Archives Month Celebrates the Peoples of Ohio

By:  Kevin Grace

Archives Month PosterEvery October, the Society of Ohio Archivists sponsors “Archives Month in Ohio” in order to bring awareness to the rich historical materials contained in the state’s libraries, museums, and historical organizations.  The intent is to make citizens aware of these holdings, and to see further use of them by students, scholars, and teachers.

The theme for Archives Month this year is “Peoples of Ohio,” celebrating the ethnic and racial diversity in the Buckeye State.  In Cincinnati, the focus is on Irish Americans with exhibits and presentations planned that explore the Irish culture both in the Queen City.  Once again, an image from the holdings of the Archives & Rare Books Library has been selected for the statewide poster – a photo of Lance Underwood of the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Corps, performing at the 2012 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cincinnati. Continue reading

New Department of Psychology Collection at ARB

By Suzanne Maggard

The Archives and Rare Books Library recently received a new collection from UC’s psychology department containing records from 1967 until 2011.  The collection includes information on faculty and graduate students, annual reports, and accreditation documentation and supplements the very small number of items that the archives already held related to the history of the psychology department.  This new collection is now available for research by faculty, student, staff, and the public.

Wayland R. Benedict

Wayland R. Benedict

The psychology department has a long history at UC.  Wayland Richardson Benedict taught the first psychology courses at UC starting in 1876 as part of the philosophy department.  Courses like Empirical Psychology covering topics in sensation, content, strength and tone of sensation continued to be offered until a separate Department of Experimental Psychology and Pedagogy was created in the Spring of 1901.  The Psychology Department endured quite a bit of instability in its early years and the first three department heads stayed for only a short time. Continue reading

Cincinnati Subway and Street Project Grant Underway

By Angela Vanderbilt

Digital Archivist, Cincinnati City Engineer Digitization Project

Angela VanderbiltAs the month of October begins, so too begins a new project for the Archives and Rare Books Library – digitizing and making available on the web the collection of negatives and prints documenting Cincinnati’s early 20th century subway development and street improvement program. New projects often require new hands to help facilitate, and it is my pleasure to join this project as Digital Archivist, marking my own beginning as I strike out on a new project in a new city. Continue reading

UC Libraries Receive Grant to Digitize Historic Cincinnati Subway and Street Project Photographs

The University of Cincinnati Libraries were awarded a $60,669 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the State Library of Ohio to digitize and make freely available on the Web the photographic collection of Cincinnati’s subway and street changes archive. Continue reading

Cincinnati Birth and Death Records, 1865-1912: records added

Over 4000 records from two surname ranges missed in the original scanning project, Schoner-Schroeder and Tucker-Underheuser, have been added to the collection of birth and death records for the City of Cincinnati from 1865-1912.  This completed collection now contains over 528,000 individual records and is an important resource for genealogists, as well as researchers in public health and epidemiology.     Continue reading

Archives Month in Ohio Kicks Off in October

By Kevin Grace

Every year, the Society of Ohio Archivists sponsors “Archives Month in Ohio” in order to bring awareness to the rich historical materials contained in the state’s libraries, museums, and historical organizations.  The intent is to make citizens aware of these holdings, and to see further use of them by students, scholars, and teachers.

The theme for Archives Month this year is “Peoples of Ohio,” celebrating the ethnic and racial diversity in the Buckeye State.  In Cincinnati, the focus is on Irish Americans with exhibits and presentations planned that explore the Irish culture in the Queen City.  One event that is scheduled is an afternoon reading of Irish American poetry in the University of Cincinnati’s Elliston Poetry Room, located in Langsam Library on the north end of campus.

Irish-American Poetry Reading Flyer

 

Dolly Cohen: Philanthropist and Fashionista

Dolly Cohen

By Suzanne Maggard

If you were a member of Cincinnati’s blue blood society in the 1950s and 1960s, you would have surely known Dolly Cohen.  You might have also been acquainted with her, if you were a polio or cancer researcher, a local orphan, a victim of muscular dystrophy, a University of Cincinnati faculty member, a student seeking a scholarship, or even an Ohio State University football player.  The woman was everywhere, donating her time and money to a myriad of causes in Cincinnati and throughout the country.  The University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library holds Mrs. Cohen’s scrapbooks and other mementos which provide a visual timeline of her life and charitable work. Continue reading

Farewell and Best Wishes to Janice Schulz

By Kevin Grace

A couple of weeks ago, we notified the University of Cincinnati Libraries staff that our friend and colleague, Janice Schulz, will be leaving the Archives & Rare Books Library.  Janice’s last day will be this Friday, the 17th, and she just gets the weekend off before starting an exciting new position in Dayton with CareSource as the Records and Information Manager.  It is a wonderful opportunity for Janice, and we certainly wish her well, but we are very sad that she is leaving.  She has been a consummate professional, and an exceptional co-worker.  Based on her work at UC, Janice will definitely excel in her new job. Continue reading

Generous Gift Funds More News Record Digitization

UC News RecordBy:  Kevin Grace

An additional four years of the University of Cincinnati News Record has now been digitized, thanks to the generosity of a Bearcat alumnus.  Jordan L. Bleznick, a 1976 A&S graduate, funded the project to digitize the student newspaper from 1973 through 1976, adding to the previous digitized issues from 1960 through 1970.  Researchers can access these years by visiting the University of Cincinnati Digital Collections site at: http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/newsrecord/index.php.  The newspapers are available as full-text and are keyword searchable. Continue reading