This month, I traveled to Barcelona to participate in IFLA’s (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Global Vision Kickoff. This two-day meeting, followed by a two-day workshop, helped to confirm the united goals of IFLA’s global community, and our joint commitment to the value and growth of librarianship and libraries.
Category Archives: Dean’s Corner
Happy Year of the Dog!
This weekend, the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Lunar New Year Gala. I was happy to attend, along with many of my UC colleagues.
Some of you may remember that the Walter C. Langsam Library hosted its own Lunar New Year celebration in 2015. I always welcome the opportunity to celebrity this important Chinese holiday. Happy Year of the Dog!
Me and my wife Wendy, along with some of my UC Libraries colleagues
UC Libraries’ Global Services Librarian Hong Cheng (center, in red dress) with a group of our JCI partners from College of Engineering and Applied Science
Dean’s Corner: Spring 2017 Dean’s Advisory Council
The spring meeting of my Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) focused on the fourth pillar of UC Libraries’ Strategic Plan: Data to Information to Knowledge. The heart of this pillar is library collections and new forms of scholarship. In order to provide a holistic view of the multi-faceted work we do at UC Libraries curating, preserving, and digitizing our collections, I invited three UCL librarians to come discuss their work with the council: Eira Tansey, digital archivist and records manager; Gino Pasi, archivist and curator for the Winkler Center of the Health Professions; and Sally Moffitt, reference librarian and bibliographer. Our fourth presenter was the new director of the University of Cincinnati Press, Liz Scarpelli.
Dean’s Corner: A Deep Dive into DH/DS
Since UC Libraries announced the establishment of UC’s first Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) last September, the center’s co-directors Arlene Johnson and James Lee have been busy reaching out to the university community and laying groundwork. We sat down with both them and Dean Xuemao Wang to discuss their respective backgrounds in digital humanities/digital scholarship (DH/DS) and the early details of their plans for the DSC at the University of Cincinnati and UC Libraries.
Arlene Johnson introduces Dr. James Lee at his DH/DS talk
Dean’s Corner: Remembering Dr. Henry Heimlich
I first met Dr. Henry Heimlich, or “Hank”, shortly after I arrived at the University of Cincinnati. To my surprise, he had expressed a strong interest in meeting me, so I eagerly invited him to join me for dinner at my home, along with Associate Dean Emeritus Steve Marine, the libraries’ Director of Development Christa Bernardo and our respective spouses. It was then that I learned of his time as a surgeon with the US Naval Group in World War II. Hank had been stationed in China, and his first stop was my hometown of Chongqing.
Sharing dinner at my home with Hank Heimlich
Dean’s Corner: Welcome Back!
This fall, UC Libraries continued the pursuit of our mission to become the “globally engaged intellectual commons of the university.”
We began the semester with the announcement of Langsam Library’s transformation to a 24×7 space, and the opening of its new Starbucks cafe. We celebrated a number of new hires, including the director of the University of Cincinnati Press, Liz Scarpelli and the head of the CCM Library, Jenny Doctor. We featured new displays, such as Big Bone Lick: A Place of Discovery at the Geography-Mathematics-Physics Library, physical and online exhibits celebrating Native American Heritage found at Langsam Library and on our library website, and a Halloween exhibit of creepy medical artifacts at the Winkler Center. We also celebrated at the Winkler Center the 100th birthday of Dr. Henry R. Winkler.
At the 10th Annual Books by the Banks Festival. From left to right, my wife Wendy, Director of Communications Melissa Cox Norris, and Interim Associate Dean for Public Services Dan Gottlieb
UC Libraries sponsored numerous events, including ones for Hispanic Heritage Month and the bi-annual Life of the Mind.* I held my third bi-annual Dean’s Advisory Council meeting.
All of these visible and publicized changes and events don’t account for the hard work done behind the scenes by UC Libraries’ excellent faculty and staff.
This spring will be a time of re-calibration. We will continue to serve the students, faculty, researchers and scholars of the University of Cincinnati community while examining the best way forward. On this blog, I plan to dig deeper into the initiatives, departments and personnel that make up UC Libraries.
Thank you for reading and welcome back!
Xuemao Wang
Dean and University Librarian
*For more highlights, check out the recently released 2015/2016 Progress Report: Transforming Our Spaces and UC Libraries’ Newsletter Source.
Dean’s Corner: Fall 2016 Dean’s Advisory Council
This month I held my third biannual Dean’s Advisory Council meeting. The focus of this fall’s meeting was Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship (DH/DS). The two-day meeting included: a tour of Northern Kentucky University’s Steele Library and College of Informatics; a presentation with the co-leaders of UC Libraries’ new Digital Scholarship Center; a tour of UC Libraries’ Preservation Lab; and a luncheon with guests from across the university, including Interim Provost Peter Landgren, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Eileen Strempel, and representatives from Student Government and the Graduate Student Governance.
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- NKU’s Eva G. Farris Special Collections and Schlachter University Archives
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- Library Dean Arne Almquist introduces the Stegowagenvolkssaurus
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- Dean Kevin Kirby at NKU College of Informatics
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- Touring the George & Ellen Rieveschl Digitorium
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- UC’s Dr. James Lee and librarian Arlene Johnson present on DH/DS
Dean’s Corner: IFLA Revisited
Welcome back!
It was a long and busy summer here at UC Libraries with several exciting projects that kicked off just in time for the start of the fall semester. August in particular was full of library sponsored events, including the Grand Opening of the Langsam Starbucks the first week of school. Several other events took place right before the start of the semester that centered on the International Federation of Library Associations and Institution’s (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress. Continue reading
Dean’s Corner: UC Libraries’ Dean’s Advisory Council Explore Strategic Issues of Space
Dean of University Libraries, Xuemao Wang
Over two years ago, recruitment began for my Dean’s Advisory Council, an advisory group comprised of individuals from different industries and backgrounds with a tremendous passion for higher education and lifelong learning, global experience, digital technologies and a commitment to UC and the mission of UC Libraries. This group met recently to discuss and explore the issues and goals of library space. Continue reading
Dean’s Corner: Finding the Talent
Dean of University Libraries, Xuemao Wang
Last month’s issue of UC Libraries’ newsletter Source featured two articles about the libraries’ process and progress in building capacity. Below is one of those articles in its entirety.
Finding the Talent: Building Capacity through Organizational Strategy and Partnerships with the Broader University Community