Turfgrass Information Center, Michigan State University Libraries

04/24/2024

In Memoriam – The TGIF Legacy: Joe Vargas
World renowned turf pathologist Joseph Vargas passed away on April 18, 2024. He dedicated his 50+ year career to improving turf wherever possible, authoring hundreds of articles, and giving over 1,000 presentations. Hailed as a true revolutionary thinker, his loss will be felt throughout the turfgrass industry.

(Photo credit: USGA Green Section Record, May/June 2007)

To see the works by or about Dr. Joe Vargas: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif/flink?SRCH=JoeVargas

04/01/2024

From the Dr. James R. Watson, Jr. Image Archive: "Three men looking over the newly established Hollywood Hills cemetery in Los Angeles, 1953".
https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m51j9bg2j

02/23/2024

The Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) database is open access and contains over 300,000+ records all related to the study of turfgrass science and its management!

Get started at: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif to start researching today!

🔓

12/20/2023

Over the years, the Turfgrass Information Center has worked together with content contributors to host full-text resources on the Turfgrass Information File.
This infographic highlights some of the interesting facts about the full-text resources that are currently hosted.

10/16/2023

The Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) database is open access and contains over 300,000+ records all related to the study of turfgrass science and its management! The database includes items ranging from refereed and report style materials, to popular and trade publications, and over two-thirds of TGIF records link directly to the full-text of the item.

Get started at: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif to start researching today!

If you had access to TGIF before OA - you are now considered a legacy member and should continue to access TGIF via the route you previously did, whether that be via a university, cooperator, or personal login. While the public has full access to all TGIF metadata and all TGIF search features, certain publishers have elected to keep a small percentage of full-text URLs linked from within the database restricted to legacy members.

09/18/2023

We are so pleased that the Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) database is now open access - now everyone can access this one-of-a-kind bibliographic dataset! With two-thirds of TGIF's 300,000+ records linking directly to the item itself, the literature becomes more accessible for those who may not be able to regularly visit a research library. We are so proud to bring our work even closer to Michigan State Universities land-grant mission!

If you had access to TGIF before OA - you are now considered a legacy member and should continue to access TGIF via the route you previously did, whether that be via a university, cooperator, or personal login. While the public has full access to all TGIF metadata and all TGIF search features, certain publishers have elected to keep a small percentage of full-text URLs linked from within the database restricted to legacy members.

Visit: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif to start your turfgrass research journey!

09/13/2023

This week the Turfgrass Information Center, Michigan State University Libraries is making the Turfgrass Information File database publicly available!

The release of the open access database also coincides with the 40-year anniversary of the partnership between the USGA and the MSU Libraries, with the first record being entered into the TGIF database the following year on Sept. 10, 1984. Today, the database holds over 300,000 records. Explore this cooperative project of the United States Golf Association and the TIC here: https://tic.msu.edu/tgif.

09/12/2023

Welcome Neil! We are so happy you're here! 😊

We are so excited to welcome Neil Romanosky on his first day as the new dean of ! Neil joins us from Ohio University, where he previously served as dean of university libraries. We are also grateful to Terri Miller, who has served as MSU Libraries interim dean since July 2022. Thank you for your leadership, Terri, and welcome aboard, Neil!

09/05/2023

This summer marked 20 years since The James B Beard Turfgrass Library Collection was dedicated in the Michigan State University Libraries!

In April of 2003, Dr. James B Beard and Mrs. Harriet Beard donated roughly 30,000 items to the Turfgrass Information Center. After several months of cleaning and restoring the materials and having special cabinets built, the Beard Collection came to be and was officially dedicated on July 16th, 2003.

The Michigan State University Libraries began to systematically collect printed turfgrass materials throughout the 1960s under the direction of Dr. Beard and then-Library Director, Dr. Richard Chapin. The personal collection of the late O. J. Noer came to the MSU Libraries in 1968, helping expand this mission. Then in 2003, the addition of the Beard Collection solidified MSU as having the largest and most complete collection of turfgrass literature in the world. The Beard Collection includes international coverage of turfgrass research and management literature, including books, periodicals, and technical reports.

Twenty years on, we take a moment to look back at this momentous occasion that truly helped define our operation.

Left to Right: Dr. Beard and Dr. Paul Rieke speaking at the dedication, and the Beard Collection as it appeared during the dedication in 2003.

09/01/2023

Michigan State University Football is back and the turf looks amazing! If you're looking to up the game with your own turf, the Turfgrass Information File database is here to help. Check out all the information TGIF has to offer by visiting: tic.msu.edu

(photo credit: Nick DeVolder)

08/31/2023

Just a this Thursday! Currently awaiting TGIF database processing are these two extension bulletins: "Your Lawn and Its Care" by Henry Indyk and Ralph Engel from Rutgers University in 1966, and "Your Lawn" by C. J. Willard, Victor H. Ries, and Richard R. Davis from The Ohio State University in 1957.