 pm
Ellis Library Colonnade

Adopt a Book Program News

Featured below are a couple of the most recent Adopt a Book transformations, courtesy of donors to the Friends of the MU Libraries Adopt a Book Program and conservator Jim Downey.  And of course, there are new books available for adoption as well!

History of the Westminster election : containing every material occurrence, from its commecement [sic.] on the first of April, to the final close of the poll, on the 17th of May - before

       History of the Westminster election : containing every material occurrence, from its commecement [sic.] on the first of April, to the final close of the poll, on the 17th of May - after

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le Czar Demetrius : histoire moscovite - before  Le Czar Demetrius : histoire moscovite - after

Newly available for adoption

Secrets worth knowing : a comedy, in five acts.Vida de Seraphica madre Santa Teresa de Jesus   Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. : during the last twenty years of his life    Breve instrucçam de ordinandos : compendio das cousas, que devem gruadar, e saber em suas Ordens… com hum appendis do exame dos confessores, e pregadores.        

 

 

   

 

 

Historia da fundaçaõ do real convento do S. Christo das religiosas capuchinhas francezas Qvattro comedie del divino Pietro Aretino

 

 

 

 

And many more

home Resources and Services Current State of Journal Publishing

Current State of Journal Publishing

Publish or Perish–but where? What’s Open Access? Check out Inside Higher Education’s essay on the current state of journal publishing: Anarchy and Commercialism

Getting spammed by requests from journals and publishers you’ve never heard of? Check out Jeffrey Beall’s 2012 list of Predatory Open Access Publishers

“Predatory, open-access publishers are those that unprofessionally exploit the author-pays model of open-access publishing (Gold OA) for their own profit. Typically, these publishers spam professional email lists, broadly soliciting article submissions for the clear purpose of gaining additional income.” (Beall)

Chronicle of Higher Education: ‘Predatory’ Online Journals Lure Scholars Who Are Eager to Publish

Need help navigating the waters? Contact Kate

home Resources and Services AAP Grand Rounds now available

AAP Grand Rounds now available

Online access to AAP Grand Rounds from the American Academy of Pediatrics is now available for the years 1999-present. AAP Grand Rounds is similar to JournalWatch in that it presents articles selected from journals which are deemed highly relevant. The articles are then appraised and commented on. The difference is that AAP Grand Rounds focuses specifically on pediatrics, and provides PICO questions for each article analyzed.

home Resources and Services Government Documents Spotlight

Government Documents Spotlight