Check out library Spring Break reduced hours, March 9-16

Most University of Cincinnati Libraries locations have reduced hours for Spring Break, March 9-16. Check the library website for a list of hours by location.

Have a safe and rejuvenating Spring Break, Bearcats!

spring break vine with lemons

Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

source graphic

Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

In this issue of Source, Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian, writes about moving forging a path as we create our strategic plan. Readers can access the Strategic Plan to give a sense of what we accomplished in 2022/2023. Collections play a prominent theme in this issue, including in a new DAAP Library exhibit, Rediscovering Catherina van Hemmessen’s Flagellation of Christ: Women as Artists, Patrons and Rulers in Renaissance Europe, that features prints, books and manuscripts from the collections of UC Libraries and in the acquisitions of Blue Books in the Archives and Rare Books Library. Collaboration is another theme of this issue when we write about Poetry Stacked Beyond the Bookshelves and the efforts of several librarians and staff to present for school children participating in the College Mentors for Kids program. And don’t miss the article about the lost mural in the CEAS Library.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list

Announcing the 2022-2023 UC Libraries Annual Report

annual report graphic

Beginning Anew

Announcing the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Report. My tenure as dean and university librarian began in mid-August 2023, a time of great growth at the University of Cincinnati. I’ve spent these past six months learning as much as I can about the Libraries – how our mission to “empower discovery, stimulate learning and inspire the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to dynamic data, information and resources” supports the university’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions. Documents such as the Annual Report have been key to my education.

In this Annual Report, we look back at the top News & Events, applaud Staff Accomplishments & Milestones and look at the Libraries By the Numbers and Financially. Under the leadership of interim dean and university librarian Lori Harris, we welcomed a significant number of new librarians and staff members who will provide essential library services and research support and help move the Libraries forward. We acquired, processed, preserved and made available collections used for research. We held events to bring people into the Libraries to interact with our facilities and collections. We created welcoming places – both virtual and in-person – for people to study, research and collaborate. And, we provided our expertise to the students, faculty and researchers who rely on UC Libraries for their academic pursuits.

Looking Forward

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward and plan for the future. This past fall we began the process of developing an updated strategic plan with goals and initiatives that will continue to advance the mission of the University of Cincinnati. This plan will build upon the successes of UC Libraries and respond to the rapidly changing landscape of higher education, as well as the increasingly diverse needs of our students, faculty and researchers. The strategic plan will be completed this summer and will guide our work for the next three years. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy reading the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report.

Liz Kiscaden,
Dean and University Librarian

UC Libraries Closed Monday, Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

UC Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 15 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Want to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr., his impact and legacy, and how you can make a difference? Check out these library resources or watch this SWAY created in 2023 by the Libraries Racial Equity, Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team (RESPECT).

martin luther king, jr.

Winter Break hours for UC Libraries

Winter Break Hours for the University of Cincinnati Libraries began Monday, Dec. 11 and will run through Saturday, Jan. 6. All library locations will be CLOSED Saturday, Dec. 23 through Monday, Jan. 1 for Holiday and Winter Seasonal Days.

A listing of all hours is available on the Libraries website as well as at each library location online and in person.

Have a relaxing and safe Winter Break. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

winter scene

DAAP Library exhibit features medieval illuminated manuscripts and early modern prints from UC collections

An exhibit on display at the entrance to the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) features 20 items of woodcuts, engravings, etchings and illuminated manuscript leaves and scrolls from the UC Art Collection and DAAP Library Special Collections. Featuring intricately designed prints and lavishly illuminated manuscripts, the exhibit explores late medieval and early modern European art in a global perspective. It focuses on the visual and material traces of social and political connections between Europe and Africa, Asia and the Americas from the 15th to 17th centuries.

The installation was curated by Aaron Cowan, director of the UC Art Collections, Galleries and Museum Studies Program, Elizabeth Meyer, head of the DAAP Library, and Christopher Platts, assistant professor of art history in the School of Art at DAAP.

scrolls

The Preservation Lab’s Jessica Ebert and Catarina Figueirinhas assisted with preparing the exhibit for display by creating housing, matting and mounts for the items, including for this parchment scroll.

The exhibition will be up through December 13, 2023.

Preservation and Exhibition: DAAP Library’s Teaching Collection and upcoming gallery talk on Dec. 5

Reprinted from the Preservation Lab blog

For the past six months, the Preservation Lab’s Jessica Ebert and Catarina Figueirinhas have been working with the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) on housing their Teaching art collection, including prior acquisition and newly acquired items. This collection consists of different art prints on paper, print plates and manuscript parchment leaves in need of long-term housing. In addition to housing, this collection is used for teaching in a classroom setting and for exhibition.

Most of the collection only requires simple matting systems, but some require more intricate matting systems such as the copper plate along with its print, a project mentioned in a previous blog post entitled How many magnets is too many magnets!?.

As some of the items of this collection were being prepared to go on exhibit, we had the opportunity to create mounts for other items, such as two parchment scrolls that were included in the exhibit. This was a fun project to work on, as it required us to create a support that would secure both scrolls, while providing an elegant solution for display.

Continue reading

UC Libraries closed for Thanksgiving holiday

turkeys

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24 for Thanksgiving, with some locations closed the remainder of the holiday weekend and many library locations closing early on Wednesday, November 22 at 5pm. Check the listed hours for each library location’s specific hours.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

SERVICE NOTE: Power outage on Friday, Oct. 6 will impact access to some library websites

A power outage is scheduled for UC’s primary Data Center beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 6, and lasting as late as 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. Electrical maintenance will be performed in the Data Center during this time.

More information, and a list of UC services that will be affected during the outage, can be found in this news post.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries website (libraries.uc.edu) will remain up and available during the outage; however, some parts of the website will be unavailable.

The parts of the site that will be unavailable during the outage are:

•             Browzine integration with Summon

•             The staff directory

•             The student employment application

•             Some Contact Us forms

•             The “Journals” and “Books” search tabs on homepage

•             My Library Record

In addition, the following library sites/services will be unavailable during the outage:

•             uclid.uc.edu (staff and public Sierra)

•             scholar.uc.edu

•             journals.uc.edu

•             digital.libraries.uc.edu (including Luna)

•             data.libraries.uc.edu

•             libapps.libraries.uc.edu (including the Source, LiBlog, Omeka S, and Exhibits)

UC Libraries Closed Labor Day

All University of Cincinnati Libraries locations are closed Monday, Sept. 4 for Labor Day. The Libraries will reopen as scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 5. Have a safe and relaxing holiday.