home Cycle of Success, Gateway Carousel HSL, Gateway Carousel Zalk Veterinary Medical Library Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian to Retire

Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian to Retire

Deb Ward, Vice Provost and University Librarian

Deb Ward has served for more than 25 years in a variety of roles

University of Missouri Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Latha Ramchand announced today that Deb Ward, the vice provost for MU Libraries and University librarian, will retire on May 31, 2024. Ward’s more than 25-year career has spanned key roles, culminating in her appointment as interim and then permanent vice provost for MU Libraries and University librarian.

Before accepting the position of vice provost, Ward served as the director of the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library. During her tenure, Ward played a pivotal role in advancing the integration of electronic information delivery into health care, introducing clinical librarian services, and promoting the use of evidence-based information in healthcare delivery.

As the leader of MU Libraries, Ward navigated challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring uninterrupted library services while implementing safety protocols and managing a shutdown. Additionally, Ward spearheaded strategic space planning initiatives for Ellis Library, serving as the project director for an NEH challenge grant aimed at upgrading the West Stacks for Ellis Library to create a permanent location for distinctive collections.

One of Ward’s enduring legacies is her unwavering commitment to tailoring library services to meet the evolving needs of students and faculty throughout her years at MU.

“It has been an honor to serve the MU community and contribute to the growth and evolution of our libraries,” Ward said. “I am grateful for the opportunities and support I’ve received throughout my career. As I step into retirement, I look forward to witnessing the continued success and innovation of MU Libraries under new leadership.”

The university will commence a national search for a new vice provost for Libraries, with the desired start date of June 1, 2024. A number of constituent groups will be contacted for input and feedback on potential search committee members.

home Resources and Services Free Equipment Checkout

Free Equipment Checkout

Did you leave your laptop at home? Forgot your phone charger? Need a camera? The Checkout Desk at your library can help you out! Check out the available equipment here. All equipment is available with your student ID. Materials can be renewed in person at the desk. But be careful! There is a $2 fine for every hour it is returned late.

So, the next time you are studying all day at the library and your phone dies, don’t worry! Just head over to the Checkout Desk at your library.

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services Digital Media Lab in Ellis Library

Digital Media Lab in Ellis Library

The Digital Media and Innovation Lab (DMiL) in Ellis Library provides innovative technology and resources for your creative projects. The DMiL has an audio recording booth, digital art tools and 3D scanners in Room 156; an interview recording room in Room 157; and a film studio in Room 3E21.

The DMiL is complemented by the Information Commons computers and equipment checkout at the checkout & information desk. The DMiL is available to students for class or personal projects.

You can make a reservation and check-in or stop by for a consultation in Room 153.

Monday – Thursday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
Friday: 10:00am – 3:00pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed

Questions & Consultation email: ellisdml@missouri.edu

home Events and Exhibits University of Missouri Press: National American Indian Heritage Month Exhibit

University of Missouri Press: National American Indian Heritage Month Exhibit

November is National American Indian Heritage Month and the University of Missouri Press joins in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans with some of our recently published and backlist books, which are featured on one side of Ellis Library’s 2nd floor display case. These titles include historian Greg Olson’s newest book, Indigenous Missourians: Ancient Societies to the Present and Paul Hillmer and Ryan Bean’s Inappropriation: The Contested Legacy of Y-Indian Guides, in addition to several backlist titles on different indigenous groups and archaeology in Missouri.

On the other side of the display case, we feature books by University of Missouri faculty. From the history of civil rights in Missouri, to the culture of fiddle music in the state, to a fictional journey through a 19th-century United States, these titles demonstrate the breadth and depth of current and former University of Missouri faculty interests. Some of these titles include O America: Discovery in a New Land, a historical novel by William Least Heat-Moon, volumes I and II of A Fire Bell in the Past: The Missouri Crisis at 200 coedited by history professor and Kinder Institute chair, Jeff Pasley, and the three-volume history of fiddling in Missouri by professor emeritus, Howard Marshall.

home Resources and Services Watch Out for Fake Citations from ChatGPT

Watch Out for Fake Citations from ChatGPT

ChatGPT, one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, uses a language model to respond to questions and compose various written content. Many college students use ChatGPT to help them complete assignments. While there are times when this can be helpful, it has limitations as a reliable research assistant. One thing you need to watch out for is that ChatGPT will sometimes “hallucinate” (fabricate) citations. The citations may sound legitimate and scholarly, but they are not real. If you try to find these sources through Google or the library, you will search in vain.

If you need help finding resources on a topic, just Ask a Librarian to help you find real resources so you can be successful on your next assignment!

home Events and Exhibits Discovery of Biographies Untold and Works Unnumbered

Discovery of Biographies Untold and Works Unnumbered

Ellis Library Colonnade
From October 2023

“Discovery of Biographies Untold and Works Unnumbered” is now on display showcasing research and creative works completed by students enrolled in the Honors Seminar during Fall 2023, GN_HON 1050H, “Get Real, Go Places! Let Objects Take You There.” The eight-week course explores the study of material culture and the opportunities for research that objects and artifacts make possible. Students are introduced to the concepts of object biography, provenance, and approaches for interpreting, inspecting, and synthesizing objects through regular use of a sketchbook journal and student feedback. The course is taught by Dr. Sarah Buchanan of the iSchool at the University of Missouri (in the College of Education and Human Development) and by gallery, library, archive, and museum professionals based on the Mizzou campus who belong to the Material Culture Studies Group, established in 2014.

Art and heritage objects are often collected for their outward beauty, but a closer look even just beyond the surface can reveal many more fascinating layers to their story. Innovative combinations of method and material hold great promise for deepening our personal connections to representative art, or “finishing” the unfinished work of those whose legacies we encounter today. Our student showcase features 18 art objects created by 11 undergraduate students, each based on the class visit to a particular collection on the Columbia campus. Students created weekly syntheses reflecting on their visit and a culminating object analysis supportive of continued study.

On display here are papier-mâché geometric shapes in the style of an artist’s book in our Special Collections, a map of its exhibitions and placement in permanent collections, textile art inspired by Isaiah ‘Fireball’ Jackson’s “View of a Prison Cell,” a paper floral arrangement of irises and speculative blue peonies, digital art of a mirror inspired by UMKC Professor Hyeyoung Shin’s “Face the Music” in the Bingham Gallery, reflections from the concurrent student exhibit “TAM 2280: Designing with Ginger” Rogers, drawings of a coin depicting Justinian I (545-565 CE) and of a terracotta Silen mask (100s BCE), and an animation image of an Inuit shell reloader seen further in our neighbor exhibit on Alaska Native Heritage.

For their contributions to the success of the course we gratefully thank: Megan Ballengee, Jessica Boldt, Gary Cox, Kelli Hansen, Rachel Harper, Anselm Huelsbergen, Nicole Johnston, Benton Kidd, Madeleine Lemieux, Maggie Mayhan, Pete Millier, MU student Paige, artist Hyeyoung Shin, Candace Sall, Karlan Seville, and Joan Stack.

Trust in the process of discovery!

Celebrate Open Access Week: How to Increase Your Research Impact

Every year we celebrate a week of open access to encourage the sharing of research in an open and impactful way. This year, the theme “Community over Commercialization” focuses on just that. This year encourages us to have a candid conversation about which approaches to open scholarship prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community—and which do not.

Celebrate Open Access Week with us by reviewing the Open Access Library Guide and attending a virtual workshop:

And if you have some additional time, be sure to check out some of our other blog posts about the different facets to consider when making your research open:

Want to lean more? Talk with your Subject Specialist about open access in your area or request a Zoom workshop for your department, team or lab. 

home Gateway Carousel HSL, Gateway Carousel Journalism, Gateway Carousel Zalk Veterinary Medical Library, Resources and Services Publish For Free (Or for a Discounted Price) in These Journals and Keep Your Author Rights

Publish For Free (Or for a Discounted Price) in These Journals and Keep Your Author Rights

Mizzou Libraries has agreements with several publishers to offer discounts and author processing charge support for the following journals.

Want to lean more? Talk with your Subject Specialist about open access in your area.

American Chemical Society (ACS) Journals
The American Chemical Society offers a discounted open access fee to MU affiliates since MU is a Subscribing Institution. Members of ACS receive an additional discount. ACS Open Access Fee Chart

Astronomy & Astrophysics: A European Journal
Starting in 2022,  the EDP Sciences journal Astronomy & Astrophysics will be published under the Subscribe to Open (S20) model.  MU affiliated corresponding authors can publish their articles Open Access without paying APC’s (article processing charges) as long as the University of Missouri Libraries continue to

Cambridge University Press Journals
NOTE: All waivers for the 2023 calendar year have been exhausted.
MU Libraries has entered into a transformational “Read and Publish” agreement with Cambridge University Press. This agreement greatly expands electronic access to Cambridge University Press journals and provides 10 APC waivers for MU corresponding authors to publish their work OA.

Because of the limited number of waivers available with this agreement, MU Libraries has decided to support authors on a first come, first served basis. If there are remaining waivers at the end of the year, MU Libraries can retroactively make other articles OA with the approval of the author.

BMJ Case Reports
The Health Sciences Library subscription to BMJ Case Reports includes a waiver of the individual membership fee of £273 normally required to publish cases. Submission instructions.

Company of Biologists
From 2023 through 2025 MU is participating in the Company of Biologist’s Read & Publish Open Access Initiative. MU authors can publish OA at no charge. Some of the journals Company of Biologists publishes include Development, Journal of Cell Science, and Journal of Experimental Biology.

Electrochemical Society (ECS) Journals
MU is a subscriber to ECS Plus, an agreement that allows MU faculty to publish their articles in Electrochemical Society (ECS) journals (Journal of the Electrochemical Society and ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology) as Open Access with no charge to the author. There are no limits on the number of papers that can be published in any given subscription year. Find out more.

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
The University of Missouri has joined the shareholder consortium of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. This open-access journal features interdisciplinary academic research and practice articles on all things food systems. The shareholder membership, good through April 2024, covers the University of Missouri-Columbia, including MU Extension. This membership waives the typical Article Processing Charge for publishing in this journal.

Proceedings of the National Academies of Science of the United States of America (PNAS)
MU researchers publishing articles in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) receive a discounted open access fee of $2,000, compared to the regular fee of $2,500, to make their papers immediately free online. Find out more.

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services Special Spaces in Mizzou Libraries: Sensory and Color Accessible Maps

Special Spaces in Mizzou Libraries: Sensory and Color Accessible Maps

Finding the perfect study spot can be difficult in Ellis Library. Some days you need quiet and other days you want to be alone. In order to make finding these spaces easier, we’ve created some sensory maps and color accessible maps.

The color coded sensory maps show where in Ellis Library you can find quiet space, uncrowded spaces, and spaces with natural light on every floor of Ellis Library.

The color accessible maps highlight all the seating options in Ellis Library: regular seating, high/stand up seating, soft seating. It also shows you were the restrooms are located on each floor.

You can access the maps here or you can find them under maps and floorplans on the main library website.

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services Lockers With Chargers Available in Ellis Library

Lockers With Chargers Available in Ellis Library

Looking for a place to store your items and charge your phone? Personal storage lockers with USB chargers are available in Ellis Library, next to the elevators on the main floor.

These lockers are free to use, but a Mizzou TigerCard (MU ID) is required for access. These lockers were purchased with funds from the Enhance Mizzou student fee.

Spacesaver Lockers

  • There are two USB charger ports to charge electronic devices in each locker. Chargers are available at the Check Out and Information Desk.
  • You can only use one locker at a time.
  • Lockers can only be used for one day at a time. Any items left in the lockers overnight will be taken to Lost and Found at the Ellis Library West Entrance Desk.

Instructions

  • Push on the door to open the locker door. Available lockers have a green light on the numbered panel. Occupied lockers have a red light.
  • Put Items in the locker.Charge electronic devices by plugging into USB charger ports.
  • Close locker door. Press your Mizzou TigerCard against the numbered panel to lock the door. The light will turn red. Remember your locker number.
  • Open the locked door by pressing your Mizzou TigerCard against the numbered panel. The light will turn green and the door will open.

Contact the Ellis Safety Team at the West or North entrance if you have any problems using the lockers.