Need a place to study for exams? Working late on a class project? The Walter C. Langsam Library has extended building hours now through exams. Sunday – Thursday, the building is open until 3am. The Desk@Langsam will maintain regular hours. The Exam hours are listed on the Libraries website.
Due to inclement weather, the University of Cincinnati campus will close from 7 a.m. Dec. 2, 2025, until 7 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2025. This closure applies to all UC Libraries locations except for the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, which will be open Tuesday, Dec. 2 from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As I’m writing this, it is my one-year anniversary as UC Libraries’ digital content specialist. Or, as I like to say, “social media girl.” It has been a year full of learning, collaboration and new experiences. One of those experiences being a trip to the great city of St. Louis, Missouri, to attend the 2025 Library Marketing and Communications Conference with my Comm Team partner, Melissa Cox Norris. This was not only my first conference as a UC Libraries staff member, but also my first conference as a working professional.
Throughout the two-day conference, we attended sessions covering topics such as how to build an engaging library program, maximizing the features of Canva, creating accessible graphic design materials and even finding the most efficient ways to measure the success and reach of social media content. Some of my favorite takeaways were:
We also had the chance to hear from some amazing keynote speakers. Scott Bonner, Director of Ferguson Municipal Public Library District, spoke about the library’s service to the people of Ferguson following the killing of Mike Brown in August 2014. He went into detail about how the library was able to provide safe spaces, as well as places for teachers to have class time while school was out of session due to riots. It was an incredibly real and insightful perspective on how libraries, and really any kind of public service, can make a difference during a crisis.
On a non-conference related note, I had the chance to enjoy some St. Louis staples, including a Blues game (they beat Calgary 3-2), Imo’s pizza and toasted ravioli and Charlie Gitto’s Restaurant on the Hill. And of course, I can’t forget about The Gateway Arch. Thanks to Melissa for all the fun suggestions! It was a great first conference experience, and I am so excited to visit St. Louis again in the future.
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, Nov. 19 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:
Kim Jacobs-Beck is the author of Luminaries and a chapbook, Torch. Her poems can be seen in Museum of Americana, Great Lakes Review, West Trestle Review, Nixes Mate, Gyroscope, SWWIM, and Apple Valley Review, among other journals. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Milk & Cake Press. Kim is professor of English at UC Clermont College.
Matt Hart is the author of 12 books of poetry, including most recently FALLING FINE: Selected & New Poems. His poems, reviews and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous print and online journals, including American Poetry Review, Big Bell, The Kenyon Review and Poetry, among others. From 1993-2019, he was a co-founder and the editor-in-chief of Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety. Currently, he lives in Cincinnati where he plays in the post-punk/indie rock band NEVERNEW and edits, solders, and publishes the poetry journal SOLID STATE.
Bella Gordo is a creative writing student at UC, where she is an intern for Short Vine Literary Journal and the vice president of Cincinnati Poetry Collective. She edits the zine Cincinnati Girlfriend with her roommate in hopes to spread awareness of the revolutionary potential of bug life in the Queen City.
In addition to reading their poetry, each poet will speak briefly on their experience as an editor.
Continue readingTwo new exhibits have been installed in the Walter C. Langsam Library.
On display on the 4th floor lobby, Bronson v. Board of Education: Cincinnati Desegregation Efforts in the 1960s and 1970s chronicles the work of project archivist Julianna Witt as she completed the archival processing of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s, Bronson v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati records. This collection contains material related to the class-action lawsuit Bronson v. Board from 1974-1984 and consists of legal documents created for court submission and records that originated from the Cincinnati Board of Education. The collection itself, housed in the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library, provides a detailed history of race relations in Cincinnati. A finding aid is available for more information.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to ARB.
On display on the 5th floor lobby is an exhibit promoting The Libraries of UC. The exhibit includes images and descriptions of each of the nine University of Cincinnati Libraries, along with the fan-favorite Triceracopter. A map of the libraries is available for take away at the exhibit.
Both exhibits were designed by UC Libraries design co-op student Ashleigh Stout.
Join Poetry Stacked for the fall workshop: Masques & Personas, led by Kristyn Garza, Poetry Stacked alumna and PhD student in poetry at the University of Cincinnati.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 6:30pm ~ Elliston Poetry Room, 646 Langsam Library
Learn about persona poetry over spooky snacks. Come in a costume and compete to win fun prizes!
A semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the mission of Poetry Stacked is to celebrate poetry and raise awareness of the collections of both UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room.
Available now on the 4th floor of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Esports Zone @ Langsam includes five computer stations with pre-installed, free-to-play video games. Stations are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Log in with UC credentials to access the full game collection.
Monday, October 27, 2025 ~ 12:30-4pm ~ Esports Zone @ Langsam and Langsam 410
Presented by the UC Game Lab, in collaboration with UC Libraries, and in honor of the new Esports Zone @ Langsam and activities of the Immersive Learning and Emerging Technologies group, the UC Game Lab will showcase some recent and classic indie VR games, with an eye for innovative titles that spark the imagination. Come play or watch others play, and learn more about these new technologies.
The Walter C. Langsam Library will be closed Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
Facilities will conduct a water shutdown to complete necessary repairs to the building’s fire pump.
Normal library hours resume Saturday, Oct. 11.
Are you the family historian? Do you like to look at old photographs? Like solving puzzles and bringing a little order to unorganized things? Then a career in archives may be just what you are looking for!
The Archives and Rare Books Library would like to cordially invite all UC students to attend our Archives Career Panel in celebration of American Archives Month this October.
This moderated, hour-long talk will feature conversation between archivists from UC Libraries, as well as local Cincinnati archivists, as they discuss their career paths, reflect on the current and future state of the profession, and answer audience questions in a Q&A.
The event will be held on Monday, October 6th from 1:30-2:30pm in Room 471 of Langsam Library.
Please direct any questions about the event to Catherine Cubera at cuberace@ucmail.uc.edu or Christopher Harter at hartercr@ucmail.uc.edu.
We hope to see you there!
We are happy to share that UC Libraries now has a Youtube channel. The platform is the home for more long-form content, including Library Get-to-Knows, Poetry Stacked videos and segments surrounding special exhibits and collections.
The newest project we are excited to share is a video on the Daniel S. Young Civil War Medical Illustrations. Devhra BennettJones, Dr. Kris Ramprasad, Sean Crowe and Sidney Gao have kindly shared their perspectives on what it was like to process and digitize the collection. In addition, they shared about the impact the illustrations have had both in the medical and academic communities.
Check out the video at the link: https://youtu.be/clBtdAjzoBA?si=-1Z-8CSEnINPYKog
