The University is currently wrapping up Engagement Month that spotlights many of the ways UMKC is living its mission as an urban-serving research university. We'll provide a wrap-up next month with some of the highlights from this month of activities.  In this issue we feature a few examples:

ERCE and the UMKC Libraries 

The UMKC Libraries, in partnership with the office of External Engagement and Constituent Engagement (ERCE), are hosting a traveling exhibit for seven weeks in October and November, called The Art of Being ME. The exhibit is open to the public, and the university and the organization that owns the exhibit, the Burrell Foundation, are teaming up to promote it across Kansas City, including through KC media outlets and on billboards. To help guide visitors through they developed a printed Experience Guide viewers use as they walk through, which also serves as a learning tool for UMKC students who are enrolled in First Semester Experience courses. If students complete an Experience Guide, they can show it to a library desk worker to receive course credit. The Libraries are also participating in Engagement Month/Social Justice Month at UMKC by hosting our annual book discussion, which is open to the public, and focuses on the social justice book of the year. (Contribution provided by Dani Wellemeyer)

Conservatory

“Established in 1948, Luyben Music was a mainstay of the Kansas City music scene at the corner of 43th and Main from 1952 until the summer of 2020 when they closed to the public. But their stories and legacy live on thanks to a class of nine students from the UMKC Conservatory.

LaBudde Special Collections received two accessions of materials from Annette Luyben in summer 2020 that formed the basis of the Luyben Music Collection. These accessions included photographs, correspondence, historical documents, publications, and other materials related to the store and its community connections.

In Spring 2022, LaBudde staff was set to work with the Conservatory’s Advanced Research and Bibliography course on an intensive project involving special collections materials. In the past, these projects have included physical and virtual exhibits, but this time the plan was to process a collection. The musical nature of the Luyben materials as well as the musical expertise of the students resulted in a harmonious collaboration. Students worked alone and in small groups for a month to categorize the materials, develop series, sort materials, arrange materials, rehouse materials, and write a finding aid. At the end of the month, they planned and held an event to celebrate both the collection and the store and provide an opportunity for generations of employees and customers to get together, explore the collection materials, and share their own memories in a guest book that has been incorporated into the collection.

The event was a huge success with roughly 75 people in attendance. It was also a great opportunity for students to learn more about this local landmark as well as how archival collections are prepared for research use. LaBudde always looks forward to these collaborations, as we get as much out of them as we hope the students do.”

School of Dentistry

Spring 2023 CAFE Conference

Friday, January 13th, 2023, Kauffman Conference Center