Give peace a chance: the Center for Peace Education records at ARB 

Informational pamphlet for the Center for Peace Education non profit
Informational brochure, undated. From the Center for Peace Education records at the Archives and Rare Books Library

For 30 years Cincinnati and suburban school children were given the opportunity to learn about peer mediation, conflict management, cooperative discipline, bias awareness, and diversity through the efforts of the non-profit organization Center for Peace Education.  

The Archives and Rare Books Library is excited to announce that the Center for Peace Education (CPE) finding aid is now available to view online at the Center for Peace Education records.  

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Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection

Saint Mary's Hospital Collection, 1884-1977. https://findingaids.libraries.uc.edu/repositories/4/resources/1075

The Saint Mary’s Hospital Collection consists of 93 ledgers of hospital information about patient admissions, patients of German heritage, births, surgical operations, intensive care unit patients, deaths, physicians in Cincinnati, Ohio and information about a tuberculosis outbreak in New York City. The hospital was founded in 1858-1859 in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.

Saint Mary's Hospital Collection ledgers.  Many of the ledgers are oversized and weigh approximately 40 lbs.

St. Mary’s Hospital in Cincinnati was a historic medical institution established in 1858–1859 by the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis on Betts and Linn Streets. Designed by architect Anthony Bley, the hospital served thousands of Cincinnati’s impoverished and German citizens. With a capacity of 325 hospital beds, St. Mary’s Hospital treated over 2,000 patients each year. The hospital was enlarged in 1860 and again in 1875. It was well-known as an important facility for emergency cases and taking care of the medical needs of Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood. St. Mary’s was supported by the contributions of the public and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The historic hospital closed on May 1, 1971. The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis also shaped other healthcare organizations in the Cincinnati region, including what is now Mercy Health. The St. Mary’s Hospital Collection may be useful for research in genealogy and the social and medical history of Cincinnati in the late 19th century.

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From Nazi Germany to the United States: The Werner H. Von Rosenstiel papers at ARB 

Does the name Werner H. Von Rosenstiel ring a bell? If you have been inside the University of Cincinnati’s Arts & Sciences Hall, it just might. The Werner H. Von Rosenstiel Reading Room is named after a former student who donated his library to the University in 2001. His papers were later donated to the University’s Department of History by Von Rosenstiel’s daughter and were transferred to the Archives and Rare Books Library in 2024 as a part of the German-Americana collection so that the collection could be organized and made accessible for research.  

Photograph of an older Von Rosenstiel sitting at his desk looking down at a piece of paper he is writing on. From 1964
Von Rosenstiel at his desk, 1964. From the Werner H. Von Rosenstiel papers at the Archives and Rare Books Library

ARB is celebrating the publication of the finding aid for the Werner H. Von Rosenstiel papers which can now be accessed online.

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UC Libraries Welcomes Heidi Reis, Social Sciences Librarian

UC Libraries is excited to welcome Heidi Reis as the new Research & Teaching Social Sciences Librarian. In this role, she will be the selector and liaison for Psychology, Sociology, and the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies.

Heidi Reis, Social Sciences Librarian

Heidi comes to us from East Carolina University’s Laupus Health Sciences Library, where she worked as an Information Resources Service Librarian. More specifically, a Liaison Librarian for the Brody School of Medicine. She holds expertise in evidence synthesis methodology, including co-authorship of systematic reviews, meta-analyses and scoping reviews. In addition, she has experience as a peer reviewer for evidence synthesis journal articles.

Outside of the library, she enjoys baking, reading and hiking, and is excited to be living in Cincinnati with family nearby. Welcome, Heidi!

Posted in UC

Cohen Spotlight –  Voces Jibaras by Marcelino Oyola Cintrón

Voces Jíbaras is an extensive collection of jíbaro words otherwise known as jibarísmos. Jibarísmos are words that the rural people of Puerto Rico use in their day-to-day conversations. As time goes by, many of these words have been lost from Puerto Rican dialog. Mr. Oyola Cintrón delved into the research of these words and includes more than 1300 jibarísmos and their definitions in his book. This endeavor started in 1965 and was concluded in 2017. The first edition of the book was published in 2021.

The book is divided into three parts:
1. A social-historical commentary on the jibaro and their spoken word
2. The collection of jibarísmos and their definition
3. 15 short stories that use the jibarísmos vocabulary. They all cover themes including rural life, traditions, and personal growth and improvement.  

This collection of history, words, and stories is the first addition to the Cohen Collection in 2026.  

Open book with a Puerto Rican painting of jibaros.
Painting by Samuel Ríos Cuevas, a friend of the author.

About the Author:
Mr. Oyola Cintrón is a native of Naranjito, Puerto Rico and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with studies in education, biology, social work, and administration. He is the author of Juvenile Deliquents: Strategies for Helping Them. He is known for his professional and voluntary work. He lives in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, with his wife, Carmen Aida. They have been married for over 50 years. He has four children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.  His granddaughter, Mónica Gómez, attends the University of Cincinnati. UCL is proud to add Mr. Oyola Cintrón’s collection of jibarísmos,  history, and tales as the first 2026 selection to the Cohen Collection. 

Mr. Oyola Cintrón visited the library in May to chat about Jibarísmos and see his book in its featured location.
Mr. Oyola Cintrón visited Langsam Library in May to chat about Jibarísmos and to view his book in its featured location.
Author signing his book, Voces Jibaros.
Mr. Oyola Cintón adding his signature to Voces Jibaras.

About the collection:
The Cohen collection is funded by an endowment gifted to the library by Julie Cohen in honor of her parents, Ralph and Dolly Cohen. It was created to start a reading room with the purpose of enriching the humanities. The titles selected represent a wide variety of disciplines and currently curated by Margaux Patel, with acquisitions and cataloging support provided by UCL’s Content Services.

Posted in UC

Papers of Frederick Yeiser, Music Critic, World Traveler, and Intelligence Officer, now available in ARB

A black and white headshot of a middle aged man.
Frederick Yeiser

Frederick Yeiser’s life reads a little like a movie.  He came from a well-to-do Cincinnati family and attended Princeton University.  He was a music, art, and book critic for the Cincinnati Enquirer, and he traveled extensively through Europe and the Middle East.  During World War II, he served as a member of the Office of Strategic Services, the United States’ first intelligence agency and he just happened to marry a German heiress.  The staff at the Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB) recently completed re-processing a small collection of Frederick Yeiser’s personal and professional papers.  Although ARB has held this collection since the 1990s, the collection had not been fully processed and the photographs and correspondence were not properly housed or organized.  ARB was lucky enough to have the assistance of our intern Brittney Smith to better organize and describe the collection.

A black and white photo of a group of travelers on horses next to the Colossus of Memmom in Egypt
A photo from one of Frederick Yeiser’s trips to Egypt.

Frederick Yeiser’s father Henry C. Yeiser, Sr. was President of the Globe-Wernicke Company, but there is very little on Frederick Yeiser’s early life in this collection.  Instead, the collection largely begins with information on Yeiser’s attendance at Princeton University in the late 1910’s.  Yeiser’s studies were interrupted by World War I and he served for six months in the U.S. Navy.    After his service, he returned to Princeton and received his bachelor’s degree in 1921.   He then worked for three years for his father’s company, the Globe-Wernicke Company, before accepting a teaching position with American University in Beirut, Syria. 

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Changes in library hours beginning summer semester

UC Libraries has reduced operating hours in most locations beginning summer semester and continuing throughout the upcoming academic year. To minimize the impact on library users, reductions are primarily during evening and weekend hours when in-person usage is at its lowest. Digital library services, including Chat Reference, online resources and access to the library catalog will remain available 24/7.  

langsam library

These changes are the result of a reduction to the UC Libraries operating budget and are informed by foot traffic and usage patterns. The budget reduction required eliminating contracted security services and student employee positions, which are necessary to keep the libraries open extended hours. When determining how to adjust operating hours, the Libraries reviewed usage statistics and prioritized retaining currently employed student employees.

We recognize that reduced hours will impact users and are committed to maintaining access to services and support in a digital environment. Library staff and faculty roles remain unchanged.  

Each UC library location will continue to monitor usage and may adjust hours when possible, such as during high-demand periods. A list of library hours by location is posted on the Libraries web site.  

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES Exhibition–University of Cincinnati Health Sciences Library

A visiting psychiatrist alumni of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine recently remarked,

cigarette advertisements associate smoking with positive emotional, social, and personal benefits rather than the physical act of smoking itself. The ads target specific psychological needs, such as the desire for independence, peer acceptance, social status, and stress relief.  The advertisements exploit the emotional vulnerabilities in adolescents and adults.

This psychological phenomenon is illustrated by the SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES Exhibition on display on the E level of the University of Cincinnati Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library. Advertising increases brand recognition by creating emotional connections, making commodities well-known in a consumer’s mind before and when they are ready to purchase a product. Advertisements use targeted messaging that will reach specific audiences through consistency and memorable images. They employ emotional impressions which negate reliance on logical persuasion.

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