Tag Archives: Library News

Check out the newest exhibits in UC Libraries

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Exhibits highlight the services, collections, places and people of UC Libraries. The newest exhibits on display in the Walter C. Langsam Library showcase chemistry caricatures and open access.

chemistry caricatures

Caricatures in Chemistry: By William B. Jensen

On display on the 5th floor lobby of the library, this exhibit features original, hand-drawn caricatures by Dr. William B. Jensen (1948-2024), Ralph E. Oesper Professor of the History of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati and curator of the Oesper Collections from 1986 until his passing.

The exhibit was curated by Mark Chalmers, science and engineering librarian and Oesper curator, and was designed by Ashleigh Stout, UC Libraries communication design co-op student.

Available online via JSTOR, the online collection contains the 33 original, hand-drawn caricatures of notable chemists and physicists Jensen penned between 1970 and 1974. They are held by the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry. The collection was scanned and digitized by the UC Libraries Digital Initiatives Team. The humor and whimsy captured in the caricatures invite viewers to look a little closer and discover the stories behind the faces.

At the exhibit there are handouts featuring three of the chemists.

Open Access At UC

Open access describes any publishing model that provides barrier-free electronic access to scholarly content. Open access content is not behind a paywall or gated in any other way and is available to anyone with an internet connection, making it more equitable. The exhibit, on display on the 4th floor lobby of the library, defines open access, shows the scale of open access at UC and demonstrates the benefits to students.

open access

UC Libraries supports open access at the university through a variety of
services and programs, including:

  • Open Publishing Infrastructure
  • Scholarly Dissemination Planning
  • Article Processing Charge Support
  • Self-archiving Support

The exhibit was curated by Melissa Moreau, scholarship communication librarian, and designed by Ashleigh Stout, communication design co-op student. More about UC Libraries Open Access initiatives can be found on the Libraries website. At the exhibit, there is a handout for those wishing to learn more about Open Access.

UC Libraries seeks innovative proposals from students

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Do you have a creative idea to support your student community? Do you love the library and have ideas on how to enhance its collections or services? The University of Cincinnati Libraries will help bring your vision to life! The UC Libraries Student Innovation Grant encourages UC students to use library resources and services to help support students and enhance our library, university and local community.  

The Libraries will provide up to $5,000 to fund a pilot project that leverages library resources to address an opportunity or challenge related to student engagement, research or teaching & learning at UC.  

Applications are open throughout the 2026’-27’ academic year and projects must be completed before June 2027. 

Am I Eligible To Apply? 

All University of Cincinnati undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply. Individuals, teams or groups can apply, with one member serving as the primary contact.   

Proposals should identify an opportunity or challenge that can be addressed through a creative approach using or leveraging library resources. Proposals must articulate how the Libraries’ collections, services, spaces or programs will be utilized as well as how this pilot supports one of the UC Libraries’ strategic directions. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis dependent on funding availability. 

What Happens If My Project Is Selected? 

Grant recipients will be expected to:  

  • Engage with UC Libraries resources, spaces, collections and/or services.
  • Meet with appropriate library staff members about your pilot project.  
  • Produce an itemized final budget. 
  • Write a LiBlog post about your research project.  
  • Present at a UC Libraries all-staff meeting about your project experience. 
  • Complete a feedback survey at the end of your grant cycle to help improve the program for future recipients. 

How Do I Apply? 

  • Fill out the application form 
  • You will be asked for a line-item budget to explain what your funds will be used for. Examples of this could be supplies or materials needed for ideas like exhibitions, events, pop-up services, etc. You may use this template to construct your budget by creating a copy and uploading it to your application form. 
  • PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to fund personal student stipends/salaries or retroactive projects. If labor is required for your project, the library will provide the paid work within the unit that will oversee your project. You must use the funds allocated to your project by the end of the academic year in which you are applying. 

What If My Idea Isn’t Fully Formed Yet? 

That’s okay! We’d be happy to meet with you and help you form your project application. E-mail Nimisha at nimisha.bhat@uc.edu and Erin at erin.rinto@uc.edu for any questions and assistance.  

UC Libraries welcomes Mark Conaway as new research analytics and learning librarian

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UC Libraries is excited to share that Mark Conaway has joined us as the new Research Analytics and Learning Librarian in the Research & Data Services department. In this role, Mark will deliver multidisciplinary support in research reproducibility, data literacy, data analytics, AI in research and data visualization through consultations, instruction, workshops and outreach to UC faculty, students, and staff.

Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Indiana University Bloomington and holds a PhD in Biological Anthropology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His career began with his PhD research on the morphology and evolution of humans and our closest ancestors. After finishing his dissertation, Mark began a postdoc at Iowa State University, where his research focused on statistical simulations and methods development using the R programming language. Additionally, helping to mentor graduate students as a postdoc helped Mark to discover his love of teaching and mentorship, particularly when it comes to methods and data management. Now, he looks forward to putting his experience and expertise to use, advising researchers at the University of Cincinnati on data management and research methodology, as well as emerging AI-powered research tools.

Welcome, Mark!

Mark Conaway

UC Libraries welcomes Rachael Elrod as the new associate dean of research and instruction

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rachael elrod

On June 15 Rachael Elrod, PhD, joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries as associate dean for research and instruction. Rachael comes to UC from the University of Florida’s George Smathers Libraries where she most recently served as the associate chair of departmental libraries and the director of the Education Library. Prior to the University of Florida, she served in roles at the Military College of South Carolina, University of Louisville and Louisville Free Public Library. Her scholarly record includes over 25 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters on research topics ranging from supporting neurodivergent students, censorship and collection development. In addition to this scholarship, Rachael has been successful in obtaining over $1.3M in external funding as a part of her career. She has won numerous awards and honors, the most recent being the Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award from the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section from ALA, which will be delivered in 2026.

As associate dean of research and instruction, Rachael will collaborate with librarians and staff to develop a vision for instructional and research services at UC Libraries. As a part of that work, she will lead the overall strategy and direction of instruction and research services. Rachael will lead key initiatives in the UC Libraries Strategic Plan and will collaborate with leaders across campus to build and strengthen partnerships. With the other associate deans, she will work with librarians and staff to maximize expertise and create a cohesive user experience.

UC Libraries Welcome Sarah True, CECH Library Services Supervisor

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UC Libraries is happy to welcome Sarah True as the new CECH Library Services Supervisor.

In this role, Sarah will manage fulfillment activities at the library’s info desk, supervise, hire and train student associates and lead CECH programming and engagement efforts. Part of these programming efforts will include preparing physical exhibits, displays and promotional materials that highlight CECH Library’s services and collections. She will also oversee all aspects of physical collections processing and access, including receiving and preparing new materials for users, preparing preservation requests and library collections management.

Sarah comes to us from the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system, where she was most recently the Supervisor of Youth Services at the Price Hill Branch. Her experiences with children and youth collections have given her a passion for literacy, specifically as it relates to dyslexia and other learning differences. In her free time, Sarah enjoys yoga, spending time outdoors and knitting, and is excited to be a part of the UC Libraries community.

Welcome, Sarah!

Sarah True

UC Libraries Welcome Kiersten Linkey, Coordinator for the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry

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UC Libraries would like to welcome Kiersten Linkey as the Coordinator for the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry. In this role, Kiersten will be primarily responsible for all aspects of museum operations, including public services, daily operations, project support and care for various collections. In addition, she will provide general support and backup at the Science Library. Kiersten’s role will eventually play a part in helping the Oesper Museum maintain regular operating hours – a key to growing impact and awareness for its various collections.

Kiersten graduated from Miami University in 2024 with a bachelor’s in History. During her time there, she worked at the Walter Havighurst Special Collections Library, where she discovered her passion for library work. After graduating, she went on to become a Collections Librarian at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum in Fremont, Ohio. Additionally, she is pursuing her MLIS degree from Indiana University Indianapolis and is currently nearing completion. In her free time, she loves to read, go on runs and visit local ice cream parlors.

Welcome, Kiersten!

Kiersten Linkey

UC Libraries closed July 3rd

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In celebration of Independence Day on Saturday, July 4, UC Libraries will be closed on Friday, July 3. Normal hours for all library locations will resume on Monday, July 6. 

We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. 

Independence Day, July 4

Read Source to learn about the news, events, people and happenings of UC Libraries

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source header image

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, looks back at the accomplishments of the most recent academic year while also looking head to the fall semester. We celebrate the many accomplishments of the UC Libraries faculty and staff, the 2026 UC Open Research Day and announce the 2026 Zero Textbook Cost Grant cohort. Two collections are highlighted in this issue: The Werner H. Von Rosentiel papers and the Oesper History of Chemistry collection while the Winkler Center display illuminates Covington, Kentucky as the “X-Ray City.” This issue of Source concludes with a year in photos.

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.

Tips to filter out retracted articles from systematic reviews

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Fabricated citations have increased dramatically recently and have sparked debates about how to address this problem within scholarly publishing. When these citations are discovered, those articles frequently get retracted. However, there is a time lag.

So what’s a librarian or researcher to do? How can we keep retracted articles out of our literature searches?

Quarterly rate of fabricated references per 10 000 papers in PubMed Central from January, 2023, to February, 2026
Rate of fabricated references per 10 000 papers in PubMed Central January, 2023- February, 2026, as cited in Topaz M et al. (2026) The Lancet, 407, 1779-1781

At this year’s Medical Library Association conference, I learned about a strategy in a paper session entitled, “Identifying Retractions in Systematic Review Searching” by Caitlin J. Bakker et al. In their presentation, the authors describe a multistep process to identify retracted papers using the citation manager Zotero and the LibKey Nomad browser extension paired with Covidence, the systematic review screening software.

image of retracted item flagged within Zotero's citation manager
Image of a retracted citation flagged in Zotero, from zotero.org

Zotero has a built-in feature, which automatically flags retracted articles at the item level using data from Retraction Watch. The presenters recommend running database searches and importing citations first into Zotero, followed by Covidence during title and abstract screening. They use this process first at the outset; again prior to data extraction and finally, before submitting manuscripts for publication.

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