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MU Libraries

Record Group: 20 C
Record Sub-Group: 20
Records Title: UMC; MU Libraries; Special Collections; Miscellaneous Records
Dates: 1892-1937
Volume: 3 and 5/6 cubic feet, 4.79 linear feet; 20 Volumes

Scope and Content Note

This Record Sub-Group contains miscellaneous records received by Special Collections Division in Ellis Library, University of Missouri-Columbia. Included among the records are photographic view books, distribution maps, various registers, scrapbooks, meeting minutes, correspondence, membership lists, and fiscal and operational files. The records pertain to outreach activities of the College of Agriculture, University of Missouri exhibits at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the history of the University of Missouri Library, and the Columbia Library Club.

Series Descriptions:

Series 1. - C:20/8/8 (A05-43)
This Series contains records received by Special Collections, Ellis Library, University of Missouri-Columbia, (1915). The records consist of a binder containing a series of map reproductions depicting the distribution of the non-resident activities of the College of Agriculture. Non-resident activities described by the maps include location of branch short courses, county fair exhibits and judging, county agents, boys and girls clubs, experiment fields, certified nurseries, university forests, and cholera serum distribution.
(1/6 c.f., UMLD1)
Note to Archivist: These records were transferred from the Rare Book Collection in the Special Collections Division of Ellis Library in 2005.

Series 2. - C:20/8/7 (A05-42; A23-02)
This Series contains records received by Special Collections, Ellis Library, University of Missouri-Columbia, (1904). The records consist of photographic prints, printed volumes, and a hand-written register. The records pertain to University of Missouri exhibits at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Seven bound volumes of photographic prints and reproductions serve as view books for the campus and the University's academic departments, including Engineering, Botany, Animal and Dairy Husbandry, Entomology, Horticulture, Chemistry, Mechanical Arts, Law, Medicine, military training, athletics, and the library. The volume on the library also includes sample letterhead, call slips, catalog cards, a list of staff members, etc. The Series also contains a register of students and visitors to the University exhibits, including members of the University community such as John Pickard, Clark W. Hetherington, Isidor Loeb, George Lefevre, and R. H. Jesse.
(2 c.f.: 1 c.f., 046232; 3 OSB, Ellis)
Note to Researcher: Association with the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition is based on the only spine title still extant for these volumes: "Mo. University Exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 1904."
Note to Archivist: These records were transferred from the Rare Book Collection in the Special Collections Division of Ellis Library in 2005 and 2023.

Series 3. - C:20/8/9 (A05-72)
This Series contains organizational records of the Columbia Library Club, (1908-1947). The Columbia Library Club (CLC) was a local organization for librarians and library advocates from Columbia and surrounding areas. The CLC had eight or ten meetings a year and worked for the establishment of a public library in Columbia, aid to hospital patients, county jail inmates, and soldiers of the Great War. Included in the Series are the minutes of the organization, (1907-1941), Club correspondence, membership and leadership lists, and fiscal and operational records. The Series also contains Programs or "Year-Books", (1926-1937), that provide a description and calendar for monthly meetings of a specific academic year. Also included are newspaper clippings and the transcript of an interview with Percy Hogan and an unidentified person about the history of the CLC.
(1/3 c.f.: OSB, Ellis)
Note to Researcher: When these materials were placed in the MU Library vault by Ada M. Elliott in September 1941, they included: Missouri Library Association - Programs of Annual Conferences, 1916-1940 (incomplete) and a binder of materials entitled, Voluntary Certification of Librarians in Missouri - Origin and Development, (3/15/1941). However, these materials were given to the Missouri Library Association in 1980.

Series 4. - C:20/8/10 (A05-73)
This Series contains a "historical collection", (1900-1941), for the MU Libraries compiled by long-time MU reference librarian, Ada M. Elliott in 1941. The collection includes a series of University of Missouri Bulletins relating to the history and operation of the MU Libraries, such as A Standard Library Organization Suggested for Missouri High School (1919); Facilities and Resources of the University Library for Graduate Work (1926); History of the Library, University of Missouri (1928); Missouri Libraries 1915-1935 (1936); Missouri in the Library War Service (1931); all authored by Henry Ormal Severance, Director of Libraries, (1907-1937). The Series also includes two scrapbooks (Vol. 2, 1900-1933 and Vol. 1, 1934-1941) composed mainly of clippings about library issues and activities related to Columbia and the University, and the Columbia Library Club.
(1/3 c.f.: OSB, Ellis)

Series 5. - C:20/8/11 (A07-01)
This Series contains publications created or received by Director of Libraries, Henry Ormal Severance, (1927-1937). The publications are as follows: The Severance Genealogy: The Benjamin, Charles, and Lewis Lines of the Seventh Generation (1927); William Benjamin Smith, Ph.D., LL.D.: A Friend of the University of Missouri Library (1936); History of the Library, University of Missouri (1928; limited edition printing); Palmer Hartsough Singing School Teacher, Michigan Song Writer, and Minister 1915-1935 (1937; private printing). The Series also includes a copy of The Libraries of Missouri: A Survey of Facilities (1936), by Melvin W. Sneed, inscribed to Severance.
(1/6 c.f., UMLD1)
Note to Archivist: A number of these titles form part of the University of Missouri Bulletins.

Series 6. - C:20/8/13 (A22-39)
This Series contains accession and other registers for the University of Missouri Libraries, (1892-1916, 1941-1988). In addition to accession registers, Series 6 contains registers for book purchases and pamphlets, an inventory of books held in the General Library in 1897, a piece of correspondence from Librarian Walter K. Stone to the Board of Curators regarding missing books, (1899), and statistic card records, (1945-1988).
(1 c.f., 029981; 20 Vols., Ellis)
Note to Archivist: The box list for this Series is available online. It can be accessed by following this link.

Series 7. - C:20/8/14 (A24-12)
This Series contains library reference material pertaining to degrees conferred by the University of Missouri, (1930, 1933). Included in this Series are two volumes: "A Tabulation of Degrees Conferred," (1930), and "Master of Arts Degrees Conferred by University of Missouri, 1892-1933 and Ph. D. Degrees conferred by University of Missouri, 1899-1933," (1933). According to the cover letter provided to "A Tabulation," the degree information was presented to Library Director Henry Ormal Severance by University Registrar Silas Woodson Canada. Canada notes that "[a]s early as 1888 the degree Master of Arts was conferred as an earned degree. The records are not clear if it was conferred as an earned degree before 1888 nor on whom, if any, it was conferred as an honorary degree between 1888 and 1892."
(1/6 c.f., UMLD1)

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