Author Archives: Melissa Cox Norris

Lori Harris named interim dean and university librarian

Posted on by
lori harris

Lori Harris

Lori E. Harris has been named interim dean and university librarian of the University of Cincinnati Libraries effective July 1, 2022. Harris initially joined the Libraries in 2015 as an associate fellow from the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). She permanently joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries in 2016.

Harris previously served 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. More recently, she co-led the development of the Libraries’ strategic framework NEXT Directions, which outlines the Libraries’ Guiding Principles and Pathways to operational excellence with special emphasis on initiatives relating to research, diversity, equity and inclusion and aligns with the University’s Next Lives Here framework. She has helped to support the College of Medicine’s LCME process by serving as a member of the reaccreditation committee and she currently sits on the College of Medicine’s Education Committee representing the Health Sciences Library.

Harris has worked tirelessly to build external relationships for the University of Cincinnati Libraries. Recently, she worked with Dr. Phil Diller, College of Medicine and the Henry R. Winkler Center Board, to bring to the university campus the six-part lecture series and exhibits that examined the work of Andreas Vesalius. Building upon her continued relationship and collaborations with colleagues from NIH/NLM, Harris helped bring to the Health Sciences Library the Native Voices traveling exhibition and lecture series, which honored the native tradition of oral history.

“I look forward to working with my University of Cincinnati Libraries colleagues in this new capacity,” said Harris. “Our recently completed Strategic Framework will provide the guiding principles and pathways for us to continue to advance our mission and realize our vision.”

Harris obtained her M.A. MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her B.A. in American studies, museum studies and archives from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

In her new role, Harris will provide leadership and coordination for the daily operations of the University of Cincinnati Libraries, working collaboratively with the library leadership of UC Blue Ash, UC Clermont and Law Libraries. Harris will continue to work directly with UC Libraries’ senior leadership, faculty and staff to ensure that continuity, growth and development of the University of Cincinnati Libraries is maintained throughout her tenure as interim dean and university librarian.

The Twins are now orphans – their mother has been stolen from Eden Park!

Posted on by

The She-Wolf (“Lupa”) was stolen from Eden Park on June 16, 2022, ironically, the same day I returned from a trip to Rome. It is a tragedy for all of us who value history and who understand and appreciate the importance of the Wolf to the founding of ancient Rome, to Roman history, and to Roman life and character, but also to many generations of Cincinnatians. The story of the Wolf, one of countless animals helping humans throughout the ages, is a sweet and engaging one. The statue was a gift of the city of Rome, then a sister city of Cincinnati, the city named after a Roman general. Yes, it was gifted while Mussolini was the ruler of Italy; however, the artist of the original statue of the Wolf, probably without the twins, was ancient Roman or, possibly, Etruscan or, according to some scholars, medieval, having no connection to Fascism. There are many literary accounts of the story in ancient Roman authors such as Livy, Dio Cassius, Ovid and others. Here is one of Ovid’s accounts:

“A she-wolf which had cast her whelps came, wondrous to tell, to the abandoned twins: who could believe that the brute would not harm the boys? Far from harming, she helped them; and they whom ruthless kinsfolk would have killed with their own hands were suckled by a wolf! She halted and fawned on the tender babes with her tail, and licked into shape their two bodies with her tongue. You might know they were scions of Mars: fearless, they sucked her dugs and were fed on a supply of milk that was never meant for them. The she-wolf (lupa) gave her name to the place, and the place gave their name to the Luperci. Great is the reward the nurse has got for the milk she gave” (Fasti 2.413-432).

I had suggested that the statue be moved to the John Miller Burnam Classics Library or to the lobby of the Blegen library building. Let us hope that the criminals who stole the sculpture develop a conscience and return it to the City of Cincinnati, and that the City finally decides to protect it by having it housed in the classics department or classics library of the University of Cincinnati or in the Cincinnati Art Museum.

The Burnam Classics Library’s Greek Map Collection has been digitized!

Posted on by

Finally, the John Miller Burnam Classics Library has been able to move into the 21st century thanks to its staff and East View, an information services company, which has digitized one of the Library’s rarest and most important collections of Greek, British, and U.S. military maps from World War I and II. East View specializes in hard-to-find foreign language materials such as maps, newspapers and ephemera. In addition to helping us digitize and preserve the Burnam collection of maps, many in poor physical condition, the company has provided a searchable database free-of-charge for the Classics Library and freely available to the UC community.

Continue reading →

“New” Discoveries for the Burnam Classics Library

Posted on by

When researching an unrelated topic, the librarian came across a reference to Greek manuscripts in the Burnam Library. They were not known to previous or current staff, so it was a mystery. The librarian contacted the Archives and Rare Books Library in the hopes that they might be there, and eureka! They had mistakenly not been transferred during the move of classics materials from ARB to the Burnam Library more than three years ago.  The boxes contain some 10 very rare Greek newspapers of the Greek resistance movement published during WWII and shortly thereafter, such as Οδηγός των αδελφοτήτων της Ε.Α. and Η Αλληλεγγύη from 1945, Ελεύθερη σκέψη (όργανο του Εθνικού Κομιτάτου Νέων) from 1942, Ελεύθερη Ελλάδα (όργανο της Κ.Ε. του Εθνικού Απελευθερωτικού Μετώπου) from 1943, and Φωνή της Αλλελλεγγύης (όργανο του Παρατήματος Μακεδονίας και Θράκης…) from January 1, 1946.

Continue reading →

UC Libraries closed Monday, July 4th

Posted on by

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will be closed, Monday, July 4 for Independence Day, with some locations also closing Sunday, July 3. Check each library location for specific hours. Normal hours for all library locations will resume Tuesday, July 5.

Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July.

july 4th graphic.

UC Libraries resources in celebration of Juneteenth

Posted on by

juneteenthJuneteenth, a combination of June and nineteenth, commemorates June 19, 1865 when federal troops, led by General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read General Order Number 3, freeing the quarter million enslaved people in Texas. This was two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; however his edict could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. This day came to be celebrated as Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is the oldest celebration of the ending of slavery in the University States. African American people have been commemorating it since 1865 with picnics, BBQs, church services and with some people traveling to Galveston to mark the day. In June 2021, President Biden proclaimed Juneteenth a federal holiday called Juneteenth Day of Observance. The University of Cincinnati, and UC Libraries, observes this holiday, and will be closed on Monday, June 20, 2022 in its honor. 

To learn more about Juneteenth, check out these sources: 

UC Libraries Resources 

The following is a short list of items located in UC Libraries about Juneteenth. There are many more books, articles, videos, etc. that can be searched through the Articles tab on the Libraries’ homepage. 

  • “On Juneteenth” by Annette Gordon-Reed. Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library, call number:  E185.93.T4 G67 2021  
  • “Juneteenth : the story behind the celebration” by Edward T. Cotham, Jr. Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library Cohen Collection (on the white shelves in the front of the library), call number:  E185.93.T4 C684 2021  
  • “Juneteenth!: celebrating freedom in Texas“ by Anna Pearl Barrett.
  • “Juneteenth:  fact sheet“ by Molly Higgins. Congressional Research Service – 

 General Resources: 

SERVICE NOTE: Interlibrary Loan service unavailable from 3-6pm Tuesday, June 7 for maintenance

Posted on by

The Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan server, ILLiad, will be offline for maintenance from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, June 7th. Interlibrary Loan services will be unavailable during this time.

During the maintenance, the ILLiad application will be updated to the latest version.

Thank you for your patience.

 

Congratulations to the newest UC Libraries faculty members

Posted on by

After a thorough review of UC Libraries staff positions with overlapping librarian faculty responsibilities, and in consultation with the Provost’s Office, the Libraries’ Executive Group, and library faculty members, Dean Xuemao Wang announces the newest UC Libraries faculty members:

  • Madeleine Gaiser, online learning & instruction specialist in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library to assistant librarian
  • Suzanne Bratt, cataloging specialist in the Albino Gorno Memorial Music (CCM) Library to assistant librarian
  • Melissa Previtera, academic & research services specialist in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library to associate librarian

congrats Madeleine, Suzanne, Melissa

Lynn Warner joins UC Libraries as research and health sciences librarian

Posted on by

lynn warnerLynn C. Warner joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries May 31, 2022 as the new research and health sciences librarian in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library. Lynn comes to UC from Northern Kentucky University where she was the teaching and learning librarian at the Steely Library. While Lynn will primarily support the programs at the College of Nursing, she will also be available to work with all UC health sciences faculty, staff and students.

Lynn holds a masters of library science from the University of Kentucky and a BA in telecommunications from Bowling Green State University. She brings broad teaching experience and extensive work and partnership collaborations with faculty members at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). She is committed to information literacy and has delivered a wide range of information literacy education courses for undergraduate and graduate students during her teaching career. Lynn has working knowledge in assessment and critical information literacy concepts and indicates that she truly enjoys teaching information literacy and engaging with students on topics that she is passionate about.

Welcome, Lynn!