Category Archives: Langsam Library

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

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By Holly Prochaska, Preservation Librarian

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

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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

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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 →

Hungry? Bite into an Edible Book with UC Libraries

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edible book

Me Cookie

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will celebrate the International Edible Books Festival with an event scheduled from 1-2 p.m., Tuesday, April 3, in the fifth floor lobby of Langsam Library.

At the event, a record 26 participants will present their edible creations that represent a book in some form. There are few restrictions in creating an edible book — namely that the creation be edible and have something to do with a book. Submitted entries include edible titles such as “Dragons Love Tacos” and “How to Eat Fried Worms.” Best sellers “The Help” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” are represented along with favorite children’s books “The Poky Little Puppy,” “Humpty Dumpty” and “Curious George at the Baseball Game,” among other literary greats. This year’s event will even feature two mother-daughter teams.

Interested in creating an edible book? E-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Tuesday, March 27 with your name and the title of your creation.

As in past years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Literary,” “Most Delicious,” “Most Adorable” and “Most Gruesome.” In addition, the “Top Student Entry” and “Best Overall Entry” will receive a special prize. After the entries are judged they will be consumed and enjoyed by all in attendance.

According to the International Edible Book Festival website, the edible book was initiated by librarian and artist Judith A. Hoffberg during a 1999 Thanksgiving celebration with book artists. It became an international celebration in 2000 when artist Béatrice Coron launched the Books2Eat website. Traditionally, the event is celebrated on April 1 (April Fools’ Day) to mark the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), a French lawyer and politician who became famous for his book, Physiologie du gout (The Physiology of Taste). You can see images of the 2017 edible books on the Libraries Facebook page.

books by the banks logoThe Libraries International Edible Books Festival is free and open to the public. It is sponsored in part by Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival. Come to celebrate (and eat) “books good enough to eat.”

UC Libraries and IT@UC Host Data and Computational Science Series

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DCSThe University of Cincinnati Libraries and IT@UC Research & Development and are pleased to announce the Data & Computational Science Series (DCS2) 2018, a speaker series supported by a Universal Provider award from UC’s Office of the Provost for faculty development.

The first speaker in the series, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, March 22 and 23, in the Walter C. Langsam Library room 475, will be led by Jeremy Fischer, a senior technical advisor from Indiana University’s Information Technology Services, who will host sessions on Jetstream. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Jetstream is a user-friendly cloud environment designed to give researchers and students access to computing and data analysis resources on demand — from their tablets, laptops or desktop computers. People interact with the system through a menu of “virtual machines” designed to support research in many disciplines including biology, atmospheric science, earth science, economics, network science, observational astronomy and social sciences. http://jetstream-cloud.org

Continue reading →

Langsam Library’s Spring Break Hours. Fourth Floor to Close when The Desk@Langsam Closes.

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Langsam Library has reduced hours during Spring Break, March 9-17. Starting Fri, March 9, Langsam Library’s 4th floor will close when The Desk@Langsam closes during Spring Break.

Langsam Spring Break Hours: March 9-17

Fri, March 9 – 7:45am-6pm
Sat, March 10 – 10am-6pm
Sun, March 11 – Closed
Mon-Fri, March 12-16 – 8am-5pm
Sat, March 17 – Closed

Langsam’s 4th floor will resume 24/7 hours on Sunday, March 18.

Most other UC Libraries have reduced hours for Spring Break. Check the Libraries website for a listing of the hours for each location.

Have a safe and restful Spring Break.

UC Libraries Seeks Books Good Enough to Eat for the International Edible Books Festival

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edible bookKnow of a good book to eat?! Create an Edible Book for UC Libraries International Edible Books Festival!

It’s time once again for the fan favorite International Edible Books Festival scheduled for 1-2 p.m., Tues, April 3, in the Walter C. Langsam Library’s fifth floor lobby. UC Libraries is seeking people interested in creating an edible book for the enjoyment (and consumption) of all in attendance. There are few restrictions – namely that your creation be edible and have something to do with a book – so you may let your creativity run wild.

As in previous years, entries will be judged according to such categories as “Most Delicious,” “Most Creative,” “Most Checked Out” and “Most Literary.” Special prizes will be awarded for the “Best Student” entry and “Best Overall” entry.

If you are interested in creating an edible book, e-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Fri, March 23 with your name and the title of your creation.

books by the banks logoLooking for inspiration? Visit UC Libraries on Facebook to see photos from the 2017 festival.

Edible Books, 2018 is sponsored in part by Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival.

Read about Preserving Taft, the Writing of E.B. White and the Digital Scholarship Center in Source.

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source vol 16 no2Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes a feature on the work of the Preservation Lab and their collaboration with the Archives and Rare Books Library on a collection about William Howard Taft. Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, talks about how libraries need to adapt for the future. Kevin Grace, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library, writes about a collection centered around children’s books author and co-writer of The Elements of Style, E.B. White. A grant from The Andrew Mellon Foundation in support of the Digital Scholarship Center’s research on machine learning and data visualization in multiple disciplines in the humanities and beyond is announced. Dean Wang and Liz Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press are interviewed about the progress of the Press one year in. Gino Pasi, archivist and curator for the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, writes about a set of historical and important surgery films recently digitized and made available. Other articles announce the Libraries’s Adopt-a-Book program and the 2016/17 Annual Progress Report.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.