April 10th Poetry Stacked to feature UC poetry students

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.

The next event, scheduled for Wednesday, April 10 at 4pm, will be an expanded program in celebration of National Poetry Month. The poetry reading will feature four University of Cincinnati student poets (pictured above clockwise from top):

  • Holli Carrell is a writer originally from Utah, now living in Cincinnati, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of Cincinnati with a certificate in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Her poems have recently appeared in 32 Poems, The Journal, Salt HillBennington Review, Quarterly West, Blackbird, Poetry Northwest, and other places. She currently serves as an assistant editor at The Cincinnati Review.
  • Tyler McDonald is a 3rd year undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati studying Creative Writing and Professional Writing. He is a poet whose work deals with survivorship, relationships, and exploring personal identity. His poetry has appeared in Short Vine, Outrageous Fortune, and Mind Swimmer. In 2022, he was the recipient of the Robinson Essay Prize. Outside of writing, he can be found serving coffee, wandering nature, and copyediting the work of other writers.
  • Andy Sia is a poet and scholar from Brunei currently residing in Cincinnati. His recent manuscript, Sleuth, engages with whodunnit tropes and is an exploration of modes of reading and habitation. He is currently researching theories of reading and books as objects.
  • Grace Guy is a poet and writer, who currently splits her time between Cincinnati and Toledo. She is an undergraduate student studying English at the University of Cincinnati. Their poetry can be found in Short Vine Literary Journal. She is the recipient of an honorable mention for the 2023 Academy of American Poets Prize (Undergraduate Prize). When in Toledo, they work at a local coffee shop which they absolutely love.
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Announcing the 2022-2023 UC Libraries Annual Report

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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

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

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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 Creating a shared vision for UC Libraries, and in an interview we learn more about her professional background, immediate goals for the new position and her early impressions of UC Libraries, as well as how she is having fun exploring Cincinnati.

We learn how Mikaila Corday did investigative work to catalog Japanese design books and the Digital Collections Team provides tips on how to digitize your home collections like a pro. We celebrate the return of the She-Wolf (Lupa) statue to Cincinnati and a new book published by the University of Cincinnati Press that focuses on the challenge for non-profits. We recap two recent events held in the Libraries: the Generational Summit and the Data & Poetry / Poetry & Data workshop.

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.

Welcome Elizabeth Kiscaden, Dean and University Librarian

Today we officially welcome our new dean and university librarian Elizabeth Kiscaden on her first day at the University of Cincinnati Libraries.

Dean Kiscaden comes to UC from Creighton University where she was university librarian and assistant vice provost of library services. While at Creighton, she worked to modernize legacy library systems and infrastructure to support an anytime, anywhere, any device philosophy and oversaw the development of a single library enterprise, bringing together campus and health sciences libraries. She has extensive experience administering large grants and library services to support academic programs, faculty teaching and student learning. Her research largely focuses on consumer health information.

Announcing “The Bone Doctor’s Concerto: Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between” book launch August 8

Join UC Libraries and the University of Cincinnati Press for an unforgettable afternoon with Dr. Alvin H. Crawford, MD as he launches his new book “The Bone Doctor’s Concerto: Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between.”

Date: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Location: Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library | Stanley J. Lucas Board Room (MSB E005HA)
 
A buffet lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to all. RSVP is required.

The Book Launch is an in-person event, however, a Zoom link will be provided to maximize attendance and create a hybrid event for those interested. Please register to indicate your desire to attend in person or remotely.

About the Book

the bone doctor's concerto book cover


The story of one of Cincinnati’s most influential leaders in medicine.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1939, Dr. Alvin Crawford grew up and attended medical school in a segregated world. Beginning with his early life in Orange Mound—a self-contained community for freed slaves established in the 1890s—Crawford’s autobiography describes his flirtation with a music degree and time spent playing in jazz bands through the segregated South. In 1960, Crawford began his ground-breaking medical career with his entrance into the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, becoming the school’s first African American student. After completing his medical training and traveling the world as a surgeon for the Navy, Crawford found himself in Cincinnati, where he established the Comprehensive Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, the first in the region.

Underlying this story are the systemic and very personal incidents of racism Crawford experienced throughout his career. His autobiography is a personal account of segregation, integration, ambition, hard work and taking risks. “The Bone Doctor’s Concerto” is published by the University of Cincinnati Press.

alvin crawford

Alvin Crawford is professor emeritus in the UC College of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with more than 35 years of clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment in orthopedics. He is the recently retired founding director of the Crawford Spine Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and a renowned expert in spinal deformities and neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder often associated with scoliosis. He is the first Black president of the Scoliosis Research Society and has been recognized in “America’s Best Doctors” since 1996.


And be sure to check out…

The Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons traveling exhibit hosted by UC Libraries and the US National Library of Medicine.

Where:  Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library | E-Level Exhibit Gallery

July 17, 2023 – Aug 11, 2023

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The University of Cincinnati Press recognized for social justice publishing

The University of Cincinnati Press has been named a 2023 finalist in social justice publishing from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for their book Surviving the Americas: Garifuna Persistence from Nicaragua to New York City by Serena Cosgrove, Jose Idiaquez, Leonard Joseph Bent and Andrew Gorvetzian.

“Since UC’s faculty senate and university administration chose social justice to be our core area of publishing, the press is thrilled to have elevated the university’s publishing efforts to an internationally recognized stage as a publisher of social justice scholarship,” said Elizabeth Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press. “These awards signal to scholars, students and experts that UC is a global leader in peer-reviewed social justice scholarship, open access publications and regional books. This recognition will help bring more award-winning, globally impactful scholarly and regional authors to UC as part of the #Next phase – Acceleration.”

About the book

In Surviving the Americas, Serena Cosgrove, José Idiáquez, Leonard Joseph Bent and Andrew Gorvetzian shed light on what it means to be Garifuna today, particularly in Nicaragua. Their research includes over nine months of fieldwork in Garifuna communities in the Pearl Lagoon on the southern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and in New York City. The resulting ethnography illustrates the unique social issues of the Nicaraguan Garifuna and how their culture, traditions and reverence for their ancestors continues to persist.

About the Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest International awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. In its seventeenth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in 80+ different categories, for the year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O’Shea Literary Agency).

Announcing the 2021/22 UC Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…

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Announcing the 2021-22 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…a year that saw the broad return of students, faculty and staff to campus for fall semester. The transition from virtual to in-person was an extensive process as library spaces were re-evaluated to allow for a safe return to working and studying on campus. We welcomed students, faculty and staff back to campus with refreshed spaces, enhanced safety protocols for social distancing and a revived appreciation for working together in person.

The year also saw the announcement of our renewed Strategic Framework: NEXT Directions. The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions focus on the core areas of Academic Excellence, Urban Impact and the Innovation Agenda in order to engage people and ideas – and to transform the world. The University of Cincinnati Libraries is key to what’s NEXT.

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.

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward in pursuit of our vision of being the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus and beyond. I invite you to be a part of our journey – a journey led by our Guiding Principles of Investment in our People; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Digital Transformation.

The Annual Progress Report is available online via Sway. Happy Reading!

University of Cincinnati Press title, “Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Strategies for Teaching,” named a 2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

equity and inclusion in higher education cover“Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Strategies for Teaching,” edited by UC’s Rita Kumar and Brenda Refaei, and published by the University of Cincinnati Press, has been named a 2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title.

Each December, Choice publishes its list of Outstanding Academic Titles. This prestigious list reflects the best in scholarly titles, both print and digital, reviewed by Choice during the previous year and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community. The list is quite selective, containing approximately ten percent of some 5,000 works reviewed annually in Choice, a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. Continue reading

Gretchen Gueguen joins the Press as temporary journals and digital projects coordinator

Gretchen GueguenWelcome, Gretchen Gueguen to the University of Cincinnati Press. Gretchen has been hired as temporary journals and digital projects coordinator and will manage the Press’s seven journal clients and Sophia Triantafyllopoulos, journals graduate student assistant. Gretchen will also be a vital member of the Open Education Resources (OER) initiative serving as technical project manager and an associate editor for interactive Open Access (OA) projects hosted on Manifold and OMEKA.

Gretchen holds an MLIS from the University of Maryland and a BA in English from Penn State University. Since 2015 she has taught Digital Libraries in the MLIS program at Clarion University. Gretchen has worked remotely as an independent library consultant for the past six years. Previously, Gretchen worked as data services coordinator and network manager for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), where she managed member relationships and served as a liaison to DPLA Hubs. Before DPLA, she served as head of archival activities for the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library, Digital Initiatives Librarian at East Carolina University, and the Digital Collections Librarian for the University of Maryland.

Welcome, Gretschen!

In Memoriam: Mark Konecny

UC Libraries faculty and staff, along with friends, students and collaborators, gathered recently to remember and celebrate our colleague and friend Mark C. Konecny, Ph.D., MLIS, who died Thursday, February 10, 2022.

Mark came to UC Libraries in July 2016 in the newly created position of scholarly communications and digital publishing strategist. During his time at UC, Mark spearheaded the establishment of the Libraries scholarly communications program, which entailed consulting with the broader UC faculty community on all matters copyright. Many people noted Mark’s incredible depth of knowledge, willingness to help everyone and his collaborative nature. One person referred to Mark as a “connector of people and ideas.”

Upon the creation of the University of Cincinnati Press, Mark transitioned his role to combine scholarly communications with the work of the Press, focusing his efforts on digital publishing and open access.

Xuemao Wang, vice provost for digital scholarship and dean and university librarian, commended Mark’s can-do attitude and his desire to learn new skills and set higher goals for himself. He noted that he enjoyed and appreciated Mark’s candid and diplomatic way of expressing copyright rules and his ability to present his ideas and create buy-in. Continue reading