Tag Archives: Information

Read Source to Learn How We’re Making Digital Collections More Widely Available and More UC Libraries’ News

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

In this edition of Source we highlight some of the University of Cincinnati Libraries’ newest endeavors in digital collections. From the latest version of the university’s digital repository, Scholar@UC, to a new archive space for special collections, to our recent membership in the large-scale collaborative repository HathiTrust, UC Libraries has made great strides in increasing our digital footprint and exploring new ways to enhance our user’s scholarship and the ways they can access and utilize our collections.

In addition, read about two exciting projects UC Libraries is involved in: PBS’s Great American Read and the touring exhibit Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries Have Joined HathiTrust

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The University of Cincinnati Libraries have joined HathiTrust, a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating and sharing the record of human knowledge. UC Libraries joins more than 130 international research libraries in HathiTrust, and is the third Ohio library to join along with The Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University.

“Membership in HathiTrust will enable the University of Cincinnati Libraries to partner with national and international collaborators with similar missions to preserve, protect and make accessible the scholarly record,” said Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian. “Our membership will provide opportunities to enhance digital scholarship research like that done in our Digital Scholarship Center, as well as ensure the long-term digital preservation of our collections.”

HathiTrust began in 2008 as a collaboration of the universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (now the Big Ten Academic Alliance) and the University of California system to establish a repository to archive and share their digitized collections. Today, the HathiTrust’s Digital Library catalog equals 16 million volumes digitized and deposited by member libraries.

As members of HathiTrust, the University of Cincinnati community will have full access to digital materials inputted by UC Libraries, as well as those items in the public domain and those for which there is permission. In addition, benefits of HathiTrust membership include digital content storage, cost-effective long-term preservation and access services for UC Libraries’ digitized content. Continue reading →

Libraries’ Proposal to Encourage Diversity in the Library Profession Awarded an Equity & Inclusion Incentive Grant

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regina bourne

Regina Bourne (center), Library Human Resources and Organizational Development Director, is presented with the grant award. UC/ Joseph Fuqua II

The University of Cincinnati Libraries were awarded an Equity & Inclusion Incentive Grant for the proposal “Exploring the Diverse Career Paths within Libraries,” which aims to introduce and educate minority high school students to the academic library profession for the purpose of attracting them into the profession.

Submitted by UC Libraries, in collaboration with Cincinnati Public Schools, University of Cincinnati Admissions, and partners within the library, the grant will support the creation of two half-day programs for up to 60 college-bound high school minority students from local area schools. Throughout the course of the day, the students will: take a tour of the library; meet faculty and staff with a range of skills and educational backgrounds; engage in learning activities related to library professions; learn about the experiences of student workers currently employed by the library; and gain an understanding of the multitude of career options the library has to offer.

This outreach initiative will address the current trend of retiring librarians, introduce students to diverse disciplines and cultivate interest in the library profession among the visiting students. It will also show how IT skills can be used in the library profession and educate the student visitors about library student worker jobs. Student visitors will be given flash drives uploaded with additional information about libraries to continue to engage them after the day is over.

UC Libraries’ faculty, staff and student workers who help to facilitate the program will gain valuable experience and professional development in diversity and inclusion.

The university’s Equity & Inclusion Incentive Grant program seeks to support collaborative efforts between colleges and units to enhance diversity and inclusion through innovative practices that align with the goals and objectives in the Diversity Plan.

Hungry? Bite into an Edible Book with UC Libraries

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edible book

Me Cookie

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will celebrate the International Edible Books Festival with an event scheduled from 1-2 p.m., Tuesday, April 3, in the fifth floor lobby of Langsam Library.

At the event, a record 26 participants will present their edible creations that represent a book in some form. There are few restrictions in creating an edible book — namely that the creation be edible and have something to do with a book. Submitted entries include edible titles such as “Dragons Love Tacos” and “How to Eat Fried Worms.” Best sellers “The Help” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” are represented along with favorite children’s books “The Poky Little Puppy,” “Humpty Dumpty” and “Curious George at the Baseball Game,” among other literary greats. This year’s event will even feature two mother-daughter teams.

Interested in creating an edible book? E-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Tuesday, March 27 with your name and the title of your creation.

As in past years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Literary,” “Most Delicious,” “Most Adorable” and “Most Gruesome.” In addition, the “Top Student Entry” and “Best Overall Entry” will receive a special prize. After the entries are judged they will be consumed and enjoyed by all in attendance.

According to the International Edible Book Festival website, the edible book was initiated by librarian and artist Judith A. Hoffberg during a 1999 Thanksgiving celebration with book artists. It became an international celebration in 2000 when artist Béatrice Coron launched the Books2Eat website. Traditionally, the event is celebrated on April 1 (April Fools’ Day) to mark the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), a French lawyer and politician who became famous for his book, Physiologie du gout (The Physiology of Taste). You can see images of the 2017 edible books on the Libraries Facebook page.

books by the banks logoThe Libraries International Edible Books Festival is free and open to the public. It is sponsored in part by Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival. Come to celebrate (and eat) “books good enough to eat.”

UC Libraries Seeks Books Good Enough to Eat for the International Edible Books Festival

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edible bookKnow of a good book to eat?! Create an Edible Book for UC Libraries International Edible Books Festival!

It’s time once again for the fan favorite International Edible Books Festival scheduled for 1-2 p.m., Tues, April 3, in the Walter C. Langsam Library’s fifth floor lobby. UC Libraries is seeking people interested in creating an edible book for the enjoyment (and consumption) of all in attendance. There are few restrictions – namely that your creation be edible and have something to do with a book – so you may let your creativity run wild.

As in previous years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Delicious,” “Most Creative,” “Most Checked Out” and “Most Literary.” Special prizes will be awarded for the “Best Student” entry and “Best Overall” entry.

If you are interested in creating an edible book, e-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Fri, March 23 with your name and the title of your creation.

books by the banks logoLooking for inspiration? Visit UC Libraries on Facebook to see photos from the 2017 festival.

Edible Books, 2018 is sponsored in part by Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival.

Read about Preserving Taft, the Writing of E.B. White and the Digital Scholarship Center in Source.

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source vol 16 no2Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes a feature on the work of the Preservation Lab and their collaboration with the Archives and Rare Books Library on a collection about William Howard Taft. Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, talks about how libraries need to adapt for the future. Kevin Grace, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library, writes about a collection centered around children’s books author and co-writer of The Elements of Style, E.B. White. A grant from The Andrew Mellon Foundation in support of the Digital Scholarship Center’s research on machine learning and data visualization in multiple disciplines in the humanities and beyond is announced. Dean Wang and Liz Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press are interviewed about the progress of the Press one year in. Gino Pasi, archivist and curator for the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, writes about a set of historical and important surgery films recently digitized and made available. Other articles announce the Libraries’s Adopt-a-Book program and the 2016/17 Annual Progress Report.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

Feb. 28 Digital Humanities Speaker Series to Feature Two Speakers from the University of Iowa

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digital humanities speaker series

Sponsored by the Digital Scholarship Center, the next Digital Humanities Speaker Series event, scheduled for Wed., Feb. 28 in both the Walter C. Langsam Library and the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, will feature David Eichmann, director and associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science, and Blaine Greteman, associate professor of English, both from the University of Iowa. Both sessions are free and open to all.

Blaine Greteman

Blaine Greteman

David Eichmann

David Eichmann

10:00 a.m.-noon: [Keynote]: “Networking Print: Small Worlds, Phase Transitions, and Hidden Histories in 500,000 Early English Books.” Led by: Blaine Greteman. Co-Presenter: David Eichmann.  Location: Walter C. Langsam Library 462

Noon-12:45 p.m.:  Lunch- all welcome, Langsam 462

1:30-3:30 p.m.:  “Identification of Collaborator Networks in Biomedicine (and How They Relate to the Printing/Publishing Community of Pre-1800 England).” Led By: David Eichmann. Co-Presenter: Blaine Greteman. Location: Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, Dr. Stanley B. Troup Learning Space (MSB G005G)
David Eichmann has conducted research in relational database theory, software reuse and reengineering, web search engines and intelligent agents, biomedical informatics and ontology-based research profile harvesting and visualization.  His current projects include Shakeosphere (modeling the social network of the print community in England 1540-1800), CTSAsearch (aggregating research profiles from 70+ institutions), CD2H (an informatics coordinating center for the CTSA consortium) and Linked Data for Libraries (LD4L) (where he is part of a consortium exploring the next generation of library catalogs).

Blaine Greteman writes regularly for popular publications including The New Republic, Slate, TIME and The Week. His first book was The Poetics and Politics of Youth in Milton’s England (Cambridge University Press, 2013); his forthcoming book, Networking Early English Print (Stanford University Press), is based on Shakeosphere, a digital project built in collaboration with David Eichmann. Greteman holds an M.Phil from Oxford, where he attended on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley.

Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) is a joint venture of the University of Cincinnati Libraries and the College of Arts and Sciences. Launched in September 2016 as an academic center, the DSC provides faculty and students across the university with support for digital project conception, design and implementation. For more about the Digital Scholarship Center, visit  http://dsc.uc.edu.

UC’s Digital Scholarship Center Awarded a $900,000 Grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the University of Cincinnati a $900,000 grant in support of the Digital Scholarship Center’s research on machine learning and data visualization in multiple disciplines in the humanities and beyond. Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) is a joint venture of the University of Cincinnati Libraries and the College of Arts and Sciences. Launched in September 2016 as an academic center, the DSC provides faculty and students across the university with support for digital project conception, design and implementation.

“As a Research 1 university, the University of Cincinnati must be equipped to support the highest level of research activity. Digital scholarship plays a key role in setting the stage for our continued momentum in investigation and innovation. It helps to break down silos to share new knowledge across disciplines,” said Neville G. Pinto, president of the University of Cincinnati.

In partnership with faculty and motivated by their research questions, the DSC serves as a ‘catalyst,’ making new forms of digital research possible by lowering the technical barrier to entry for faculty to investigate their research questions. Continue reading →

Read UC Libraries 2016/17 Progress Report: Transforming People

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progress report coverRead the University of Cincinnati Libraries 2016/17 Progress Report: Transforming People. In addition to providing an update on the news, events and stats from the previous academic year, the report celebrates UC Libraries’ most valuable resource – our people.

It is people who create a lasting impact on library operations, innovation and growth, and who implement and inspire lasting change. From essential library operations to innovative services, everything the Libraries has accomplished this past academic year is because of the hard work, dedication and creativity of the librarians and staff, as well as through collaborations and support of students, donors, faculty, researchers and university administrators.

The Progress Report is available online at https://issuu.com/uclibraries/docs/uclannualprogressreport16_17.

Questions? Request a print copy? Email melissa.norris@uc.edu

Happy Reading!

A Photographic Look at 125 Years of UC Libraries

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125 years banner      How do you determine the starting date of the University of Cincinnati Libraries when from the university’s founding in 1819, books played an important part in the education of students?
      As early as 1875, a collection of books could be found in the various classrooms of University Building (now McMicken). These materials were selected for daily reference use and were acquired through various departmental funds. In 1883, a small working library was established in the Academic Department (College of Liberal Arts). However, it is in 1892 that the Libraries were officially recognized as a distinct administrative unit of the university by the Board of Directors (as the Trustees were called at the time) with the naming of a dean and the establishment of a separate general library apart from small departmental libraries maintained by faculty members. William Everett Waters, professor of Greek and comparative philology, was appointed the first Dean and University Librarian and would serve until 1894. Thus, 2017 marks the 125th anniversary of the University of Cincinnati Libraries.
       To mark the occasion of our 125th anniversary, we have compiled an exhibit of photographs of the libraries past and present – from the first library in Van Wormer to the stately Blegen Library to Langsam Library, UC Libraries have changed considerably in 125 years.
       The photographs are also on display in the 5th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library. They are from the collections of the Archives and Rare Books Library and UC Libraries Communications Department.

For more about the history of UC Libraries, read http://digital.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/arb/lawrenceBook/ulhistory.pdf. In the coming year, we will find more opportunities to celebrate the future of UC Libraries as we look to 125+ years.