Formation of the Ohio River in Pittsburgh by the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. Photograph taken by Eira Tansey, October 2017.
What’s in the water?
Ohio’s status as a “water-rich state” has meant that it has long been a flashpoint for concerns over how to ensure protection of our water resources, particularly as Ohio’s waterways have played a significant part in regional industry. One of the most famous images of the environmental movement was Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching on fire in 1969 – it was not the first time, as it had caught on fire several times before, going back to the mid-1800s. If you want to learn more about the political atmosphere of Cleveland during this event, UC history professor (and friend of the Archives and Rare Books Library) David Stradling has written a book about it.
One of the landmark federal laws that was placed under authority of the newly established EPA was the 1972 Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act actually traced its origins to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, and was the result of many amendments to the 1948 law. The Clean Water Act requires significant recordkeeping and information systems in order to support implementation of the law. Much of the Clean Water Act’s powers are delegated to state environmental protection agencies (for example, Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency, or Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection). One of the major parts of the Clean Water Act is a permitting system known as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The NPDES system “regulates discharges of pollutants from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants, sewer collection systems, and stormwater discharges from industrial facilities and municipalities.”
As a system of bureaucratic recordkeeping, the NPDES system reveals much about how we have attempted to take hard-to-quantify aspects of our environment, and pack it down into standardized documentation about human impact.
For example, reviewing a recent draft permit for a wastewater facility in the greater Cincinnati area, this permit will last for five years. It requires the wastewater facility to self-report sampling levels of their discharges to one of the tributaries of the Ohio River. Sampling must take place Monday through Friday but the time of day doesn’t have to be reported, and the permit holder must retain records for three years. One can imagine arguing for modifying any of these recordkeeping requirements upwards or downwards, based on your orientation towards deregulation or to environmental protection.
Recordkeeping is not a neutral act. What is reported and recorded reflects information necessary for regulatory fulfillment. Choices about recordkeeping – what to record, when to record it, who should record it, how often to record it, where to store it, and public vs proprietary access, reflect competing values attached to environmental information.
How do you determine the starting date of the University of Cincinnati Libraries when from the university’s founding in 1819, books played an important part in the education of students?
For more about the history of UC Libraries, read http://digital.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/arb/lawrenceBook/ulhistory.pdf. In the coming year, we will find more opportunities to celebrate the future of UC Libraries as we look to 125+ years.
http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/classics-research
This tutorial is chiefly aimed at undergraduate majors in Classics and beginning graduate students who are about to write a research paper, a junior or senior thesis. To illustrate this step-by-step approach to research, a topic, “Aristotle on the Function of Music in Tragedy,” has been chosen. It seems a particularly useful one for this purpose since it incorporates several disciplines — ancient Greek language and literature, philosophy, music, history, education, and politics — and, therefore, offers good practice in conducting research at the UC Libraries. To illustrate these principles of research, as well as to highlight a multitude of library resources at the University of Cincinnati, especially in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library, concrete and live searches are performed in video and audio.
Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return Tuesday, Nov. 14, 3-5pm, in Annie Laws (407 Teachers/Dyer) with a lecture by Jeffrey Blevins, associate professor and chair of the department of journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences. Professor Blevins will speak on “Manufacturing Truth: The Political Economy of Fake News, Bots and Double-Speak.”
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 the university 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
Eira Tansey
Eira Tansey, digital archivist/records manager in the Archives and Rare Books Library, will deliver a keynote address at the Digital Library Federation’s (DLF) Digital Preservation Forum from 4-5 pm on Wednesday, Oct. 25. DLF keynotes feature speakers doing work around contemporary issues in librarianship and cultural heritage (see 2016’s speakers). Eira’s talk, titled “The Necessary Knowledge,” will focus on the connections between record keeping and environmental protection, using Pittsburgh’s environmental history – where DLF is taking place – as a backdrop.
Logistical details:
Wednesday, October 25, 4-5 pm. This is the opening keynote for National Digital Stewardship Alliance’s Digital Preservation 2017: “Preservation is Political,” which is hosted by the Digital Library Federation and taking place in Pittsburgh.
Live stream link: https://forum2017.diglib.org/livestream-recordings/
Speaker page: https://forum2017.diglib.org/speakers/eira-tansey/
Eira Tansey is the digital archivist and records manager at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library. She has previously written about Cincinnati’s public libraries, the visibility and compensation of archivist’s labor and the effects of climate change on archival practice. She is currently collaborating on a Society of American Archivists foundation grant to develop a comprehensive data set of American archives locations in order to aid future spatial analysis of the field, and researching environmental regulatory record keeping.
The National Digital Stewardship Alliance, hosted by the Digital Library Federation, is a consortium of more than 220 partnering organizations, including universities, professional associations, businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations, all committed to the long-term preservation of digital information. Members work together to preserve access to our national digital heritage.
There are two new exhibitions in the Classics Library’s Reading Room:
One is to highlight our Modern Greek collection. Among the gems on display are, for example: Έρμῆς ὁ λόγιος (1811-21), the first journal published in “Modern Greek”; Constantine Cavafy’s Ποιήματα with the author’s signature; and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas’ illustrations to Nikos Kazantzakis’ Ὀδύσσεια.
Another exhibition is curated by the classics department and features Mycenaean so called psi, phi, and tau (because of their shapes resembling the Greek letters) female figurines as well as horse and other figurines dated to c. 1400-1200 BCE.
For more than a decade, the region’s biggest book festival has brought the best in literature to downtown Cincinnati. This year’s festival is no different and will feature more than 130 authors, as well as literary themed activities for all ages.Many bestselling national authors will be present at the event, including:
Several authors at the festival have a UC connection, including:
The day-long festival will feature book signings, author panels and activities for the entire family to enjoy in the Kids’ Corner and Teen Scene. The popular “Writing and Getting Published” series returns this year with panel discussions covering hot topics for writers and workshops to help hone the craft of writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors and purchase signed copies of their books. Books by the Banks features writers in various categories, including fiction, non-fiction, cooking, children’s literature, local travel, sports and more.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, and to see a complete schedule of events, visit www.booksbythebanks.org.
Happy Thanksgiving to All (with Fruits and Veggies instead of a Dead Bird)!
A great Thanksgiving read is Plutarch’s essay from his Moralia, Περὶ σαρκοφαγίας https://www.loebclassics.com/view/plutarch-eating_flesh/1957/pb_LCL406.537.xml Enjoy!
