The Cycle of Knowledge and Do Unto Others: The Ouroboros of Blegen Library

By:  Kevin Grace

For several months from July of 2017 to April of this year, each day on the Archives & Rare Books Library’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRareBooksLibraryUniversityOfCincinnati/, featured an architectural element of Blegen Library, from printer’s marks to the original floor tiles and terrazzo walls.  In the way the cultural Belgen Library exteriorheritage of the building was presented with its sculptures and carvings representing the history of the book and the legacy of education, every detail was explored with a capsule account of its meaning and importance.  The figures in the bas reliefs of “Ex Occidente Lux” and “Ex Orientale Lux” were freshly discovered.  The bronze symbols of knowledge over the front door were explained.  The human stories behind the plaster and bronze printers marks were revealed. Continue reading

UC Libraries Closed Memorial Day, May 28

memorial dayAll UC Libraries locations will be closed Monday, May 28 in observance of Memorial Day, except for the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, which will remain open 9am-5pm. This closing includes the Langsam Library 4th floor space, which will close Sunday, May 27 at 5pm and re-open Tuesday, May 29 at 8am.

Regular library hours for all locations will resume Tuesday, May 29.

Margaux Patel Joins UC Libraries as the Business and Data Analytics Librarian

On Monday, May 14, Margaux (Maggie) Patel started work at the University of Cincinnati Libraries as the business and data analytics librarian. She will be a part of the Walter C. Langsam Library’s Research and Teaching Service Department.

Maggie comes to UC from the American Financial Group in downtown Cincinnati where she was a research specialist.  At American Financial she prepared reports for the other staff at the company using many of the business databases we also have at UC Libraries.  She worked with data and helped the staff organize and analyze their data.  She taught instruction workshops, and made e-learning objects using Articulate Storyline software.  Maggie taught at Brown Macke College and worked at law firms before American Financial.

Welcome to UC Libraries, Maggie!

Art and Empire in Nineteenth-Century India

By:  Alia Levar Wegner

Travel literature in 19th-century India was closely linked to the British empire. Behind every picture was an army. This is especially true of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Ramus Forrest’s illustrated book, A Picturesque Tour Along the Rivers Ganges and Jumna, In India, (SpecCol RB Oversize DS408 .F65) published in 1824.

Picturesque Tour Title Page

Title page of A picturesque tour along the rivers Ganges and Jumna, in India. (Spec Coll RB Oversize DS408 .F65)

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UC Libraries Names Brad Warren Associate Dean of Library Services

Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, announces that Brad Warren will join the University of Cincinnati Libraries as the associate dean of library services starting August 3, 2018.

Brad comes to UC Libraries from Yale University where he has served as the director of access service for Sterling Memorial and Bass Libraries since March 2009. Prior to Yale, Brad held various librarian positions at the University of North Carolina Charlotte J. Murrey Atkins Library and North Carolina State University Libraries. He received his BA in comparative literature and history from Indiana University and his Masters in library science from Indiana University.

Brad will be a member of the Dean’s Cabinet and his leadership portfolio will include Langsam Library’s Research, Teaching and Services Department, the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, the Albino Gorno Memorial Music Library, the John Miller Burnam Classics Library and the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services Library.

Welcome to UC Libraries, Brad!

Langsam Library Exhibit Celebrates Appalachian Culture

appalachian heritage monthCincinnati lies just at the border or outer edge of Appalachia, a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and includes portions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, North and South Carolina and all of West Virginia. A new exhibit on display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library showcases resources from UC Libraries in celebration of Appalachian culture and heritage. Included are resources from the collections of the Albino Gorno Memorial (CCM) Library, Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library, the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Library, the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), and Langsam. Also featured are online resources that showcase and inform about Appalachian culture.

The exhibit was curated by UC Libraries’ Mikaila Corday, Susan Banoun and Carissa Thatcher. It was designed and produced by Sam Kane, communications design co-op student, and Melissa Cox Norris.

A bibliography of Appalachian resources in the exhibit and more is available online.

Preservation Week 2018 – Be Our Guest at the Annual Open House April 26th!

It’s spring in Cincinnati, which means two things – the epic weather battle between winter and summer (snow yesterday, 71 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow) and the annual Preservation Week Lab Open House!

preservation week

This year marks the lab’s 7th year of participation in this national event, an American Libraries Association initiative aimed at raising “awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions play in providing ongoing preservation education and information.”  Our event is open to the public – come one, come all!

The Open House will include a behind the scenes tour of the lab, a peek at amazing collection items being preserved for our parent institutions – the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the University of Cincinnati Libraries, and of course a new bookmark.

This year our theme highlights the versatility and artistry of the book, from a complex composite object such as a scrapbook to a simple one-page zine.  We’ll also touch on the evolution of the book form, from cuneiform to artist’s book.  As is our tradition, we’ll set up “stations” were visitors can roam, explore, and learn at their own pace.

We are looking forward to see you all on, Thursday, April 26th, 1:30-3:00 pm, 300 Langsam Library.  And yes, there will be cookies!

New Langsam Exhibit Features The Lucille M. Schultz Archive of 19th-Century Composition

schult exhibitOn display on the 5th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the exhibit – The Lucille M. Schultz Archive of 19th-Century Composition – celebrates the recent donation to the university by professor emeritus Lucille M. Schultz of an archive of 19th-century textbooks  collected while she researched her award-winning book The Young Composers. To write her book, which analyzes writing curriculum for children and demonstrates its continued relevance today, Lucy visited dozens of archives where she was fascinated by the lively illustrations and unusual writing prompts in the old textbooks. The exhibit features some of these writing prompts along with illustrations from the texts.

Lucy’s archive is available for viewing via the university’s digital repository Scholar@UC.

The creation of the exhibit was a collaboration between the Libraries and Kelly Blewett, a doctoral candidate in rhetoric and composition at UC, along with her colleague and fellow graduate student Ian Golding. It was designed by communications College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) design co-op student Sam Kane.

And the Winners are…Results of the 2018 International Edible Books Festival

20,000 leagues

Best Overall – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jessica Ebert

The University of Cincinnati Libraries celebrated the International Edible Books Festival for the 16th year on April 3, 2018.

A record 27 entries were created by students, faculty, staff, librarians, friends and family. This year included two mother-daughter teams and entire families participating. The edible books ranged from children’s books to literary classics to popular fiction and were made of cakes, cookies, candy, Peeps and even kale. Each entry was judged by our esteemed judges Lucille Schultz and Chris Wick and awarded a bookmark. Continue reading