The Children of Lir: Ireland’s Sweethearts

By: Sydney Vollmer, ARB Intern

It’s that time of year again. Winter is *hopefully* leaving and making room for spring.  March brings a lot to look forward to, especially for the Irish-American community.  Every year since 1991, the president has declared March to be National Irish Heritage Month.  But what does Irish heritage mean?  One University Honors class is on a mission to find the answer to that question.  It turns out that “to be Irish” means a lot more than having red hair, drinking beer, and being one with a short temper.  Led by professor Kevin Grace, along with Debbie Brawn of University Honors, 20 students will travel to Ireland over spring break to get an in-depth look at the country from where so many Americans emigrated.  The weeks leading up to the study tour were filled with readings of Irish-American literature, such as Angela’s Ashes and Irish America: Coming Into Clover, as well as the viewing of films and many discussions about what Irish heritage means. Continue reading

Celebrate International Women’s Day with Two Exhibits Featuring Women on WWI Illustrated Sheet Music

sheet music graphic

In commemoration of both Women’s History Month (March) and the centennial of the United States entry into World War I (April 6, 1917), two new library exhibits feature illustrated sheet music from the era. “Sheet music served as propaganda for the war effort, but also offered solace—and sometimes levity—to those on the home front. Between the war years of 1914 and 1918, music publishers produced over 13,500 individual compositions,” said exhibit curator Theresa Leininger-Miller, associate professor of art history in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Continue reading

You Are Invited! WorldFest Trivia Night hosted by the UC Libraries and UC Quiz Club.

What: WorldFest (#UCWorld17 ) Trivia Night hosted by the UC libraries and UC Quiz Club.

When: Wednesday, March 8th, 3:30 – 5:30 PM.

Where: 462 Langsam Library

How to participate: Form a team with a friend (each team will have 2 people) and answer question about world cultures, UC libraries, International Women’s Day and general knowledge.

What to look forward to: The top 3 team win fabulous prizes + Audience Prizes. Pizza and snacks will be served.

Want to come prepared? Check out the CultureGrams and Global Road Warrior databases at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/main/databases/inda_browse.php

Please visit the event Facebook page for more information, including awards.

RSVP at: https://goo.gl/forms/yN51IaNnXRHAnwZS2.
(This would help us get a better count on the expected crowd!)

#UCWorld17 has an amazing variety of great events. See the main calendar and the descriptive calendar.

Digital Humanities Expert to Speak March 6 & 7 in Langsam Library

UC Libraries, in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, welcomes visiting scholar Roopika Risam as the next expert in the Digital Humanities Speaker Series, March 6 & 7 in Langsam Library.

digital humanities speaker

Risam, an assistant professor of English at Salem State University, will present a series of talks and hands-on workshops, all free and open to the public, in the Walter C. Langsam Library. Participants are encouraged to come to any or all sessions that are of interest to them and to their work.

Monday, March 6

  • Keynote: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: The Stakes of Digital Cultural Memory, Langsam 480
  • Lunch: (all welcome) – 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Outside Langsam 462
  • Hands-On Session (laptop recommended): 1:30 to 3 p.m. – Archiving Social Justice with Omeka, Langsam 462

Tuesday, March 7

  • Session Three: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Digital Labor across Global North and South, Langsam 480

Continue reading

Mozart in the Library

Ever wonder what people are playing while they are practicing the keyboard in Langsam and CCM Libraries? Jay Sinnard, manager of the Student Technology Resources Center, did so he asked one student if he could listen in.

michael rollins

Michael Rollins, BioMedical Engineering (Ph.D.) student

 

 

And, because you can’t always be Mozart…

 

A collaboration between UC Libraries and the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the keyboards are open to anyone wanting to play on a first come-first served basis, but bring your own headphone as they are required.

Check Out the Latest Issue of Source

source header
Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes interviews with Dean Xuemao Wang about creating a Master Plan for library spaces as well as with May Chang about her role in the newly created position of library chief technology officer. Other articles include the announcement of a gift from the John Hauck Foundation for the digitization of Dr. Albert B. Sabin’s lab notebooks, the installation of two new exhibits of World War I illustrated sheet music, a listing of Spring events in UC Libraries, an update on recent staff accomplishments and a donor spotlight of Marjorie Motch. Read these articles and more.

Source is available 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.

Inside a Costumer’s Mind: 12 Questions with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Resident Costume Designer, Amanda McGee

By: Sydney Vollmer, ARB Intern

Almost one year ago, Jeremy Dubin, Artistic Associate with at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, was kind enough to answer some questions we at the ARB had about the company. After writing our last blog on the costume designs in King Lear, we decided we were curious about what goes on in the mind of a costume designer. So, we went back to the CSC. Resident Costume Designer, Amanda McGee, answered everything we wanted to know. Below is the full copy of the interview with images.  

Amanda McGee

Continue reading

King Richard III: A Hunch about his Costume

Sydney Vollmer, Archives & Rare Books Library Intern

For those faithful followers who have not been keeping up with local theater, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s next production will be Richard III, running February 17th through March 11th. Their website (http://www.cincyshakes.com/) says of the show:

Shakespeare’s game of thrones enters its endgame as the history cycle’s final chapter takes the stage. The ruthless, remorseless and relentless Richard Plantagenet has his eyes set on the throne of England, and he makes the happy earth his hell as he carves a bloody swath through all that stands in his way. The History Cycle comes to its thrilling conclusion with the story of England’s most murderous monarch, Richard III. Paired with the production of Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, Part 2, this theatrical event is not to be missed! Continue reading

BAE: Bureau of American Ethnology (not the Danish word for “poop” or an abbreviation of “babe”)

By: Colleen O’Brien, ARB Student Assistant

The acronym BAE does not refer to a common slang term amongst young folks or even to the Danish word for “poop.” Rather, in this instance it is a term which means Bureau of American Ethnology.

How did the Bureau of American Ethnology come to be and why is it important?

In 1879, as the discipline of anthropology was taking hold in universities across America, Congress established an agency called the Bureau of Ethnology.  There is some controversy over the exact purpose for which this department was founded, but one explanation is that the Department of the Interior needed to transfer archives and other materials to the Smithsonian Institution because the two entities were set to merge shortly thereafter.  Thus Congress decided to create a department to ease this change. The second reason, on the other hand, states the Bureau of Ethnology was established as a purely research division of the Smithsonian. Regardless, John Wesley Powell, the Bureau’s key founder, believed it should be used to promote anthropological research in the Americas.   In fact, in 1897, the Bureau of Ethnology changed its name to Bureau of American Ethnology in order to limit geographic interests. Continue reading