Author Archives: Melissa Cox Norris

Samantha Schaffer joins UC Libraries as computer systems administrator

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samantha schafferSamantha Schaffer joined the University of Cincinnati Library May 2 as a computer systems administrator in the Library IT Department. She will be responsible for the day-to-day management of on-premise and cloud-based servers, as well as the deployment and monitoring of software applications for UC Libraries.

Samantha comes to UC from Boise, Idaho, where she most recently worked as a systems engineer for Synoptek, supporting Windows, macOS and Linux systems, as well as VMware servers and Azure. Samantha has worked in the systems administration area since 2014 and will be a great addition to the team.

Welcome, Samantha.

Lori Harris named Interim Associate Dean

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lori harris

Lori Harris

Lori E. Harris was named interim associate dean of the University of Cincinnati Libraries on March 1, 2022.  She continues to serve as assistant dean and director of the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library and the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions.

Lori initially joined the Libraries in 2015 as an associate fellow from the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine. She permanently joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries in 2016.

 In her new role, Lori will provide leadership and coordination for the daily operations of both the Libraries on West Campus as well as the Health Sciences Library and the Winkler Center on East Campus.

Lori will continue to work directly with UC Libraries’ senior leadership to move aspects of the Libraries’ strategic framework to operational with special emphasis on initiatives relating to research and health informatics.

Hello, Central!: Telephones in Illustrated Sheet Music

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hello centralBy Theresa Leininger-Miller,

This two-part exhibition commemorates the 145th anniversary of the invention of the telephone (1876) that took place in 2021; COVID-19 slightly delayed the celebration. Displayed on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library are reproductions of 68 vibrant, chromolithographic covers of illustrated sheet music dating from 1877 to 1939.

The display outside and inside the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art & Planning (DAAP) features two dozen original pieces of sheet music, along with ten vintage telephones. The name of the device, from the Greek, means “far speaking” a way of increasing human earshot. With it, people can make themselves heard and understood around the world with a whisper. Continue reading →

Library resources in celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month

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April is National Arab American Heritage Month. Below is a list of library resources for further exploration of Arab cultural and history.

Online

UC librarians Olga Hart and Sally Moffitt created two research guides with links to information related to the Arab world. The Arabic Languages and Cultures guide provides an overview of Arabic language, literature and culture resources at the University of Cincinnati. The Middle Eastern Studies guide offers suggestions for conducting cross-disciplinary research into the history, politics, culture and social structures in the modern Middle East. The guide focuses on the Middle East after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. With the exception of Egypt, North Africa is included only when that region is part of a more comprehensive survey of the Muslim Mediterranean world. Continue reading →

Read Source for the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries

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source image

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

In this issue of Source, we announce our updated Strategic Framework – NEXT Directions. We celebrate Mikaila Corday receiving the 2022 Marian Spencer Ambassador Award for Staff and meet OhioLINK Luminaries intern Marvin Jones. We look back at three recent big events – the Oesper Musuem’s receipt of National Landmark designation, the six-part lecture series The Illustrated Human: The Impact of Andreas Vesalius and the ever-popular International Edible Books Festival. Finally, we look forward to Preservation Week with a sneak peek of The Preservation Lab.

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.

April is National Minority Health Month- HSL Promotes “Give Your Community A Boost!”

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The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library of the University of Cincinnati is promoting the National Institute of Health’s Minority Health Month.

2022’s theme is “Give Your Community a Boost.”

Give your Community a Boost

NIH Promotional poster of healthy looking people from various minority groups, one with a band-aid and one with a mask, and one working with an immunocompromised child to communicate the importance of receiving a booster shot for Covid-19.

For information on Covid-19 vaccines in our community, please visit:

For members of the University of Cincinnati:

https://med.uc.edu/landing-pages/university-health/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-update

For citizens of Cincinnati, OH:

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/health/covid-19/vaccine-information-sign-up/

For anyone: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

For more information on how Covid-19 affects minority communities:

https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/covid-19/index.html

For more information on programs related to Minority Health Month, please visit: https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/edu-training/nmhm/

Please take care of yourselves and stay healthy through the Pandemic! Although numbers are currently down in the USA, the Covid-19 Pandemic is not over.

Keep track of numbers around the world here: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

 

Celebrate Preservation Week with a Sneak Peek into the Preservation Lab

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In celebration of the American Library Association’s Preservation Week, join Preservation Lab staff as they chat about preservation, conservation and what the Lab does for the libraries. There will be materials and models on hand.

Thursday, April 21, 10-11am & 2-3pm, Walter C. Langsam Library 4th floor, next to the Desk@Langsam.

preservation lab

And the winners are…Results of the 2022 UC Libraries International Edible Books Festival

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Rebecca Tabaja – Fairy the Farting Unicorn – Best Overall

The University of Cincinnati Libraries celebrated the International Edible Books Festival on Friday, April 1, 2022.

Sixteen edible books were created by students, faculty, staff, librarians, friends and family. The entries ranged from children’s books to literary classics to popular fiction and nonfiction books. The edible books were made of cakes, cookies, Rice Krispie Treats, candy, Peeps, olives and even carrots. Each entry was judged by our esteemed judges Rachel Hoople and Imani Coleman and awarded a bookmark.

Created by librarian Judith A. Hoffberg and artist Béatrice Coron, the International Edible Books Festival is held worldwide annually on or around April 1st to mark the birthday of Jean Brillat-Savarin, author of The Physiology of Taste.  The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, including in Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.

Milly Diaz Perez – To the Boy Who Lived – Best Student Entry

UC Libraries has participated in the International Edible Books Festival since 2001. The 2022 winners ares:

  • Luahna Winningham Carter – The Dark Tower – Most Checked Out
  • Holly Prochaska – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Most Imaginative
  • Debbie Weinstein – The Girl Who Drew Butterflies – Most Whimsical
  • Olga Hart – The Vanishing Half – Most Literary
  • Melissa Cox Norris – A Cast of Literary Birds – Most Clever
  • Natalie Rogers – If You Give a Moose a Muffin – Most Delicious
  • Jessica Ebert – Crazy Plant Lady – Most Creative
  • Ben Kline and Aaron Libby – The Secret Lives of Color – Most Fun
  • Jenny Mackiewicz – Should I Share My Ice Cream? – Most Adorable
  • Debbie Tenofsky – Olive Kitteridge & Olive, Again – Most Taboo
  • Sam Norris – Batman: The Court of Owls -Scariest
  • Steve Norris – Death and the Penguin – Most Deadly
  • Jack Norris – Too Many Carrots – Silliest
  • Rebecca Tabaja – Fairy the Farting Unicorn – Best Overall
  • Milly Diaz Perez – To the Boy Who Lived – Best Student Entry
  • The Little Prince by Emma Duhamel and Eli Seidman-Deutsch

Congratulations to all the edible books creators! View the entries and the winners on the UC Libraries Facebook page. See you next year for Edible Books 2023!

Women’s History Month- Catherine Allen Latimer, First African-American librarian at the New York Public Library

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Catherine Allen Latimer sitting in front of file cabinets at the New York Public Library

Catherine Allen Latimer sitting in front of file cabinets at the New York Public Library

Celebrating Catherine Allen Latimer, NYPL’s first African-American Librarian.

Catherine Allen Latimer was New York Public Library’s first African American librarian. She was hired as a substitute in 1920 after being an assistant at Tuskegee Institute’s library for a year from 1919-1920.[1] She stayed for her entire career until she retired in 1946. She founded the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints at the 135th Street Branch of NYPL in 1925. This was a precursor to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Later, she was promoted to a curator of the same by Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

Catherine was born in Nashville, TN in 1896. Her family eventually moved to NYC. She was educated during her early life in Germany and France. She spoke French fluently and read German. For high school, she attended public schools in Brooklyn, NY. Her undergraduate work and library training took place at Howard University and she completed some graduate work at Columbia University.[2]

Over her career, she lectured to students of Wellesley College, Columbia University, Vassar College, Smith College, Hunter College and Pratt Institute. Continue reading →

Life of the Mind celebrates the creative and scholarly works of UC’s Artists, Authors, Editors & Composers

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The annual Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with University of Cincinnati faculty, was held Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Jennifer Wright-Berryman, associate professor of social work in the College of Allied Health Sciences, presented “BEING A CAMPUS COMMUNITY THAT CARES: Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the University of Cincinnati.” 

Following Professor Wright-Berryman’s remarks, a panel of three responded to the lecture.

  • Calisha Brooks, mental health activist, Soul Care, LLC
  • Kelly Cohen, Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
  • Xander Wells, UC student and president of Men4Mental Health
A recording of the lecture is available for viewing on the Libraries YouTube Channel.
bibliography coverThe Life of the Mind lecture series has merged with the former Authors, Editors & Composers to create one event that celebrates the achievements of UC’s Artists, Authors, Editors & Composers.

A bibliography of the submitted creative and scholarly works is available online.

The bibliography includes the works of 114 UC faculty and staff representing 14 colleges and units. The 166 submitted works include research journal articles, chapters, books, and editing. The creative and performing arts are well represented with poetry, artwork, public performances, videos, music and fashion. There are solo works, as well as multiple works representing collaborations with fellow scholars both at UC and around the world.

A selection of the submitted works is on display now on the 4th and 5th floors of the Walter C. Langsam Library. More information about Life of the Mind is available on the Libraries website.