home Resources and Services Government Documents Spotlight

Government Documents Spotlight

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 Us!

home Resources and Services Code of Best Practices in Fair Use

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use

The Association of Research Libraries has recently released the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries.

The Code addresses such questions as:

  • When and how much copyrighted material can be digitized for student use? And should video be treated the same way as print?
  • How can libraries’ special collections be made available online?
  • Can libraries archive websites for the use of future students and scholars?

Interesting reading (no, really, it is!).

American University’s Center for Social Media has created Fair Use Codes of Best Practices for other communities as well: Online Video; Media Literacy; OpenCourseWare; Documentary Film.

 

home Resources and Services EBVMA Symposium: May 30th in New Orleans

EBVMA Symposium: May 30th in New Orleans

Heading to ACVIM in NOLA?  Check out the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association Symposium on Wednesday, May 30th.

Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine: It’s Happening Now!

When: Wednesday May 30, 2012, 9am-5pm (One day before the start of the ACVIM Forum, one of the most popular CE events of the year!)

Where: Springfield Suites Marriott Downtown, New Orleans, LA

Program
An Introduction to Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine
This interactive workshop, led by some of the leading teachers and practitioners in the field, will introduce you to the key concepts and methods of evidence-based veterinary medicine.

The Latest in Applied Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine
A series of lectures discussing recent research and practical application of evidence-based medicine methods, including the latest Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care guidelines for CPR, research reporting guidelines, outcomes assessment tools, and more.

Registration
Morning Workshop (9am-12pm)- $50 (students $25)
Afternoon Lectures (1pm-5pm)- $50 (students $25)
EBVMA Business Meeting for members (5pm-7pm)- no charge

Combined all-day registration (includes 1-year EBVMA membership for first-time members)- $75 (students $40)

Late Registration (after April 15)- $65 each session ($40 students), $100 combined (students $65)

Details and Online Registration

home Resources and Services Food Revolutions: Science and Nutrition, 1700-1920

Food Revolutions: Science and Nutrition, 1700-1920

Science informs nutrition.  What informs science?

From the four humors to the discovery of vitamins, Food Revolutions examines our changing notions of healthy eating over two centuries.  This exhibition brings together medical books, cookbooks, scientific publications, and dieting texts to illustrate our ongoing quest for health, and our changing relationships with food.  Food Revolutions will be on display in the Ellis Library Colonnade March 2-29, 2012.

Ingolf Gruen, associate professor in the Department of Food Science, will give an opening talk entitled “Food Revolutions: How Science Changed the Way We Eat,” on March 6 at 2:30 in the Ellis Library Colonnade.  The exhibition and lecture are events affiliated with Food Sense, the eighth annual Life Sciences and Society Symposium.  The symposium will take place on the MU campus March 16-18.

LibQual Survey

Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens!

So Handsome!Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on this date in 1812. Dickens, one of the most famous and most belovPickwick Papers, 1837ed of all English novelists, created some of the most powerful characters in fiction. He is known all over the world, and, unlike most great authors, he was rock-star famous in his own time. He moved around a lot as a child and was forced to quit school at twelve years old to work in a factory. Those early memories, however, would later inspire settings both fantastic and real; characters both legendary and sympathetic.

Friends and family described Dickens as full of energy, almost frenetic, and he was able to focus this power into an amazing literary output. He began writing journalism at age 15, and by 24 he had finished the Pickwick Papers and was famous on both sides of the Atlantic.

When Dickens began writing A Christmas Carol, perhaps his most well known work in the U.S. today, he was 31 and already the author ofDickens-919 Sketches by Boz, The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge, and American Notes.

Early in his career he adopted various pen names, the most popular of which, Boz became a nickname as well as a marketing tool. Boz knew how to play to the public and controlled not only his public appearances and persona, but also the illustrations that accompanied his work. From the beginning, Dickens worked very closely with illustrators and vetted every sketch before it went to press. In fact, more than one illustrator claimed later that they had been responsible for story elements, though the author denied this.

 

Dickens-1114The first of these pairings was with George Cruikshank, a popular cartoonist at the time. The author and illustrator became great friends, though their relationship soured due to many factors including Cruikshank’s growing obsession with the Temperance movement.

Seymour

Dickens started working with Robert Seymour when publishers hired him to provide the words for a series of engravings featuring cockney sporting life. Dickens argued successfully that the words should take precedence over the art. Seymour mimicked Cruikshank’s style for the occasion but was of a depressive sensibility and often in conflict with Dickens over the artwork. He had a nervous breakdown in 1830, and committed suicide upon completion of the second installment.


Perhaps the most popular collaborator, HablotDickens-212 Knight Browne worked with Dickens for over 23 years. He adopted the nickname Phiz to complement Dickens’ Boz.

H. K. Browne“No other illustrator ever created the true Dickens characters with the precise and correct quantum of exaggeration.”

– G.K. Chesterton on H.K. Browne

 

Charles Dickens changed the face of literary history, revolutionized popular fiction and fame, and left behind immortal masterworks that still resonate with a world of readers.

Dickens-1111Celebrate his 200th birthday by dropping by Special Collections in Ellis Library to read the stories as Dickens so meticulously intended. We have many of his greatest works, some beautifully bound, dating from the beginning of the author’s literary career. Experience what created this pop sensation first-hand!

 

Dickens @ MU Special Collections!

home Resources and Services Black History Month Events at MU Libraries

Black History Month Events at MU Libraries

TITLE: Crossover Pioneer and Godmother of Rock-n-Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Chambers Auditorium, MU Student Center
PRESENTER: Dr. Michael Budds, Professor of Musicology, MU School of Music

DESCRIPTION: In this multi-media presentation, musicologist Dr. Michael Budds lectures on the life and music of Rock-n-Roll pioneer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Arkansas native, armed with an electric guitar and soulful voice, left her distinctive mark on gospel, blues, rock-n-roll, and jazz and had been mentioned as an influence by iconic American musicians such as Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan. In this presentation, Dr. Budds presents Tharpe in all her glory, and reminds music lovers of her deep impact on American music.


TITLE: Student Experience Panel Discussion

DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 12:00 – 1:0 p.m.
LOCATION: Ellis Library Colonnade
FACILITATORS:  Noor Azizan-Gardner of the Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative and Nathan Stephens of the MU Black Culture Center

DESCRIPTION: A facilitated discussion about the library experience of African-American undergrads. The students will discuss their childhood associations (both cultural and educational) with public and school libraries through their experiences in and with the MU Libraries.


TITLE
: Four Women: A Conversation about Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Camilla Williams, and Mary J. Blige.
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Ellis Library Colonnade
PRESENTER: Dr. Maya Gibson, Assistant Professor, MU School of Music; Dr. Treva Lindsey, Assistant Professor, MU Women and Gender Studies, and Dr .Stephanie Shonekan, Assistant Professor, MU School of Music

DESCRIPTION: Nina Simone’s iconic 1966 song “Four Women” brilliantly highlights the roles that have defined (and confined) black women in the United States. Simone herself was an artist that broke through the boundaries of these stereotypes to create her own way, to define her own terms, and to ultimately establish herself as a distinctive voice in American music and culture. Reflecting on this legacy, three scholars discuss the lives and work of three black female musicians: jazz vocalist Billie Holiday, opera diva Camilla Williams, and queen of hip-hop Mary J. Blige. The discussion will explore the contributions of these artists on the history of American music and culture.

home Resources and Services We’ve got a new look!

We’ve got a new look!

With huge thanks to Mike Spears, the library web site has been redesigned and updated.

What’s New?

  • The ability to search PubMed right from the home page.
  • In the PubMed search: if you put in a PMID, you’ll be taken directly to the journal article.
  • Hours available on the home page
  • Research guides (including the equine guides) are available from the home page.
  • Under the hood, we’ve improved the handling of “not found” searches to provide help and suggestions that will lead to search results.

Enjoy!

home Resources and Services Pro Arte Quartet at Ellis Library on Feb. 9

Pro Arte Quartet at Ellis Library on Feb. 9

Feb. 9, 2012
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Ellis Library Colonnade

The Pro Arte Quartet was founded by students at the Brussels Conservatory. The University of Wisconsin chancellor offered a permanent home to the quartet – it was the first such residency ever in a major American university, and became the model on which many other similar arrangements were developed at other institutions. Today, in addition to widely acclaimed performances of standard classical repertoire, the Pro Arte continues its tradition of championing new music.

This event is free and open to the public.

For tickets to the Pro Arte Quartet’s Concert Series performance at the Missouri Theatre, please visit the University of Missouri Concert Series website.