Category Archives: ARB Library

Posts related to the archives and rare books category

Social Activist with a Press

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“I use letterpress printing, but I use it to disrupt the segregated realms of fine printing and artists’ books.”
–excerpt from “My Manifesto” in the new book Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer

To read Amos Kennedy’s manifesto is to glimpse into the passion and love that Kennedy holds for letterpress printing and his sincere believe in the power of the printing press. Kennedy is one of the leading practitioners of letterpress printing today, known mainly for his bold stylistic technique that foregrounds powerful messages against a colorful backdrop. He prides himself on being a “disturber of the peace” and a member of the “School of Bad Printing,” both of which point to the strong social activism presented in his work as well as the humor.

Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Kennedy grew to study mathematics and began a career as a computer programmer, but his love of calligraphy and books led him to eventually leave the corporate world for the life of a printer and designer. He studied book arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but before that a visit to a printing demonstration at Colonial Williamsburg led Kennedy to purchase a Vandercook printing press and four cabinets of type, which he installed in his basement. Thus, a printer was born and, today, Kennedy operates a letterpress shop called Kennedy Prints! in Detroit, Michigan.

Selections from the “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks” series by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.

Kennedy’s work is preserved in numerous libraries, archives, and museums, and the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library is pleased to join that community. ARB recently acquired two sets of Kennedy’s work. The first is the poster series “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks,” which includes twelve posters that feature quotations from the civil rights activist over various typographic layers. In a 2023 interview, Kennedy described his technique this way:

“When you look at something like the Rosa Parks portfolio, you’ll see that there’s one layer that has dates that are significant to her life. Then there’s another layer that has places that are significant to her life. This continues for about four layers, because one of the things I like to do is envision people having that aha moment—when that poster has been on the wall for a considerable amount of time, and they see it every day, but suddenly, they turn their head a certain way, and they say, “Oh, the word Montgomery’s behind there. I never noticed that before.” And that will draw them in to look and study it more.” (– as printed in Citizen Printer, p. 69)

The second set of Kennedy’s works is comprised of 134 church fans bearing the names of individuals killed will working for civil rights in the United States from 1946 to 1968. The fans are accompanied by a series of standard road maps on which Kennedy has printed the number of individuals murdered in various states. The portfolio takes a simple object with strong ties to the Black church and creates a haunting, repetitive visual narrative. As Kelly Walters has written in Citizen Printer, Kennedy’s “use of the fan asks us to contemplate how the rites of funeral memorialization can serve as a tool for historical remembrance as well.”

Examples of Kennedy’s church fans and road maps.

As part of his manifesto, Kenney states: “Throughout history, the printer has had to choose to either resist or assist in the marginalization of knowledge. I made the choice: I resist.” There is no better summary of the work that Amos Kennedy has produced over the years, and ARB is proud to now help preserve his work as we look to diversify examples of printing and the book arts in our collections. We are working to create an online finding aid for the Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Collection at ARB and hope to add to the collection in the future. Those who are interested in viewing materials from this collection can email ARB at archives@ucmail.uc.edu to schedule a research appointment. To learn more about Kennedy’s life and career, we recommend the excellent documentary Proceed and Be Bold!

Nineteenth Century Eclipse Photographs Featured in New Documentary

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Earlier this year, “eclipse fever” struck the Cincinnati area when a total solar eclipse was visible across portions of North America. The timing of the 2024 celestial event coincided with recent research on a group of photographs documenting an 1869 total solar eclipse housed in the records of the Cincinnati Observatory, which are preserved at the Archives and Rare Books Library.  Those photographs will be featured in the upcoming public television documentary “Capturing Life” (1839-1869), the first episode in the series, The Big Picture: A History of Photography in Greater Cincinnati, produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.

Collection of photographs of an 1869 total solar eclipse along with a handwritten letter.
Photographs from an 1869 total solar eclipse and a handwritten letter on their origins are housed within the records of the Cincinnati Observatory at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library.

Voyageur’s production team conducted research on two subjects at the Archives and Rare Books Library for the series. Project Director, Tom Law, says the ARB staff helped him research documents about Dr. John Locke, a professor of Chemistry at the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Locke was the first American to display an early form of photography, “photogenic drawings,” at a bookstore in Cincinnati in 1839.

An issue of the magazine, The Philadelphia Photographer open to show images of an 1869 total solar eclipse and and article about the photographs.
The September 1869 issue of The Philadelphia Photographer featured some of the photographs taken during the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition.

Voyageur will also show twenty-four rare photographs of a total solar eclipse from the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition to study and photograph the eclipse along its path of totality in the Dakota Territories in 1869. Voyageur learned about the 1869 expedition when visiting an exhibit created by Mandy Askins, Assistant Collections Manager at the Cincinnati Observatory Center.

In the documentary, Askins describes how Cleveland Abbe, Director of the Observatory, led a team of scientists and photographer W.C. Taylor to Fort Dakota (near present-day Sioux Falls, South Dakota), to study and photograph the solar eclipse on its path of totality. Taylor took twenty-four photographs of the event, which were later printed by John Wildman Winder for the Cincinnati Observatory. It is Winder’s photographs that are preserved in the Archives and Rare Books Library at the University of Cincinnati.

“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) closes with examples of how archival photographs are being used today in books, classrooms and exhibits seen throughout the world. Tom Law says, “The documentary is dedicated to the scholars, curators, archivists, and librarians who are preserving the region’s rich photographic heritage for future generations.”  More information about this project, including three, free public screenings in October, is available on Voyageur’s website: https://voyageurmedia.org/

“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) is a collaborative project among dozens of scholars and institutions throughout Greater Cincinnati. Two project scholars have ties to the University of Cincinnati.  Author, professor emeritus, and former head of the Archives and Rare Books Library Kevin Grace is serving as a project advisor. Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, a professor in art history in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, is featured in the segment on African America photographer James Presley Ball. Dr. Leininger-Miller is also serving as a project advisor.

Alex Temple officially joins UC Libraries as Reference Services Coordinator in the Archives and Rare Books Library

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The Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library is pleased to announce that Alex Temple has transitioned to the position of reference services coordinator effective September 9, 2024. Alex has worked as a contract archivist at ARB since September 2021 working on many projects, including the archival processing of the Al Gerhardstein papers, coordinating an inventory of the rare books collection, providing reference services and supervising student employees.  

alex temple

In his new role, Alex will be responsible for coordinating reference services at ARB, both in-person and remote, managing the reading room to ensure professional and prompt service to visiting researchers, providing primary source instruction, creating subject guides and outreach tools for ARB’s collections and scheduling and supervising student employees.

Alex is a familiar face around the University of Cincinnati Libraries, first helping out in the Preservation Lab in 2013 before moving to ARB and the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions. It’s safe to say Alex has a thorough knowledge of our archives and special collections. Welcome, officially, to Alex! 

Collections Shift at the Archives and Rare Books Library

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The Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB) will soon begin utilizing new space at an offsite storage facility maintained by the University of Cincinnati Libraries. This will free up much needed collections space in Blegen Library for new acquisitions and newly organized materials. Consequently, ARB staff be taking part in a major collections shift during the weeks of September 16th and September 23rd.

During that time, services at ARB may be disrupted. This includes fielding reference questions and communications. We apologize for any inconvenience during this time but look forward to enhancing collection services following the shift!

Changing of the GRS

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Change happens. It’s a fact of life. For lots of reasons. Recent changes to the General Records Schedule, the document providing direction for the disposition of records generated by UC personnel, show that it’s no different for records retention. While slight, the changes were still essential to executing the records management program. What is as important as change happening is that these changes be documented for and shared with relevant stakeholders. Fortunately, at UC a process exists for that. It occurs in three phases: the reason behind the changes, how the GRS is updated, and communication of the changes.

General Records Schedule Archives and Rare Books Library Records management
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Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

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source

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 Building our Foundation. A photo montage of highlights from 2023/2024 celebrates the past academic year. A booklet housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library recounts “details of scandalous Hix-Snook Murder Trial.” The intricate dynamics of data in today’s digital age, with a special focus on research data produced in the academy, were explored in a spring semester course taught by librarians Amy Koshoffer and Mark Chalmers. A collection from the Winkler Center about the 25th General Hospital is featured, along with a shout out to Health Sciences Library namesake, Donald C. Harrison, who made a recent visit to the library. A library spotlight informs readers on the Geology-Mathematics-Physics 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

UC Libraries closed Wednesday, June 19th in observance of the Juneteenth holiday

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All University of Cincinnati Libraries locations will be closed Wednesday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Regular library hours for all locations will resume Thursday, June 20.

juneteenth

In observance of the holiday, learn about “Not Racist” vs. “Anti-Racist” Ideologies as part of week three of R.E.S.P.E.C.T.’s annual 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge — a three-week long, self-guided learning exercise that focuses on different aspects of systemic racism, and how we can all fight against it. And join us Thursday, June 20th from 10:30AM-11:30PM for a Zoom discussion on the challenge, what was learned and how participants can take further action.  Join the meeting here, or through the link found on the LibGuide.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Racial Equity Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team) is a UC Libraries committee charged with developing external programming that explicitly addresses the negative role that systemic racism plays in our society. 

UC Libraries Closed Memorial Day, May 27th

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All University of Cincinnati Libraries locations will be closed Monday, May 27 in observance of Memorial Day. Regular library hours for all locations will resume Tuesday, May 28. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

memorial day

The Archives and Rare Books Library welcomes two new librarians

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catherine cubera and jonathan kirkwood

The Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library is happy to announce that Catherine Cubera began work at the University of Cincinnati Libraries on May 13, 2024, as beginning librarian and digital archivist. She is charged with developing and implementing digital workflows and policies, digitization of research materials within ARB and working with UC Libraries Content Services Department to support the discoverability and maintenance of digital collections and exhibitions.

Catherine holds a master’s degree in information science from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (2023). She has worked as a library assistant at the University of North Georgia Library Technology Center, interned at The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York and was a Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellow at East Tennessee PBS, where she digitized and created metadata for audiovisual media.

Jonathan Kirkwood also joined UC Libraries on May 13, as associate librarian and records manager at the Archives and Rare Books Library. He is charged with managing the University’s records management program as well as appraising and processing collections and conducting reference services.

Jonathan holds a master’s degree in public history from Western Michigan University (2013) and another in library and information science from Wayne State University (2021). He has worked as an archivist, librarian and museum professional for 16 years. Lately, he comes from Sloan Museum of Discovery, in Flint, Michigan, where he served as archivist and curated the museum’s extensive automotive and local historical archival collections.

Welcome, Catherine and Jonathan!