Category Archives: UC

Celebrate the grand opening of the Science Library Monday, Feb. 16, 2-4pm

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science library invite

During the summer and fall semesters of 2025, a significant university investment fueled the vibrant formation of a combined Science Library in Braunstein Hall. This thoughtfully transformed space creates a united hub of services, spaces, technology and specialized collections dedicated to supporting the teaching and research needs of the Natural Sciences departments within the College of Arts & Sciences. Although its collections focus on the sciences, the Science Library invites ALL to come and enjoy and make use of the revitalized space in the heart of UC’s campus.

Celebrate Our Grand Opening!
We invite you to join us on Monday, February 16 from 2:00-4:00pm for the Science Library’s Grand Opening Reception! Enjoy refreshments, learn about our new spaces and services, be inspired by our special collections displays, explore science through demonstrations and more!

The Science Library boasts a new service desk, new carpeting, expanded and improved lighting, updated stair treads and a remarkable selection of contemporary furniture. Seating capacity has greatly increased, and over 230 seats are available for individual study, computing, group collaboration and a wide range of special events. The interior design – highlighted by innovative fabrics and wall graphics – draws inspiration from scientific disciplines and the natural world, including works by Cincinnati-based artist Charley Harper. A soothing palette of blues and greens invites students and other visitors alike to experience focus and tranquility.

science library

The new Science Library includes:

  • “The Intersect” Collaboration Space (approx. 60 seats) – Versatile area for events, guest speakers, presentations, poster sessions and more.  Space includes a projection screen, additional monitors, and integrated ceiling speakers for dynamic engagement.
  • Else L. Schulze Computer Lab (approx. 24 seats) – Equipped with specialized scientific software (MATLAB, ChemDraw, Gaussian, etc), a BookEye overhead scanner for safe digitization of library materials and other print objects, and open seating with integrated power outlets.
  • Data Visualization Lab (approx. 42 seats) – Flexible classroom and meeting space featuring a multi-input display wall for large-scale collaboration and individual whiteboards to facilitate interactive learning and group work. Semester classes, research lab teams, and other groups are welcome to inquire about reservations.
  • Special Collections Lounge – Curated display cases that highlight rare books from the Science Library’s holdings and specialized science collections: Isay Balinkin Collection of Color and Light, Kenneth Caster Collection (paleontology), Geology Guidebooks collection. 
  • Willis G. Meyer Map Collections (lower level) – Houses extensive print map collections and a provides large-format scanner for digitizing oversize items such as maps, blueprints, art works, etc.
  • A new Service Desk with our helpful staff and student assistants and the combined science reserves collection.
  • Multiple Group Meeting Rooms available to reserve.
  • Additional collections to spark creativity and curiosity: a Board Game Collection, custom puzzles highlighting special and digital collections, and engaging art works hanging throughout the Library.
science library

Learn more about the Science Library on the Libraries web site and find us on Google Maps. If you have any questions, email Ted Baldwin, director of the Science and Engineering Libraries.

More than just bread tins

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The Archives and Rare Books library is excited to announce that the John Day Caldwell papers (UA-81-22) have been processed, and a finding aid has been completed. The collection contains a wealth of documents dating from 1782 to 1902 that provide a detailed look into the settlement and early history of Cincinnati, as well as Ohio state history. 

Photograph of John D. Caldwell standing in his masonic uniform and hat.
John D. Caldwell in his regalia, undated.

John Day Caldwell (1816-1902) worked in numerous roles in Cincinnati, including as a transportation agent, newspaper editor, librarian, city commissioner and Cincinnati Board of Education clerk. During the Civil War, Caldwell assisted in establishing the Cincinnati Home Guards, a civilian group of men who protected and patrolled the city. 

His papers, originally stored in metal bread tins by Caldwell, were received as part of the Ohio Mechanics Institute records back in the 1970s. A card catalog was created for the collection, and the papers were rehoused into archival boxes following their receipt. However, archivists at ARB have reprocessed the collection for better organization and have created a corresponding finding aid that can be accessed online. 

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Explaining Academic Librarianship to 3rd and 4th Graders

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I recently had the unique opportunity to visit my child’s classroom on Career Day to talk about academic librarianship. The audience was a pod of nearly 100 third and fourth graders, and I had 15 minutes to make an impression.

To start, I shared a short time-lapse video of our library building, highlighting collaborative spaces, art installations, and our massive stacks. The kids seemed genuinely engaged. I talked about student employment opportunities in university libraries, which caught the attention of a few of the fourth-grade girls. From there, I moved into an age-appropriate lesson on information literacy—how to recognize fake information in (my son’s favorite) YouTube videos and across the internet more broadly.

I introduced Special Collections and explained just how old some of our materials are, hundreds of years old, in fact, which managed to impress even the hardest-to-impress third and fourth graders. My one misstep was mentioning the artist of our very cool Tricercopter: The Hope for the Obsolescence of War sculpture, requested that their ashes be placed inside the piece after their death. I immediately knew I’d gone too far when a student raised their hand to ask, “What are ashes?”

In all honesty, this was a challenging presentation. Academic librarianship is incredibly broad; how do you choose what to share when your goal is to inspire future librarians? With the rapid introduction of new technologies like artificial intelligence, our work is becoming even more critical. We’re facing yet another overwhelming flood of information and are tasked with understanding how it’s created, building ethical and moral guardrails for its use, and, of course, identifying what’s fake. If current trends are any indication, we are going to be drowning in AI-generated content very soon, if we aren’t already.

This is core librarian work. We have been organizing, evaluating, and understanding information since the dawn of recorded knowledge. To keep up, we must continually adapt our foundational frameworks to meet challenges we haven’t yet experienced or even imagined.

This is an exciting, and some might say transformational, time for librarianship and higher education. I hope I was able to convey that excitement to those bright third and fourth graders, because we’re going to need their help.

Join us Feb. 18 for an afternoon of poetry at the next Poetry Stacked event

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The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster of poets for Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.

At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:

poets Richard Hague, Chelsea Whitton and Emma Johnson-Rivard
  • Richard Hague is author or editor of 23 volumes, including, with Sherry Cook Stanforth and Michael Thompson, Tributaria: Poetry, Prose, & Art Inspired by Tributaries of the Ohio River Watershed, the poetry collection Continued Cases, and the essay collection Earnest Occupations: Teaching, Writing, Gardening, & Other Local Work. He was named Co-Poet of the Year in 1984 by the Ohio Poetry Association, received the Appalachian Poetry Book of the Year in 2003, and the Weatherford Award in Poetry in 2013. He has been a Pushcart Prize nominee in both poetry and nonfiction and has received several Individual Artist Fellowships in poetry and creative nonfiction from the Ohio Arts Council, and a Katherine Bakeless Scholarship in Creative Nonfiction to Bread Loaf. He is 2025-2027 Poet Laureate of Cincinnati & The Mercantile Library and was 2021-2022 President of the Literary Club of Cincinnati. He has taught writing in Cincinnati and elsewhere for 56 years.
  • Chelsea Whitton is the author of Bear Trap and Wonder Wheel, forthcoming in March of 2026. She holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA in Poetry from The New School. Her poetry and prose have appeared in many of print and online publications, including Beloit Poetry Journal, Copper Nickel, Cream City Review, Poetry Ireland, The Atlanta Review, and Forklift-Ohio. Her work has been a finalist for the Gearhart Prize and the Frost Place and Adrienne Richard awards for poetry. She is the recipient of the 2018 Sandy Crimmins National Poetry Prize. Since 2021 she has been a staff member for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Raised in North Carolina, she spent her twenties in New York, and now lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Matthew, their twin sons, and their cat, Dolly. She teaches creative writing and literature at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. 
  • Emma Johnson-Rivard is a doctoral student in creative writing at the University of Cincinnati. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Tales to Terrify, Red Flag Poetry, and others. She can be found @blackcattales on Bluesky and at emmajohnson-rivard.com. 
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Introducing the renovated CECH Library Reading Room

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Tuesday, January 20, the renovated College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library Reading Room reopened. Located on the 4th floor of the Teachers-Dyer Complex, and totaling more than 3,000 square feet, the reading room is accessible via the staircase in the CECH Library or directly with a Bearcat ID.

cech library reading room

Bathed in natural light, the renovated reading room features flexible, soft seating arrangements in the room’s south and north ends, and in the center of the room four large study tables with integrated lighting (coming soon) and power access. An inclusive, reservable study room (400B) features adaptive lighting and study and focus tools.

Artwork and print collections line the perimeter of the room and include materials that support the entirety of CECH, including the School of Education, School of Criminal Justice, School of Human Services and School of Information Technology. Quick access to additional print collections is available across UC Libraries and the high-density storage facility at Fishwick.

cech library reading room collections

The renovation of the CECH Library 4th floor Reading Room was a joint effort between UC Libraries and CECH. Prior to his retirement in 2023, CECH dean and professor emeritus Larry Johnson teamed up with dean and university librarian Liz Kiscaden to plan for the revitalization of the space. The college expanded its support of the revitalization when CECH dean Lisa Huffman came aboard. The re-imagined reading room prioritizes student access and space, while preserving the room’s historical architecture. The redesigned space also offers improved access, re-opening direct entry from level 4 and adding an additional “front door” to the CECH Library.

Visit the CECH Library and check it out.

cech library reading room

New Nursing Resource Spotlight – Dynamic Health – CDS + Skills 

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By Lynn Warner

Our newest Nursing Resource is Dynamic Health – CDS + Skills. This resource not only replaces Nursing Reference Center Plus subscription; it includes many of the same great features and more. Dynamic Health combines everything you need–skills checklists, clinical answers, and evidence-based guidance–all in one simple tool designed for nurses and allied health professionals. All of the content is reviewed and edited by experts in the field and thoroughly cited using credible references. Users can even claim continuing education credits by using the resource. There is also an option to download the Dynamic Health app, so you can always have the resource handy. 

Dynamic Health can be accessed through the Nursing Resource Guide, as well as through the UC Libraries A-Z Database list.  

Resources contained in Dynamic Health include: 

  • Cultural Overviews – focuses on caring for patients from various faiths and heritages
  • Diseases/Conditions – detailed overviews of diseases and conditions
  • Signs/Symptoms – guidance on possible medical conditions
  • Tests/Labs – information on imaging tests, lab tests, assessments, and diagnostic procedures
  • Interventions – guides to treatments and actions
  • Skills – contains nursing, health profession, clinical assistant, cultural care, and patient instruction skills
  • Drug Monographs – with information from Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses
  • Patient Handouts – patient-friendly information on diseases & conditions, procedures & tests, health & wellness, and discharge instructions. All can be printed in PDF format, many in a variety of languages.
  • Leadership – topics related to leader development, human resources, professional development, case management, and more

To learn more about using Dynamic Health, you can sign up for live trainings offered through Ebsco.  

Questions? Reach out to the Health Sciences Library!