In November 2023, faculty and student artists from UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) joined the poets of Poetry Stacked to create three paintings spontaneously while immersed in the reading’s live audience.
To complete the creative loop of that dynamic collaboration, the Elliston Poetry Room and the University of Cincinnati Libraries are hosting Talkback Ekphrastic, a two-part discussion and workshop about art, poetry, inspiration and process on Thursday, March 21 at 6:30pm in the Elliston Poetry Room, 646 Walter C. Langsam Library.
The event kicks off with the official, public debut of the Poetry Stacked paintings. Kyle Angel, adjunct instructor in DAAP, will provide opening remarks about the collaboration, followed by a talkback/Q&A with Kyle and the other artists.
After that, the discussion will transition from the painted ekphrastic to the written, where Alecia Beymer, poet and assistant professor/educator in UC’s Department of English, will share an introduction to ekphrastic poetry (poems written about works of art). Alecia will then facilitate an ekphrastic writing exercise with the gathered audience, asking participants to draft poems inspired by the three art pieces created at Poetry Stacked.
The event concludes with a short open mic for anyone to share their work and where the artists (who are also writers!) might share some of their poetic work.
Refreshments will be provided. The event is expected to last 75 minutes and is free and open to all to attend, including students, staff faculty and the community. More information about Poetry Stacked is available on the Libraries website.
Know 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 Monday, April 1, 2024, 11 a.m. on the 4th floor of the Walter C. Langsam Library. UC Libraries is seeking people interested in creating an edible book for the enjoyment 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.” Those awarded “Best Student Entry” and “Best Overall” will win UC merch.
If you are interested in creating an edible book, e-mail libraries@uc.edu by Monday, March 25 with your name and the title of your creation.
Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list
Thursday, February 15, 2024 – Blog Post by Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE
Today we will focus on diet and nutrition. Poor diet is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Over the last several decades consumption of processed foods and changing lifestyles have led to the development of unhealthy diets. The lockdowns of the pandemic and the increased use of remote technologies have also led to an increase in sedentary lifestyles and habits amplifying the impact of these already unhealthy lifestyles. Eating the right variety of foods in moderation can help to offset this impact and help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity.
What does a healthy diet look like?
The details of a “healthy diet varies for each person, but there are some common threads. Individuals should aim to incorporate nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and high-fiber carbs and limit low-nutrient, high-calorie foods like sweets, fatty meats, and fried and processed foods.
All healthy eating plans should include:
Fruits and vegetables
Lean meats and plant-based sources of protein
Less added sugar
Less processed foods
MyPlate.gov
MyPlate is a visual reminder to make healthy choices from each of the five groups. MyPlate.gov offers tips and resources that support healthy dietary patterns.
For healthy recipe ideas, check out My Plate. The MyPlate Quiz is a quick self-assessment tool that provides tailored resources based on answers to a series of simple questions about current eating habits. The results page provides a snapshot of how the user is doing in meeting food group recommendations. The user can then sync quiz results with the Start Simple with MyPlate app to set daily goals organized by food group. Each goal can be personalized to personal preference, cultural foodways, and budget needs, and includes sample tips as starter ideas.
Check out this mini-poster for more information and tips on nutrition, including portion amounts for each dietary component.
Grocery Shopping Tips
First consider your shopping cart divided into fourths.
Fill one half of your shopping cart with fruits and vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, canned or dried. Start in the produce section to get more fresh produce.
Fill one fourth of the cart with whole grains like bread, tortillas, pasta, brown rice, quinoa, etc.
Fills one fourth with healthy proteins. This can include seafood and lean meats, but also nuts, nut butters, eggs and beans.
Aim to add dairy to your cart. Milk/dairy provides essential vitamins like calcium and vitamin D that you are less likely to get from other foods in the same quantity that milk provides. Other sources of dairy can include, yogurt and cheese. Also, when reading your label, you may find that many sources of dairy are also great sources of protein!
Similarly, your grocery cart should look like your plate.
Half plate of fruit and vegetables
Quarter plate of lean protein
Quarter plate of high-fiber carbohydrates
Nutrition Label Tips
Serving Size, Calories, and Macronutrients
Check serving sizes first! They may not be the same as the usual portion you take or the amount you assume it is.
A can of soup often has 2.5 “servings”, but a person often has 1 full can
A bag of chips often has 3 “servings,” but a person often has 1 full bag
Calories are good to check if you choose to look at just one part of the nutrition label
Fat, carbohydrates, and protein are worth checking
Nutrients to increase
Dietary fiber
Calcium
Potassium
Vitamin D
Nutrients to decrease
Saturated fat
Sodium
Added sugars
Ways to Use Nutrition Labels
Guide to serving and portion sizes
Compare two products to choose the healthier
Limit or increase consumption of calories or certain nutrients
Finding new foods that fit within your plan
List of Ingredients
Listed from highest to lowest quantity in the food product
Use it to find ingredients you may or may not want
You might want:
Whole grains
Olive, soybean, or canola oil
You may not want:
Added sugars like honey, sugar, molasses, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, turbinado sugar, agave syrup, brown rice syrup
Hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil
Nitrites, sodium nitrate
You can also check for preservatives, colors, flavors, and other types of additives
A great resource on reading food labels can be found here.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
A new exhibit on display on the fourth floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library explores “Decolonizing the Library Catalog.” An important purpose of a library catalog is to ensure discoverability of materials. In addition to keywords that may or not be present in the book title or other parts of the record, subject headings are assigned to indicate the topics of library resources. Subject headings are created and maintained by a group of authorities, such as the Library of Congress, to help users find materials on a given topic. Headings are generally based on standard, contemporary American English-language usage and are intended to reflect current literature. (Adler). Subject headings can be problematic when they center whiteness, include outdated or offensive terminology and omit concepts related to people’s experiences. The display explores these issues, includes examples of problematic subject headings and lists ways in which people are working to update and improve the Library Catalog.
“Decolonizing the Library Catalog” was curated by Susan Banoun, team leader in eResources & Access, Mikaila Corday, eResources Department, and Olga Hart, coordinator of library instruction. It was designed by Francesca Voyten, communications design co-op student. The exhibit is sponsored by the Libraries RESPECT (Racial Equity Support Programming to Educate the Community Team) in honor of Black History Month.
To learn more, a print bibliography is available at the exhibit and posted below as an image.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Blog Post by Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE
Did you know…
Prolonged sitting increases risk of spinal, shoulder, carpal tunnel, and leg disorders
Sitting for more than 3 hours/day increases risk for all-cause mortality deaths
Sitting too much increases cholesterol and accelerates weight gain
People who sit most of the day and people who smoke have the same risk of heart attack
Question: What is the single most important thing you can do this very moment for health?
Answer: MOVE!
Regular exercise is one of the most important things you do to improve your health. For those that don’t like the term “exercise”, let’s just use the term “movement” because virtually any movement counts, even those that don’t resonate as “exercise”. Throughout the day, aim to move more and sit less because some activity is better than no activity. Though seemingly small now, it will add up over time to equate to added health benefits.
The CDC recommends 150 – 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity/week or 75 minutes to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity/week. These minutes can be broken down into smaller chunks of time, such as 30 minutes/day for 5 days. Your activity can be walking, jogging, running, dancing, biking, mowing the lawn, walking the dog, golf, hiking, or virtually anything that will get you moving.
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 – Blog Post by Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE
Today we will focus on health disparities. The term health disparity refers to differences in health and health care between groups that typically stem from broader inequities. Multiple definitions of health disparity exist including:
Healthy People 2030definition of health disparity
A particular type of health difference that is linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage,” and that adversely affects groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of health disparity
Preventable differences in the burden, disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups and communities.
*Note that each definition refers to differences, and these differences are driven by a number of factors, including genetics, health behaviors, social and environmental factors, and access to health care.
Health disparities exist across all demographics in the US, and addressing them is essential to not only to those impacted, but to the overall health our our nation. Health disparties place a significant financial burden on individual, families, and the health care system.
Heart disease has been the number one cause of death for the last 100 years. In 2021 heart disease and stroke (5th leading cause of death) took more lives in the US than all forms of cancer and lower respiratory disease.
Announcing the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Report. My tenure as dean and university librarian began in mid-August 2023, a time of great growth at the University of Cincinnati. I’ve spent these past six months learning as much as I can about the Libraries – how our mission to “empower discovery, stimulate learning and inspire the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to dynamic data, information and resources” supports the university’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions. Documents such as the Annual Report have been key to my education.
In this Annual Report, we look back at the top News & Events, applaud Staff Accomplishments & Milestones and look at the Libraries By the Numbers and Financially. Under the leadership of interim dean and university librarian Lori Harris, we welcomed a significant number of new librarians and staff members who will provide essential library services and research support and help move the Libraries forward. We acquired, processed, preserved and made available collections used for research. We held events to bring people into the Libraries to interact with our facilities and collections. We created welcoming places – both virtual and in-person – for people to study, research and collaborate. And, we provided our expertise to the students, faculty and researchers who rely on UC Libraries for their academic pursuits.
Looking Forward
While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward and plan for the future. This past fall we began the process of developing an updated strategic plan with goals and initiatives that will continue to advance the mission of the University of Cincinnati. This plan will build upon the successes of UC Libraries and respond to the rapidly changing landscape of higher education, as well as the increasingly diverse needs of our students, faculty and researchers. The strategic plan will be completed this summer and will guide our work for the next three years. Stay tuned.
