Yearly Archives: 2015

Welcome to the Dean’s Corner

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Welcome to my new blog – a subsite of LiBlog!

Xuemao at Langsam Lunar New Year 2015 party

Posing with Lion Dancers at the Lunar New Year Event in Langsam Library

As Dean and University Librarian of UC Libraries, I am proud to be a part of this diverse and talented community.  I am excited to join them by sharing on LiBlog my experiences as Dean. I will post pictures and updates of my national and international travels and use this forum to discuss the libraries’ continued transformation through our Strategic Plan.

It is my hope to increase the library’s broader visibility and engage my peers, nationally and internationally, in the world of academic libraries.  I plan to open a new door of communication from me to the entire UC community and beyond.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.  Please visit back soon and often!

Xuemao

UC Libraries Seeks Edible Books Creators for Annual International Festival

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imageKnow 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 Wednesday, April 1, 2015, from 1:00-2:00pm in Langsam Library’s 5th 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.  Continue reading →

Faustian Ghosts and Redemptive Masculinity in an American Baseball Story

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By:  Kevin Grace

PitcherThere’s too much snow, too much cold, and too many gray skies, so we need to refresh ourselves a bit.  After all, the Reds are in spring training out in Arizona, and Opening Day is just a month away!  So let’s talk baseball and a little Cincinnati baseball story published 130 years ago.

In 1885, a quirky little tale was published in a Cincinnati humor tabloid called Sam the Scaramouch (SpecCol RB F499.C5 S16).  The anonymously-written story is entitled “O’Toole’s Ghost” and its plot centers around a young immigrant by the name of Mickey McGonigle who dreams of becoming the best baseball player ever seen.  Late one night, he is visited by the ghost of a deceased pitcher by the name of Barney O’Toole, who offers to fulfill this dream on one small condition: never argue with the umpire.  McGonigle accepts the offer, and for a brief time he is indeed the greatest player in the land.  But during one game, he forgets that agreed upon condition with the ghost, violates it, and sees his prowess quickly and publically stripped away.  He spends the rest of his days consumed with regret and humiliation. Continue reading →

“Life of the Mind” Lecture Series Returns March 26 with Dr. Jeffrey Whitsett Presenting

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logo_lifeofmind15UC President Santa J. Ono will moderate the discussion on the theme of “Technology and Innovation in Medicine.”

Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return March 26, 4-5:30pm in TUC 400ABC with a lecture by Jeffrey Whitsett, MD, professor of pediatrics in the College of Medicine, as well as co-director of the Perinatal Institute and chief of neonatology, perinatal and pulmonary biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Life of the Mind is a semi-annual lecture series that features a distinguished University of Cincinnati faculty member presenting his or her work and expertise. A panel of three responds to and discusses the lecture from diverse perspectives. The series includes intriguing insights from diverse perspectives and encourages faculty and students from across UC to engage in further discourse. The presentation is not simply a recitation of the faculty member’s work but promotes an informed point of view. Continue reading →

Next Up for the "50 Minutes" Talk – Rod Serling

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By:  Kevin Grace

This 50 Minute Talk has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for Fall 2015.

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call … The Twilight Zone.

Burgess Meredith in The Twilight ZoneIt is one of the most famous television intros in history, Rod Serling’s doorway into fantasy and science fiction that opened each episode of his iconic series.  Born in Syracuse, New York, educated at Antioch College, and beginning his writing career in Cincinnati first at WLW and then at WKRC, Serling’s sober demeanor and bizarre imagination later gave rise to a generation of twisting tales and thought-provoking storylines in The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 11, at noon in 814 Blegen as we look at Serling’s Cincinnati years and his close connection to the College of Music (pre-merger with the Conservatory of Music and later addition to the University of Cincinnati as CCM).  We will also view one of Serling’s classic episodes, Time Enough at Last, featuring Burgess Meredith as a book-loving man who finally realizes his dream of being able to read as much as and whenever he wants, only to fall victim to a tragic twist of fate.

50 Minutes March 2015

 

Don Jason Named Alumnus of the Year

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djasonCongratulations to UC Libraries’ Don Jason for being named Alumnus of the Year from the Information Architecture Knowledge Management program at Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science. We are proud to have you among our ranks!

Don is the Clinical Informationist in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library. Read more about Don and the work of his fellow UC Libraries’ informationists in a recent Source article.

UC Libraries’ Tiffany Grant to Attend Georgia Biomedical Informatics Course

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tjgphotoTiffany Grant, research informationist in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, has been accepted into the Georgia Biomedical Informatics course to be held April 12-18, 2015.

Organized by the National Library of Medicine, this week-long survey course is designed to familiarize individuals with the application of computer technologies and information science in biomedicine and health science. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on computer exercises, participants will be introduced to the conceptual and technical components of biomedical informatics. Acceptance into the course is a competitive process. Kristen Burgess, UC Libraries’ assistant director for research and informatics, attended previously.

Continue reading →

Stumping the Curator : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 31, March/April 2015

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The restored 1913 Foster flashpoint apparatus.

The restored 1913 Foster flashpoint apparatus.

Issue 31 of Museum Notes recounts some of the puzzles that have confronted the museum curator when it comes to identifying the nature and use of some of the items that are donated to the museum.

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

Deaf and Dumb or The Orphan Protected: A Dublin Play in the Archives & Rare Books Library

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By Sydney Vollmer, ARB student assistant

Tile Page for Deaf and DumbHere at the Archives and are Books library, we have a vast collection of 18th and 19th c. plays and I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to read a play from our Irish subset of these holdings. Though we have numerous titles which grabbed my attention, I came across one that I couldn’t ignore: Deaf and Dumb, translated by Thomas Holcroft and published in Dublin in 1801.

The title struck my interest because last summer, I began watching a TV show called Switched at Birth. One of the main characters in the show is Deaf, so there is a lot of sign language as well as the juxtaposition between the hearing and deaf worlds. Before watching the show, the obstacles Deaf people face and the idea of Deaf culture had never occurred to me. Continue reading →