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The Mizzou Libraries connected with over 2,400 new students and their parents/guardians during Summer Welcome 2024 tabling! Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers for tabling during 22 sessions this summer!
Jara Anderson
Megan Ballengee
Anne Barker
Rachel Brekhus
Abbie Brown
Janice Dysart
Gwen Gray
Jill Kline
Noel Kopriva
Mara Inge
Taira Meadowcroft
Kimberely Moeller
Stephen Pryor
Paula Roper
Physics & Astronomy will take pairs of eclipse glasses as part of Astronomers Without Borders. They are sent to countries that need the glasses.
Address:
Mizzou Department of Physics and Astronomy
Physics Bldg, 223, 701 S College Ave, Columbia, MO 65201
In the summer of 2023, the Digital Initiatives department began work on an exciting, long-term project, which focused on the department’s large collection of donated theses and dissertations. With theses originating from schools and colleges across MU’s campus, our department has collected upwards of 1,400 theses waiting to be digitized. Last August, we eagerly began the process of sorting through each thesis and dissertation, with the intention to eventually digitize and deposit them into our online repository, MOspace. Now, as we rapidly approach the one-year mark to the start of this project, our department is excited to share a brief overview and first look at this expanding collection.
When faced with the daunting task of digitizing over a thousand theses, the very beginning of our journey had to start with a thorough organization and sorting process. Our task for step one was to weed out any “unwanted” copies. An “unwanted” copy would include any non-official, non-MU, and non-graduate thesis or theses without advisor signature approvals (which would classify the thesis as “non-official”). We also wanted to eliminate any excess theses, including duplicate copies or theses that have already been digitized and deposited in MOspace.
The remaining theses entered step two of this project, which included a thorough copyright evaluation process, determining each thesis’s copyright status. Theses currently in the Public Domain were set aside for digitization, since they can be made freely available on MOspace. Theses with a copyright symbol (or published past 1989) were boxed up and sent to storage for later digitization.
The actual digitization process of this project didn’t begin until November 2023, and we expect it will continue over several of the following months. With the tremendous help and hard work of our two speedy student workers, Digital Initiatives has officially digitized 42 theses and 176 dissertations, making a total of 218 donated theses and dissertations added to our online collection: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/3987. That’s an average of 27 theses a month!
Our overall thesis and dissertation collection in MOspace spans several decades, starting with theses published as early as the 1890s. This current project will add theses from four decades, beginning with the 1950s and ending in 1989. The attached graphs showcase the 218 theses and dissertations uploaded since November. At this moment, the majority of our uploaded DTDs span from 1970-1979, though we look forward to watching other decades grow as we continue our digitization process.
As our department looks back on this past year of hard work, we are eager to see what the rest of the year holds regarding this project. While it is just the beginning, we are already thrilled with all of the exciting progress we have made and look forward to our journey ahead, as we work to make these theses and dissertations available for our MOspace users. Be sure to look out for further updates regarding this project in the near future, as we have many exciting things to share ahead of us!
“Kara Whatley appointed MU vice provost and university librarian”
Show Me Mizzou, June 10, 2024
“MU has a new vice provost and university librarian”
Columbia Missourian, June 10, 2024
“Kara Whatley Appointed Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian at University of Missouri”
ARL News, June 14, 2024
It’s officially Pride Month and to help celebrate this month of love and acceptance, we asked our Mizzou Librarians what stories they’d like to celebrate.
Below are just a few of the recommendations that tell stories of triumphs and struggles of the LGBTQ community, all of which are available to request. You can view the whole list of recommended reads here.
Be sure to search the library catalog to see what else we have.
Have book recommendation? Let us know here.
Eric and Morgan decided they were best friends for life. They’ve stuck by each other’s side as Morgan’s mom died, as he moved across town, as Eric joined the football team, as his parents started fighting. But Morgan feels trapped in a mixed-up body, in a wrong life, in Nowheresville, Tennessee, on repeat. With a dad who cares about his football team more than his son, and a best friend who can never know his biggest secret. Six years of birthdays reveal Eric and Morgan’s destiny as they come together, drift apart, fall in love, and discover who they’re meant to be– and if they’re meant to be together.
The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other. Max Walker is a golden boy, with a secret that the world may not be ready for. This novel is a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity, and a coming-of-age story like no other.
I am Your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre Lorde
I Am Your Sister is a collection of Lorde’s non-fiction prose, written between 1976 and 1990, and it introduces new perspectives on the depth and range of Lorde’s intellectual interests and her commitments to progressive social change. Presented here, for the first time in print, is a major body of Lorde’s speeches and essays, along with the complete text of A Burst of Light and Lorde’s landmark prose works Sister Outsider and The Cancer Journals. Together, these writings reveal Lorde’s commitment to a radical course of thought and action, situating her works within the women’s, gay and lesbian, and African American Civil Rights movements.
After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone. But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.
Out at the Movies: A history of Gay Cinema
Over the decades, gay cinema has reflected the community’s journey from persecution to emancipation to acceptance. Politicised dramas like Victim in the 60s, The Naked Civil Servant in the 70s, and the AIDS cinema of the 80s have given way in recent years to films which celebrate a vast array of gay life-styles. Gay films have undergone a major shift, from the fringe to the mainstream and 2005s Academy Awards were dubbed the Gay Oscars with gongs going to Brokeback Mountain, Capote and Transamerica. Producers began clamouring to back gay-themed movies and the most high profile of these is Gus Van Sant’s MILK, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first prominent American political figure to be elected to office on an openly gay ticket back in the 70s. The book also includes information on gay filmmakers and actors and their influence within the industry. Interspersed throughout the book are some of the most iconic scenes from gay cinema and the most memorable dialogue from key films.
Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? It’s not that she doesn’t have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn’t have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.
