Written by: Josiah Abbot

While you may be aware of the many books and resources available through Ellis Library, if you are looking to do any legal research, turn no further than our Law Library. For example, if you are a social work student looking at policy or a political science major researching law. Reference services are available from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays, but the library is open to all students from 7:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays, with shorter hours on the weekend. Due to space constraints, non-law students cannot use the library for general study. However, you can access resources through the Reference Alcove after checking in at their front desk. This space offers access to Westlaw software, a powerful legal database. Within this database, you can find numerous documents ranging from case law to statutes to secondary law sources. You can email yourself several of these sources a day and the limit resets each day. Within the Alcove you will also find a “Reference Student,” similar to the Ellis Peer Navigators. If you are unsure of what you are looking for or where best to find it, they can help point you in the right direction. 

If you would rather research from home, you can still access some of the Law Library’s online databases. When you navigate to their webpage, click on the “Law Library” drop-down menu and then select student resources.

Under the “Legal Research” subsection you can find a link to their database list – any databases with an MU logo are open to any MU students, while the rest you would need to be in the Law Library to access.

One great resource they recommend is HeinOnline, a comprehensive source of treaties and international agreements that the United States is part of. It also has law and law-related periodicals. One reason students often choose HeinOnline is that its sources have a PDF structure, making it easy to transfer documents and cite your information.

Another useful resource available to all students is their databases on intellectual property. The “Intellectual Property Law Collection” will allow you to access cases relating to patent law. For more on patent issuances and treatises (these can be anything from the design of your Starbucks cup to NASA spaceships and Phantom of the Opera’s stage!), you can access a different database through VitalLaw (titled “Intellectual Property” within their database list). VitalLaw allows you to find Patent and Trademark Office documents for things like Pfizer rulings from the PTO.

If online databases are not your style and you prefer physical copies of resources, you can always take a look at print materials. Similarly to how you would search for books from Ellis, their books, periodicals, and journals can be found through the Libraries Discover layer. Once you’ve started a search, on the side panel under location, you can filter down to only resources from the Law Library. Journals can be reviewed onsite, and when you checkout books you can choose from any pickup location as you would normally be able to. 

Altogether, the Law Library is a great resource for students. If you are in a class and need to research a project that is closely related to law, accessing their resources could greatly benefit you. Even if you don’t have a project, they have a variety of specific resources that are interesting to check out.

Written by: Annalise Miller

At some point during your academic and professional journey, you will likely find yourself emailing a professor, university staff member, or other dignitary person. You might be writing to ask for a letter of recommendation, to apply for a job, or to communicate about an assignment. When that time comes, it is crucial to have solid email etiquette under your belt. Think of it as the art of writing polite, clear, and effective emails. The “rules” of email etiquette may vary depending on the recipient, but having a strong foundation in email etiquette will set you up for success in any situation.

As a college student, communication with professors through email is something that will undoubtedly happen during your years at Mizzou. Make sure that all MU-related emails are coming from your University assigned email address. Before constructing your email, write a clear and concise subject line. This helps clarify what your message is about and will help busy professors prioritize your email. “POL-SC 4641 Discussion Post Grade,” “Absence Notification for ENG 1000 on 2/02/2025,” or “Feedback Request for BUS 2000” are all examples of good subject lines. Subject lines should avoid all caps, emojis, or ambiguity.

Similar to writing a letter, emails should begin with a greeting. Try to avoid informal greetings like “What’s up, Kim,” or “Heyyyyy.” You are emailing a professional, not someone you just met online. “Ms. Kimberly Moeller” or “Dear Dr. Jones” are generally safe options, especially if you are unsure how the person prefers to be addressed. While some professors are fine with being called by their first names, others prefer to be referred to as “Dr.” or “Professor.”

Now, what about the body of your email? Make sure the recipient knows who you are and why you are contacting them in short, direct paragraphs. Do not make your email unnecessarily long or full of extraneous detail. That said, an important part of conciseness is making sure that you do not leave out any relevant information. Say everything that you need to say without being excessively wordy. In terms of follow-ups, try to wait at least 24 hours. This gives the recipient time to respond to your email.

Finally, use a professional sign off to conclude your email. For example: “Best, Annalise Miller” or “Sincerely, Shane Stearman”. You can get creative with this step, as long as you keep it polite and direct. Be sure to thank your recipient before signing off of your email, as well.

Before hitting “send,” do a quick proofread of your email. In emails, use grammar and punctuation as you would in any other piece of professional writing. Make sure that you do not overuse exclamation points (no matter how excited you are to be here at Mizzou) and end your sentences with periods. Do not type anything that you would not want to read out loud, either. Regardless of how mad you may be at a professor for not yet posting your grade, save the rage for ranting to your roommate. By following proper email etiquette, you can ensure effective communication while demonstrating professionalism and respect.

———————————————————————————————————————

Example Email:
Subject: POLSC 2000 Grade Inquiry

Dear Professor Smith,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Annalise Miller, and I am a student in your POLSC 2000 class (Section 2, Fall 2025). I am reaching out to inquire about when the final grades for the course will be posted. I understand that grading can take some time, and I just wanted to check if there is an estimated date for when we might be able to view our grades.

Thank you for your time and for all your hard work throughout the semester. I appreciate any information you can provide.
Best regards,
Annalise Miller

Written by: Alyssa Westhoff

The Student Success Center provides a variety of services designed to support students’ educational and professional development, and is located in Lowry Mall directly across from the North entrance of Ellis Library. It . The center is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7:15 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Student Success Center is home to specialized services, including the Career Center, Center for Academic Excellence and Success, Community Engaged Learning, Discovery Center, Learning Center, and Transfer Center. Each serves a unique purpose designed specifically to help you succeed. The Career Center helps with resume building, cover letter writing, interview preparation, and professional headshots. The Center for Academic Excellence and Success offers career development, academic enrichment, and financial literacy support. The Community Engaged Learning Center provides opportunities for students to earn credit while engaging in hands-on learning that benefits others. The Discovery Center assists undecided students in exploring their interests and finding the right major. The Learning Center offers academic coaching, peer tutoring through Tiger Tutors, and 24/7 online tutoring in any subject. The Transfer Center is a peer-mentoring network that connects transfer students and helps them navigate campus life. 

All of these services are completely free and are available to all Mizzou students – including you! To schedule appointments or learn more, visit: https://success.missouri.edu/student-success-resources/. I have personally used the Career Center for resume help as well as Tiger Tutoring during my time at Mizzou and can attest to their value. Many students don’t realize the full range of services available, so be sure to take advantage of everything the Student Success Center has to offer!

Written by: Isabella Bickhaus

With so many assignments throughout the semester, I find that traditional book clubs—or any activity with a specific expectation—can be overwhelming. Even if the chosen book is one I truly enjoy, the book club date looms over my head like a Canvas deadline. That’s why I enjoy the format of Mizzou Libraries’ Bring Your Own Book Book Club (BYOBook Club), which centers around a monthly prompt instead of a specific book. This allows readers to come and share details about their own chosen book while adding the recommendations from others to their TBR (to be read) list. 

Some prompts for the Spring 2025 semester include a book with a red or pink cover, a book from any of Book Riot’s Read Harder categories, and a book that contains one of your least favorite things (character, trope, etc.). If you do not want to follow the prompt, you don’t have to. Feel free to bring any book you are willing to share with the group, or take inspiration from a past prompt. If you do want to follow the prompt and are looking for a place to start, look no further than the BYOBook Club Library Guide. This guide includes recommendations for books in general, for upcoming prompts, and for past prompts. The books listed under the Fall 2024-Spring 2025 tab are the books shared at past meetings. Beyond book recommendations, the guide also includes different ways to borrow books, details about local bookstores here in Columbia, and banned book lists.

The BYOBook Club meets in 114A Ellis, a room close to the Lowry Mall entrance of Ellis Library with comfortable booth seating. In addition to snacks, conversation starters about the book(s) you bring can help you guide your discussion about your book. Whether you are an avid reader or interested in getting started, this book club has a spot for everyone.  

Here are the Spring 2025 dates for the BYOBook Club:

• Wednesday, February 19, from 4-5 in 114A in Ellis (register here)
  • Book with a red or pink cover
• Wednesday, March 12, time TBA, in 114A in Ellis
  • Pick a book from any of Book Riot’s Read Harder categories
• Wednesday, April 16, time TBA, in 114A in Ellis
  • “My least favorite ____” (character, book, plot, trope, etc.)

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.

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! 

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!