• Volume 22,  Volume 22, Issue 1

    Note from the Dean: Creating a shared vision for UC Libraries

    My tenure as dean and university librarian for the University of Cincinnati Libraries began in mid-August and I feel privileged to have joined such a highly talented team during a time of great growth at the University of Cincinnati. While higher education and academic libraries are certainly not new environments for me, like we say in this profession, “if you’ve seen one library, you’ve seen one library.” I am grateful to have such a welcoming community within UC Libraries to get me up to speed and support my transition, this experience has made me proud to be a Bearcat! For more about my professional background and my thoughts on trends…

  • Volume 21,  Volume 21, Issue 1

    Note from the Dean: A Focus on Students

    Students are why we’re here. This issue of Source includes articles that feature student workers, celebrates students return to our spaces and highlights events and support for students. One of my main focuses upon being named interim dean and university librarian is to foster student success and the Libraries pivotal role in that success. As part of 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, the University of Cincinnati Libraries fuels student success, research, scholarship and engagement with the community. We forge pathways to discovery and empower students, faculty and researchers to…

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    Volume 20,  Volume 20, Issue 3

    A final note from Dean Xuemao Wang

    This summer, UC Libraries bids farewell to Dean Xuemao Wang as he leaves the university for Northwestern University. Wang has served as dean and university librarian at the University of Cincinnati since 2012. In 2019 he took on the additional title and responsibilities of vice provost of digital scholarship. During his tenure, Wang worked with library faculty and staff to raise the Libraries’ visibility regionally, nationally and internationally through the development of a Strategic Plan that focused on the four pillars of Digital Technologies and Innovation, People, Space, Data to Information to Knowledge. He emphasized agility, innovation and collaboration as we worked to achieve our vision to become the globally…

  • Vol 20, Issue 2,  Volume 20

    A Note from the Dean: Introducing our NEXT Directions

    As announced in our Annual Progress Report, this year the faculty and staff of UC Libraries undertook an endeavor to update our existing Strategic Plan, building on success of our Strategic Plan implementation, bringing in initiatives from the Provost-led Strategic Sizing priorities and aligning them with UC’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions. What has resulted is a new Strategic Framework for UC Libraries that we are calling our NEXT Directions.   Through fulfillment of our NEXT Directions, the University of Cincinnati Libraries aims to increase our impact by: creating paths to education innovation and student success; contributing to the university’s research, learning and teaching agendas; and by creating partnerships within…

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    Annual Progress Report

    From the Dean

    Looking back as we plan our NEXT Directions. This year’s Annual Progress Report covers July 2020 through June 2021. It was an exceptionally complicated time, during which we entered the second year of the pandemic, developed and adopted new digital resources to support remote learning and remote research and prepared for the transition back to campus for the 2021 fall semester. We have had our share of hardships and successes. The difficulty and stress of the pandemic has put a strain on library faculty and staff, but they persevered, working together to find innovative solutions to meet the needs of our users. In these unprecedented times, they continuously found ways…

  • students working in the library
    Volume 20,  Volume 20, Issue 1

    Dean’s Note: Welcome Back!

    I am pleased to welcome all new and returning students to campus. This summer, following guidance from the state and the university, UC Libraries’ faculty and staff worked tirelessly to prepare for students to return. All 10 library locations reopened in time for the fall semester, a massive achievement for our small, but dedicated staff. The transition from virtual to in-person has been an extensive process. As dean, my priority is the safety of our faculty and staff and all library users. Library spaces needed to be evaluated to allow for social distancing under the university’s COVID-19 operation guidelines.  Also over the summer we undertook a transformational project with the…

  • xuemao wang
    Volume 19,  Volume 19, Issue 2

    A Note from the Dean: A Time for Reflection

    Summer is here and the University of Cincinnati Libraries, along with the entire university, is preparing for a full return to campus in the fall semester. As I begin the transition to working again on campus, I’m taking time to reflect. That reflection includes revisiting some of the questions I posed in our last Source.

  • xuemao wang
    Volume 19,  Volume 19, Issue 1

    A Note From the Dean

    With this publication of Source, we are two months into the 2020/21 academic year. And while things are very different than any other fall semester that I have ever experienced, UC Libraries continues to provide faculty, staff, students and researchers with access to library resources, services and information expertise. The interiors of our libraries have been transformed as we moved furniture and closed off spaces to allow for social distancing. However, the spirit of UC Libraries is in full force as our library faculty and staff remain dedicated to work with users in fulfilling their research and learning needs.  I am impressed and grateful for how everyone in UC Libraries…