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home Engineering Library, Resources and Services Celebrating Black Engineers

Celebrating Black Engineers

By Amanda May   Posted in Engineering Library Resources and Services
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Hello everyone! 

Happy Black History Month! This month, we’re showcasing items in the University of Missouri’s collection about African American engineers. You can request them by clicking on their hyperlinked titles below. If you have issues requesting the titles, please reach out to Amanda May at asmay@umsystem.edu

Celebrating Black Engineers:

Bridging deep south rivers : the life and legend of Horace King / John S. Lupold and Thomas L. French, Jr
Both when he was enslaved and when he gained his freedom, Horace King built bridges, courthouses, warehouses, factories, and houses in Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Mississippi. The authors separate legend from facts as they carefully document King’s life in the Chattahoochee Valley on the Georgia-Alabama border. The story does not end with Horace, however, because he passed his skills on to his three sons, who also became prominent builders and businessmen.

Overnight code : the life of Raye Montague, the woman who revolutionized naval engineering

The inspiring story of a groundbreaking African American female engineer who created the first computer-designed ship for the US Navy. Equal parts coming-of-age tale, civil rights history, and reflection on the power of education, Overnight Code is a tale about persistence and perseverance when the odds against you seem insurmountable.

 

 

 

 

 

Changing the face of engineering : the African American experience / edited by John Brooks Slaughter, Yu Tao, and Willie Pearson, Jr.

Changing the Face of Engineering argues that the continued underrepresentation of African Americans in engineering impairs the ability of the United States to compete successfully in the global marketplace. This volume will be of interest to STEM scholars and students, as well as policymakers, corporations, and higher education institutions.

home Resources and Services Peer Navigator Corner: AI Resources for Students

Peer Navigator Corner: AI Resources for Students

By Kimberly Moeller   Posted in Resources and Services
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Written by: Josiah Abbott

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’re aware of the rapid advancements being made in the AI industry. With the broad usability of AI, there are many resources available to students as we strive for academic excellence at Mizzou. A variety of tools, suggestions on prompting, and details on ethical considerations can be found through the Libraries’ AI guide, but I’ve highlighted a few below.

The resources I am covering in this article are beneficial for efficiency when studying, note-taking, or looking for information. I want to add a warning to not use AI for graded assignments unless a professor has explicitly given permission. If you are unclear on whether AI is prohibited or not, first check the syllabus. Professors are supposed to include guidelines on AI usage in it, but if this is not the case, you can also email them. Because of concerns with academic integrity regarding AI, do not use it if it could put your education at risk. 

To begin, I’m sure many of you have seen or even gotten a text from Roary, Mizzou’s AI helpbot. Roary is primarily intended to be used when searching for a process, location, or department to contact. For example, if you need a recommendation on where to study, Roary will give you a list of locations. If you need contact information for the financial aid office, Roary will reply with it almost immediately. Beyond that, Roary can’t do much more. I wouldn’t ask coursework questions as the AI was not trained on that. However, when you have questions regarding life at Mizzou, instead of clicking around the website for 5 minutes, just ask Roary.

Another helpful tool is Notion AI, a note-taking and scheduling tool one of my fellow peer navigators found. What is so unique about Notion AI is that it can search through all input information (notes, schedule, etc.) and answer questions based on that information. Say you remember talking about feudalism in class but are struggling to remember which of your notes it was in. Just ask Notion AI, and it will give you the correct section and title of what you need. Even better than that, instead of rereading the notes, you could just ask the AI to summarize the topics for a quick refresher. Integrating Notion AI isn’t difficult either. It allows you to sync your Google calendar to quickly load in all of your schedule, as well as upload your notes from a variety of formats, including directly from Google Docs.

If you are looking for help starting a research project, Consensus is a useful option that utilizes the Semantic Scholar database of open access research. A powerful research tool, Consensus allows you to enter a question and will search for and pull 20 relevant papers. After pulling the articles, it gives a brief outline of arguments on both sides of the question with a conclusion to sum it up. For each source, it breaks down how many times it is cited, the type of study it is, and has preloaded citations. With a wide range of filters, you can also narrow down the articles it pulls. Even better, Consensus is constantly being updated with new tools, including a consensus meter that gives a breakdown of articles’ stances on the question. Overall, Consensus is my pick for an AI tool to use in order to jumpstart your research.

Finally, a recent breakthrough, DeepSeek AI, blew up the generative AI market recently (January, 2025). It is an open-source AI competitor in a market dominated by closed-source tools. Combining its relatively cheap production costs and similar computing efficiency, it may be the best GenAI on the market. Currently it matches OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro plan ($200 a month) for a whopping $0. However, this is not a tool I would recommend using straight from the source on their site or phone app. Created and marketed from a Chinese company, this tool comes with concerns about data harvesting and security flaws in the program. However, the open-source nature allows businesses to run it locally where they can tweak parameters for better responses and implement security for individual iterations. Although not a tool an average person should use, I would encourage you to keep an eye on news surrounding it.

home J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services New Ebooks at Mizzou Libraries: Medicine and Health Sciences

New Ebooks at Mizzou Libraries: Medicine and Health Sciences

By Taira Meadowcroft   Posted in J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Resources and Services
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Below are a few of the medicine and health sciences ebooks we’ve recently added to our online collection. You can see the rest of our new ebooks here.

These ebooks were purchased with student success grant funds awarded by the Office of the Provost.

 

Emerging Pandemics : Connections with Environment and Climate Change

Pandemics are often associated with viruses and bacteria occurring in wildlife in natural environments. Thus, diseases of epidemic and pandemic scale are mostly zoonotic, some of which include AIDS, Zika virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and COVID-19. The book seeks to explore the documented history of pandemics and various epidemics that have the potential of turning into pandemics with the warming climate, pollution, and environmental destruction.

 

 

The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication

The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication presents a thorough overview of a dynamic field, bringing together entries by an international panel of contributors that address a comprehensive range of recent and emerging topics. With a global and interdisciplinary focus, this timely resource addresses cutting-edge digital technology, complementary and integrative healthcare, diversity and inclusion, health equity, COVID-19, and much more.

 

Artificial Intelligence for Neurological Disorders

The book discusses many machine learning techniques to detect neurological diseases at the cellular level, as well as other applications such as image segmentation, classification and image indexing, neural networks and image processing methods. Chapters include AI techniques for the early detection of neurological disease and deep learning applications using brain imaging methods like EEG, MEG, fMRI, fNIRS and PET for seizure prediction or neuromuscular rehabilitation.

 

 

 

The Hospice Heritage

Through The Hospice Heritage: Celebrating Our Future, physicians, nurses, social workers, and clergy will find unique examples to give patients the attention, care, and understanding they need at that time in their life. Since 80 percent of people who die do so without the support of a hospice program, this important book offers approaches designed to expand access to hospice and provide a solid foundation of treatment for patients with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses.

 

 

 

Ataxic Disorders

This volume’s primary goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of recent developments and advancements in the study of ataxic disorders. Beginning with an examination of the cerebellar region, and then progressing to a fresh perspective on the clinical aspects of the various forms of ataxia, this handbook gives clinicians a state-of-the-art reference for the management of the many etiologies and neurological manifestations of ataxic disorders.

home J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Finding and Evaluating Health Datasets

Finding and Evaluating Health Datasets

By Taira Meadowcroft   Posted in J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Resources and Services
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Finding available data can be difficult, but our data services librarian can help with the process. To get started, you can find some available health datasets linked on our guide.

Once you find your data, how do you make sure the data you find is credible? Here are some steps for you to keep in mind to ensure what you find is useful for your project.

  1. Look for supporting documentation outlining what the data is, how it was collected, and how to interpret the data.
    • Tip: Look for readme files, data dictionaries/codebooks, and a collection methodology
  2. Make sure you can open all files associated with the data.
  3. Ensure that all files are clearly labeled and store the information and/or data that is indicated in the file name.
  4. Within the data files, check for the following:
    • Variables are clearly labeled with standard naming conventions.
      • Example: First names are labeled as FirstName and last names are labeled as LastName
    • Units of measurement for different variables are explicitly stated.
      • Example: You can tell if measurements are given in centimeters (cm) or inches (in)
    • Each variable contains a discrete unit of information.
      • Example: blood pressure and zip code are stored in separate columns
    • Variables follow data standards and have consistent formatting.
      • Example: All dates are in yyyy-mm-dd format

Still need help finding and evaluating data? Connect with our data services librarian who can help you find the data you need.

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Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

home J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, Resources and Services Spring 2025 Health Sciences Textbooks Available Online or at the Health Sciences Library

Spring 2025 Health Sciences Textbooks Available Online or at the Health Sciences Library

By Taira Meadowcroft   Posted in J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library Resources and Services
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Spring 2025 and optional textbooks for classes are now available!

Pick your school/college, then your program, and finally the course. It’s as easy as that. Access textbook copies at the Health Sciences Library here.

Note: Paper copies will be available at the Health Sciences LIbrary Desk for 24 hour checkout. Any duplicate copies of textbooks are available and subject to regular check out times.

Some ebooks are limited to one viewer at a time, so please close your browser window when you are finished so that the book will be available to others.

Unfortunately, we don’t have all the books required for every class. If we don’t have your textbook, there are several avenues you can use to find a copy, which are all clearly labeled on each class page.

You can also recommend the Health Sciences Library purchase an online copy here. Please provide what course the textbook is for and the name of your instructor.

TAGS:

Taira Meadowcroft

Taira Meadowcroft is the Public Health and Community Engagement Librarian at the Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri.

home Engineering Library, Resources and Services, Uncategorized Reading Revelry: February 2025

Reading Revelry: February 2025

By Amanda May   Posted in Engineering Library Resources and Services Uncategorized
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Howdy everyone!
We hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the semester! For this month’s Reading Revelry, we are three books perfect for Valentine’s month 🙂 You can request them by clicking on their hyperlinked titles below. If you have issues requesting the titles, please reach out to Amanda May at asmay@umsystem.edu

Our picks for February:

 

A Lady For A Duke by Alexis Hall 

When Viola Caroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognizes her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become. As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have

 been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again. 

 

 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston 

Twenty-three-year old August doesn’t believe in much. She doesn’t believe in psychics, or easily forged friendships, or finding the kind of love they make movies about. And she certainly doesn’t believe her ragtag band of new roommates, her night shifts at a 24-hour pancake diner, or her daily subway commute full of electrical outages are going to change that. But then, there’s Jane. Beautiful, impossible Jane. All hard edges with a soft smile and swoopy hair and saving August’s day when she needed it most. The person August looks forward to seeing on the train every day. The one who makes her forget about the cities she lived in that never seemed to fit, and her fear of what happens when she finally graduates, and even her cold-case obsessed mother who won’t quite let her go. And when August realizes her subway crush is impossible in more ways than one-namely, displaced in time from the 1970s-she thinks maybe it’s time to start believing. Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.

 

This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire 

Seeking closure after a tough break-up, Will Darbyshire was driven to strike up an intimate conversation with his online audience. Posting a series of questions via his YouTube, Twitter and Instagram channels, Will asked his followers to share their innermost thoughts about their relationship experiences, in the form of hand-written letters, poems, photographs, and emails. 

After 6 months and over 15,000 heartfelt submissions later, from over 100 countries, This Modern Love collects these letters together to form a compendium of 21st century love, structured into the beginning, middle and end of a relationship. 

Tender, funny and cathartic, This Modern Love is a compelling portrait of individual desires, resentments and fears that reminds us that, whether we’re in or out of love, we’re not alone. 

home Resources and Services Peer Navigator Corner: Snacks & Drinks in Ellis Library

Peer Navigator Corner: Snacks & Drinks in Ellis Library

By Kimberly Moeller   Posted in Resources and Services
Posted on

Written By: Lexi Tucker 

Sometimes you need a quick snack or refreshment while studying at Ellis Library, and this guide will help you find the most convenient options. Whether grabbing a bite, getting a caffeine fix, or filling up your water bottle, Ellis has everything you need to stay energized and focused.  

One feature of Ellis Library that is hard to miss, especially when entering from the West Entrance, is the café. This convenient location offers a simplified menu featuring drip coffee, hot tea, various canned espresso drinks, Pepsi products, and a selection of grab-and-go snack and lunch items. Even if you bring your own food, the cafe provides a microwave, toaster, and bagel cutter during Ellis Library operating hours. The Food and Drink Policy at Ellis encourages smelly, sticky, or messy foods to be consumed in the café area to avoid spills or messes, so please consider what you’re eating before moving elsewhere! The café hours as of Fall 2024: 

  • Monday & Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
  • Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Thursday & Friday: 8:00 – 4:00 PM 

Convenient self-serve vending machines are also available at Ellis Library. To find them, head down the hallway past the café, leading toward the elevators for the ground through the fourth floor. As soon as you round the corner to the left, two snack vending machines are available with options ranging from $1.00 to $3.00 for either cash or card. You are welcome to enjoy snacks in most areas of the library, but please clean up and be considerate of those around you. 

Another great feature of Ellis Library are the bottle-filling water fountains. One fountain is near the café and the ground floor bathrooms. The second one is near the Circulation desk and men’s restroom on the first floor.  

In general, the policy for drinks at Ellis Library is to have covered containers and to be careful when operating computers or other devices. Alert library staff about any spills at the West Desk to help keep the library clean.  

In conclusion, Ellis Library offers a variety of convenient snack and drink options to enhance your study experience. Whether you visit the café or grab a quick snack from a vending machine, you can easily stay refreshed and focused while making the most of your time in the library! 

home Resources and Services Peer Navigator Corner: New Scanners

Peer Navigator Corner: New Scanners

By Kimberly Moeller   Posted in Resources and Services
Posted on

By: Alyssa Westhoff

If you’ve ever found yourself wishing for a quick, high-quality scan of an important document, treasured photo, or a favorite book page, Ellis has updated technology to provide that for you! On the first floor just around the corner to the right from the Peer Navigator desk are two new ScannX scanners available for use. 

These scanners have the ability to process documents up to 18.89 x 14.17 inches per page and books 17 x 11 inches in size. Possible output formats include PDF, JPEG, single/multipage TIFF, PNG, MP3 and Word (.docx). Items can be downloaded onto a USB, put in Google Drive, sent to an email, or transferred to a mobile device with the QR Reader app. These devices make it simple to create digital copies of anything you might need, whether for class or personal use. For example, if you only need a few pages from a book, you can quickly capture and save any specific section without having to check out the entire copy!

The scanner on the left is attached to an automatic document feeder that can scan up to 100 pages at a time on both sides. This is ideal for digitizing large batches of documents, such as research papers, class notes, or archived records. Both scanners have options to edit color, orientation, and overhead lighting depending on the item being scanned. Feel free to stop by the Peer Navigator desk with any questions when creating copies for your personal, academic, or professional needs!

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services Peer Navigator Corner: A Guide to Ebooks

Peer Navigator Corner: A Guide to Ebooks

By Kimberly Moeller   Posted in Ellis Library Resources and Services
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Written by: Josiah Abbott

Whether you are a student or a member of the general public, books are what draw most people to a library. However, in an ever-evolving world of technology, ebooks are beginning to surpass traditional paper in terms of academic and personal use. I’m sure almost every student is familiar with both the blessings and curses of electronic course textbooks. Whether through McGraw Hill Connect or MU Online, many classes include textbooks using this more compact method. 

Before covering online textbooks more in-depth, let’s address more casual ebook experiences. If you are looking for an easy way to read (or listen) on the go, personally, I enjoy Hoopla. It has an extremely user-friendly interface and is incredibly easy to sign up for (all you need are a public library card and an email address). Libby is also easy to sign up for (requires a library card and email) and quite easy to use. One other option that isn’t freely available through a library but you may have come across is the Kindle app. It does a great job mimicking the coloring of physical books but has either a subscription fee or requires you to purchase books individually. All of these are great options each with their benefits and drawbacks, and I would encourage you to check them out for yourself to see which one you like best.

For students, however, online books rather than apps are a necessity and a potentially frustrating one at that. First and foremost, McGraw Hill Connect is likely the most used ebook service at Mizzou. Now, for most students, McGraw Hill should link to Canvas automatically through AutoAccess and there should be no issues. However, if you decide not to use AutoAccess, things become trickier. First, you need to go through Canvas to the McGraw Hill Connect page that will prompt you to purchase the ebook. You can go through them, but if you’ve purchased a copy elsewhere, you also can input a code found in the textbook on that page and it should automatically link up. If you have done these steps to link accounts and it still is not working, you may need to contact IT support and your TA or Professor. Often the issues can be fixed with a bit of troubleshooting, but I’ve occasionally experienced the Professor having trouble syncing and the whole class having the same problem. 

On the other hand, many students will be assigned reading assignments for which they can use an ebook through the University Libraries. If the Professor links the book in Canvas usually it is easy to locate, but since access is based on login, sometimes there are issues. If you can’t access through Canvas for any reason, you can use the Discover@MU search bar on the University of Missouri Libraries home page to search for the book you need. Searching for the title in quotes will redirect you to a list of resources, including the book’s details regarding availability and how to access it. It is the same process for both digital and physical resources, so to only retrieve ebooks, there is an option on the left to limit it to “online only”. To access ebooks, there is a blue link on the book’s banner that says “MU online…”, which will take you to the book in your browser. Depending on the publisher, you’ll either be able to read the book straight away, or you may have to create an account with your UMSystem email address. 

Part of the linking message will also state how many copies are available for use. Just like print books, ebooks are sold as individual copies, and the link to access will state how many there are (see image, “one user at a time”). If you are getting an error opening it, it may currently be in use, and if you are the one using it, don’t forget to close the tab when you finish so someone else can.

If you are having trouble with a book you previously could access, try clearing your cache (go to browser history and there should be a button to clear cache somewhere). If problems persist, there are several ways to get help. Online, you can contact Mizzou’s IT division by going to the live chat button at the top of their homepage, or you can start a chat with a librarian by going to the “Ask us!” pop out on the right side of the library’s homepage. If you would like help in person, you can ask one of the peer navigators at their desk on the first floor near the information commons.

 

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services Peer Navigator Corner: Who are the Peer Navigators?

Peer Navigator Corner: Who are the Peer Navigators?

By Kimberly Moeller   Posted in Ellis Library Resources and Services
Posted on

Written by: Sophie Lanzone

At Ellis Library, there is a group of Mizzou students who are available to help with navigating the building itself, or any other technological or reference question you may have. The peer navigator system is designed so that students have an accessible environment to ask questions, and feel comfortable asking another student. We can be found at the reference desk on the first floor, near the stairs to the café.

To go into more detail on what the program offers, your peer navigators strive to have open communication with everyone as well as a friendly, welcoming attitude. Our prime responsibilities for services are to provide excellent customer service to any users of the library, to do as much as we can to help assist with your questions, to be sensitive to each user’s knowledge and skill level, and to direct you to the resources and library staff that will be most beneficial. We can help with a variety of different types of questions ranging from how to print and get set up with each printer, how to reserve a study room and where to find that study room, how to look up books and articles information on the digital media lab and writing tutors, where you can rent chargers, markers cameras, etc., where bathrooms are throughout the library, where different quiet spaces or classrooms are and more! We have weekly training courses that keep us up to date with new information and refresh the ways we can help answer your questions. We can also connect you with the best person or resource to answer your question. For example, we can tell you all about Special Collections with their collection of rare materials, the University Archives with private papers and manuscripts related to the history of the University, subject specific librarians to help with your research, and even the public library with great resources like free tutoring, audiobooks, and resume or interview help.

If you have any questions at all, don’t be afraid to come ask a peer navigator. You can find us in Ellis Library Sunday-Thursday starting at 10:00 am through 10:00 pm. There are no right or wrong questions, so please feel comfortable enough to come talk to us. Our goal is to get everyone more familiar with what the Libraries have to offer and how to utilize them throughout your time here at Mizzou!