ARB’s "50 Minutes" Talk for September

By:  Kevin Grace

Headstone The Archives & Rare Books monthly talk returns on Wednesday, September 24, at 12:00 noon with a special presentation on UC’s first female graduate.  Like nearly every other institution of its kind, documenting the “firsts” and the significant moments of our history lends context to our heritage, and, reveals some very interesting stories.  And for this 50 Minutes talk, we welcome back Greg Hand to campus and to Blegen Library.  Greg made some very interesting 50 Minutes talks in the past few years on Cincinnati’s Federal Writer’s project guide to the city; artist, poet, and mystic William Blake; and pioneering cartoonist Winsor McCay.  Now he comes with another…     Continue reading →

Exhibit Honors Theodore M. Berry – Pioneer. Activist. Leader.

tedberryIMAGES-01In observance of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, UC Libraries have created a display on the 4th floor of Blegen Library celebrating the papers of Theodore M. Berry, noted Civil Rights pioneer, community activist, and elected official from Cincinnati. Ted Berry’s papers represent one of the notable collections in the Archives & Rare Books Library’s Urban Studies Collection.

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Cincinnati’s Bathtub Hoax and a Missing Giant Tub

By:  Kevin Grace

Mencken

H.L. Mencken

In 1917, the noted journalist and philologist H.L. Mencken published an article in the New York Evening Mail concerning the history of the bathtub in the United States.  According to the Baltimore writer, known as much for his satire and acerbic wit as he was for his political reporting, Cincinnati was home to this tub.  Mencken asserted that America’s first bathtub was introduced on December 20, 1842 by Adam Thompson who lived, in all places, Cincinnati, Ohio.    Made of mahogany and lined with lead, the vessel was introduced by Thompson to his guests at a Christmas party, described how it worked, and invited the partygoers to take a dip.  Four of them took him up on his offer, and the next day the invention was widely reported in the press. Continue reading →

The Twitchell Hydrometer : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 28, September/October 2014

A brass hydrometer jar with handle and thermometer and two metal hydrometers probably designed to monitor the fermentation of beer

A brass hydrometer jar with handle and thermometer and two metal hydrometers probably designed to monitor the fermentation of beer.

The 28th issue of Museum Notes highlights yet another scientific instrument produced by the 19th-century Cincinnati inventor Henry Twitchell (1816-1875).

Click here for all other issues of Notes from The Oesper Collections and to explore the Jensen-Thomas Apparatus Collection.

GeoScienceWorld e-books now available

gsw UC users now have access to the 2006-2014  collection of e-books (over 1,000 titles!) from GeoScienceWorld!  This collection consists of high-quality books published by the leading societies in the earth sciences, and covering a broad range of topics and research.

http://ebooks.geoscienceworld.org
(Note: UC VPN/proxy login required to view off-campus)

For e-books dating before 2006, please refer to our subscriptions to the AAPG Digital Library and the Geological Society of London Special Publications (also part of GeoScienceWorld).

Have a Question? Check UC’s Knowledge Base for Answers!

The answer to many common questions are now in UC’s Knowledge Base. 

The Knowledge Base contains articles on connecting to the VPN (with specific instructions for many devices), printing from your Dorm, where to get software, setting up Secure Wireless, and more.

The database is searchable, and you can even ask for new topics to be added!

Visit the home page: https://kb.uc.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Looking for a Good Book? New Popular Reading Collection in Langsam Library

popcollectionwebHave you read the latest Stephen King novel? Are you excited for the Gone Girl movie and want to reread the Gillian Flynn best seller? Now you can check out these popular titles and more in Langsam Library courtesy of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County.

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Welcome Bearcats

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Dean Xuemao Wang (center) with UC students.

UC’s Welcome Weekend kicked off Wednesday, August 20 as new students began moving in. UC Libraries is part of the weekend festivities.

Stop by Langsam Library Saturday and Sunday, August 23 & 24 from noon-5pm for lemonade & cookies AND a free print of your class schedule.

Visit any of our 10 library locations August 21 through September 7 and  enter your name in a drawing for a chance to win 1 of 10 flash drives. Entry forms are available at the public service desks in each library.

Welcome to UC Libraries.