Author Archives: Melissa Cox Norris

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

Posted on by
source graphic

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

In this issue of Source, Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian, writes about moving forging a path as we create our strategic plan. Readers can access the Strategic Plan to give a sense of what we accomplished in 2022/2023. Collections play a prominent theme in this issue, including in a new DAAP Library exhibit, Rediscovering Catherina van Hemmessen’s Flagellation of Christ: Women as Artists, Patrons and Rulers in Renaissance Europe, that features prints, books and manuscripts from the collections of UC Libraries and in the acquisitions of Blue Books in the Archives and Rare Books Library. Collaboration is another theme of this issue when we write about Poetry Stacked Beyond the Bookshelves and the efforts of several librarians and staff to present for school children participating in the College Mentors for Kids program. And don’t miss the article about the lost mural in the CEAS Library.

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

Join us Wednesday, March 6 for an afternoon of poetry…and dance!

Posted on by

The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster of poets for Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.

At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, March 6 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:

poet images
Continue reading →

New Library Exhibit Explores Decolonizing the Library Catalog

Posted on by
decolonizing the library catalog

A new exhibit on display on the fourth floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library explores “Decolonizing the Library Catalog.” An important purpose of a library catalog is to ensure discoverability of materials. In addition to keywords that may or not be present in the book title or other parts of the record, subject headings are assigned to indicate the topics of library resources. Subject headings are created and maintained by a group of authorities, such as the Library of Congress, to help users find materials on a given topic. Headings are generally based on standard, contemporary American English-language usage and are intended to reflect current literature. (Adler). Subject headings can be problematic when they center whiteness, include outdated or offensive terminology and omit concepts related to people’s experiences. The display explores these issues, includes examples of problematic subject headings and lists ways in which people are working to update and improve the Library Catalog.

“Decolonizing the Library Catalog” was curated by Susan Banoun, team leader in eResources & Access, Mikaila Corday, eResources Department, and Olga Hart, coordinator of library instruction. It was designed by Francesca Voyten, communications design co-op student. The exhibit is sponsored by the Libraries RESPECT (Racial Equity Support Programming to Educate the Community Team) in honor of Black History Month.

To learn more, a print bibliography is available at the exhibit and posted below as an image.

Spotlight on Library Databases

Posted on by
library databases

UC Libraries provides access to hundreds of research databases available online for searching and downloading of information. Last year, there were 4,627,063 database searches and 2,191,398 full-text article downloads. Below is a list of new databases for 2023/2024.

For more databases, browse the list of A-Z databases online.

Continue reading →

Announcing the 2022-2023 UC Libraries Annual Report

Posted on by
annual report graphic

Beginning Anew

Announcing the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Report. My tenure as dean and university librarian began in mid-August 2023, a time of great growth at the University of Cincinnati. I’ve spent these past six months learning as much as I can about the Libraries – how 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” supports the university’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions. Documents such as the Annual Report have been key to my education.

In this Annual Report, we look back at the top News & Events, applaud Staff Accomplishments & Milestones and look at the Libraries By the Numbers and Financially. Under the leadership of interim dean and university librarian Lori Harris, we welcomed a significant number of new librarians and staff members who will provide essential library services and research support and help move the Libraries forward. We acquired, processed, preserved and made available collections used for research. We held events to bring people into the Libraries to interact with our facilities and collections. We created welcoming places – both virtual and in-person – for people to study, research and collaborate. And, we provided our expertise to the students, faculty and researchers who rely on UC Libraries for their academic pursuits.

Looking Forward

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward and plan for the future. This past fall we began the process of developing an updated strategic plan with goals and initiatives that will continue to advance the mission of the University of Cincinnati. This plan will build upon the successes of UC Libraries and respond to the rapidly changing landscape of higher education, as well as the increasingly diverse needs of our students, faculty and researchers. The strategic plan will be completed this summer and will guide our work for the next three years. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy reading the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report.

Liz Kiscaden,
Dean and University Librarian

Today, the John Miller Burnam Classics Library, in cooperation with the Klau Library of Hebrew Union College, commemorates the Bicentennial of the First Jewish Congregation in Cincinnati

Posted on by

On January 18, 1824, the first Jewish congregation in Cincinnati was formed, the first west of New York, making the Queen City a center of Judaism in the United States.

The first recorded Jewish man in Cincinnati was Joseph Jonas, a watchmaker, from Plymouth in England, who arrived in New York in October 1816 with the intent of making his way to the new city of Cincinnati. He left for Cincinnati from Philadelphia on January 2 in 1817 but did not arrive in Cincinnati until March 8, two months later, after a long and difficult journey traveling in horse carriage across the mountains and then on a flatboat (see below) south on the Ohio River.

Continue reading →

UC Libraries Closed Monday, Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Posted on by

UC Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 15 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Want to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr., his impact and legacy, and how you can make a difference? Check out these library resources or watch this SWAY created in 2023 by the Libraries Racial Equity, Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team (RESPECT).

martin luther king, jr.

Join us January 31 for Poetry Stacked

Posted on by

The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster of poets for Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.

At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, January 31 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:

poets
  • Lisa Ampleman is the author of three full-length books of poetry, including Mom in Space (2024) and Romances (2020), both with LSU Press, and Full Cry (NFSPS Press, 2013), as well as a chapbook, I’ve Been Collecting This to Tell You (Kent State UP, 2012). Her work has appeared recently in journals including 32 Poems, Colorado Review, Cortland Review, Ecotone, Georgia Review, The Rumpus, Shenandoah, and Southern Review, and she was the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in FY22. She lives in Cincinnati and is the managing editor of The Cincinnati Review and poetry series editor at Acre Books.
  • Pauletta Hansel’s poetry collections include Will There Also Be Singing? (Shadelandhouse Modern Press, 2024), Heartbreak Tree (Madville Publications, 2022), which won the Poetry Society of Virginia’s 2023 North American Book Award, and Palindrome (Dos Madres Press, 2023), winner of the 2017 Weatherford Award for Appalachian poetry. Pauletta’s writing is featured in Oxford American, Rattle, Appalachian Journal, Cincinnati Review, Cutleaf, Sequestrum, Verse Daily and Poetry Daily, among others. She was the 2022 Writer-in-Residence for The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Thomas More University’s first Writer in Residence (2012-2015), and WordPlay Cincy’s first Writer in Residence (2015-2016).  She is a core member of the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, and past managing editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, the literary journal of the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative.
  • Dani Charles is a queer, Hispanic poet from McAllen, Texas, and recent MFA graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; where they received the 2021 John Logan Poetry Prize, appeared in Poetry Magazine and Denver Quarterly. They’re currently in their first year of the Creative Writing PhD program at University of Cincinnati.
Continue reading →

Winter Break hours for UC Libraries

Posted on by

Winter Break Hours for the University of Cincinnati Libraries began Monday, Dec. 11 and will run through Saturday, Jan. 6. All library locations will be CLOSED Saturday, Dec. 23 through Monday, Jan. 1 for Holiday and Winter Seasonal Days.

A listing of all hours is available on the Libraries website as well as at each library location online and in person.

Have a relaxing and safe Winter Break. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

winter scene