Check Out the Latest Issue of Source

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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

New Exhibit Uncovers Black History through Arts & Education


On display on the 5th floor of Langsam Library, the exhibit “Uncovering Black History through Arts & Education” features prominent black writers, poets, educators and musicians. Featured in the exhibit are such notables as Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Derrick Bell, Katherine Johnson, Muddy Waters and Tammi Terrell among others. A bibliography of related resources found in UC Libraries is located at the exhibit and online.

The “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education” exhibit was curated by Meshia Anderson, acquisitions specialist in UC Libraries, and designed by Jessica Burhans, spring semester communications co-op design student from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

The exhibit was produced in coordination with an event scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., fourth floor Langsam Library in the Digital Commons Space. At the event, free and open to all, Littisha Bates, associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will speak about sociology of black families. Other activities will include poetry, soulful food bites and interactive trivia based on the exhibit. Brandon Hawkins of Soul Palette, a company that creates paint party experiences, will help everyone tap into their inner artistry.

Patent Searching Workshops in February

UC Libraries is pleased to present a NEW workshop on Patents and Patent SearchingJoin us in 475 Langsam Library.

US Pat 725,069: Body Attachable Sunshade

Instructor: Dylan Shields, PhD Candidate in Chemistry & Grad Assistant in the Chemistry-Biology Library, scilib@ucmail.uc.edu

Description: A general introduction to patents and patent databases. Learn the basics components of patent documents and the various types of patents. Through hands-on examples, learn techniques for searching in some major patent information databases. Workshop materials can be perused at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/patentworkshop.  The workshop will be taught multiple times in February (same content each time).

To Register: log in with your UC Central Login at the links below.

Join Us for “Uncovering Black History through Arts & Education” Event and Exhibit

uncoversing black history

Join the University of Cincinnati Libraries for “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education,” 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, on the fourth floor of Langsam Library in the Digital Commons Space. At the event, free and open to all, Littisha Bates, associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will speak about sociology of black families. Other activities will include painting, trivia and cultural food favorites.

In coordination with the event, check out the exhibit on the 5th floor of Langsam Library featuring Black writers, poets, educators and musicians. Featured in the exhibit are Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Derrick Bell, Katherine Johnson, Muddy Waters and Tammi Terrell among others. The exhibit will be available February 6 through March 30. A bibliography of related resources found in UC Libraries is located at the exhibit.

The “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education” exhibit was curated by Meshia Anderson, acquisitions specialist in UC Libraries, and designed by Jessica Burhans, communications co-op design student from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

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.

Costuming a King

By: Sydney Vollmer, ARB Intern

Since the beginning of theater, costumes have played a crucial role to the understanding and enjoyment of the stories.  Over time, they have developed both in design and technique.  It was the Greeks who first invented costumes, using them to differentiate between characters of different class.  They were often ornate, with patterns and masks.   Romans continued the tradition of costuming, but no major changes were made for hundreds of years.  By the time Shakespeare came about, costuming had evolved so that actors would don whatever their character would wear in real life. Continue reading

What Is the Ohio Electronic Records Committee?

By Eira Tansey, Digital Archivist/Records Manager

Public-sector archivists, records managers, and other information professionals across the country share similar challenges: electronic records are getting more complex, public institution budgets are leaner (and sometimes cut to the bone), and citizen’s interest in access to public records grows. In Ohio, we are addressing some of these challenges through the Ohio Electronic Records Committee (OhioERC). Continue reading