This past spring, MU librarians created a Wish List of over 400 titles that would enhance teaching and research, but that could not be purchased due to budget limitations. The response from alumni and friends exceeded our highest expectations. Fifty-six donors purchased 105 books and electronic book collections, totaling $22,270 in gifts. The gifts generated a great deal of excitement within our library staff, so please, consider this a collective “thank you” from everyone at the library!

Allowing donors to purchase specific items on topics of interest to them resulted in a broad range of interesting titles that will be heavily used in the years ahead. Here is just a sampling of the items that have been purchased from the Wish List:

• Dick Toft purchased the Complete and Truly Outstanding Works by Homer for Special Collections & Rare Book
• Ken Mares in honor of Dr. Ann Johanson purchased the American Academy of Pediatrics 2017 Frontlist E-Book Collection
• Dedra Earl purchased Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy
  
• Suzanne Billhymer purchased Principles of Lightning Physics
• Carolyn Wenneker purchased Vogue the Shoe
• Craig Datz purchased Musical Prodigies: Interpretations from Psychology, Education, Musicology, and Ethnomusicology

As of August 1, we have officially brought the 2017 Wish List project to a close.Thankfully, our librarians are beginning to make priority purchases from our collections budget for FY2018. However, significant reductions to the collections budget over the last three years have guaranteed that many faculty requests will go unfulfilled. So, the Wish List will be back next spring, when the collections budget has been exhausted for the current fiscal year. If you just can’t wait to make another gift to support the University Libraries collections, please consider a gift to our Collections Enhancement Fund.

Endowments Support Collections – If you would like to make the University Libraries a significant part of your personal giving, you might consider a collections endowment. In fiscal year 2017, collections endowments accounted for a significant portion of our collections spending. The minimum amount to create an endowment is $25,000. Your gift can be spread over a period of years or you can even fund the endowment through your estate plan. If you would like more information about creating an endowment, contact Matt Gaunt at gauntm@missouri.edu, or 573-884-8645.