"Mr. UC": The Life and Service of Daniel Laurence

"Mr. UC": The Life and Service of Daniel Laurence

Daniel Laurence as UC Vice President of Business Administration

By Janice Schulz

When Daniel Laurence was at the height of his career at the University of Cincinnati, he was honorably dubbed “Mr. UC.” This is not a title that was given out lightly, but a testament to Laurence’s career and his devotion to the University. He spent 62 years of his life at the University of Cincinnati from 1890 to 1961. Of those decades, four years were spent as an undergraduate student, football star, and student leader, 40 as clerk of the Board of Directors, Secretary and Business Manager, and Vice President, and 18 as Emeritus Vice President. Laurence was there as the University grew from a small city school to a strong institution. He saw 12 presidents come and go. He watched as 43 buildings and Nippert Stadium rose from the ground and oversaw many of those building projects as Vice President. During his time, enrollment grew from 133 to 17,538 students and the one Academic Department of 1890 became six separate colleges.  And largely under his supervision, the annual budget grew from $76,860.57 to over $18 million. If anyone deserves the title of “Mr. UC,” it is surely he. Continue reading

Travel Writings in the Archives and Rare Books Library

By Janice Schulz

Among the strengths in our Rare Books collection is our diverse assortment of travel writings ranging from the reports of explorers to stories of leisure travel. Travel writings can offer unique perspectives to historical research about a region, providing accounts of outsiders without local views, agendas, and prejudices. They can also be valuable for comparative histories, showing change over time and varying cultural viewpoints. Among the many research areas that travel writings can support are social, ethnographic, geological, botanical, and architectural issues. Continue reading

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Midwest Archives Conference Poster

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Midwest Archives Conference Poster

At the Midwest Archives Conference student poster session

On Saturday, April 21, I had the honor of presenting a poster at the Midwest Archives Conference student poster session called, “The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Balancing Restrictions and Privacy with Access.” This was an exciting opportunity for me to share Dr. Sabin’s collection with fellow archivists and discuss what we are doing here at the Winkler Center to make his materials accessible to researchers worldwide. Continue reading

UC Libraries Pay Tribute to UC Authors, Editors and Composers

UC Libraries Pay Tribute to UC Authors, Editors and ComposersExhibit of Published Works on Display in Langsam Library’s 4th and 5th Floors through June 10, 2012

The annual Authors, Editors and Composers reception and program was held Tuesday, April 17, in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center. At the event, UC Libraries honored 285 faculty members and their 413 creative and scholarly works published in the year 2011. Participating faculty members represented every UC college plus the Division of Professional Practice, and the Libraries. Continue reading

Post about Cincinnati: The Nelson and Florence Hoffmann Cincinnati Postcard Collection

By Lauren Fink, Archives and Rare Books Library Intern

The Nelson and Florence Hoffmann Cincinnati Postcard Collection is now available for viewing in the Archives & Rare Books Library.  The 1,675 postcards in the collection were acquired by Nelson Hoffman over several decades, documenting Cincinnati’s history and culture from the late 1800s through the late 1900s.  Through their images and texts, the postcards in this collection provide fascinating reflections of life in Cincinnati, both recreationally and professionally.

Saturday on the Ohio RiverEden Park Band StandOver-the-Rhine CanalUnion Terminal

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The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Polio and the Cold War

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Polio and the Cold War

Telegram from Dr. Chumakov to Dr. Sabin, September 1958

The April 2012 issue of Scientific American Magazine features an article about Dr. Albert B. Sabin and Dr. Mikhail P. Chumakov called “Birth of a Cold War Vaccine” by William Swanson. Mr. Swanson conducted research in the Sabin Archives for the special report on polio. Regarding the “surprising” alliance of these scientists, Mr. Swanson wrote, “Their joint venture would have outraged fanatics on both sides of the iron curtain if those fanatics had been aware of it. Yet the collaboration—fleshed out in archival materials recently made available at the University of Cincinnati and by several contemporaneous sources—led to one of the greatest medical achievements of the 20th century and saved countless lives around the world” (p. 66). Continue reading

E-Book Collection of IET now available

Institution of Engineering and Technology logoThe e-book collection of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is now available.  This collection is part of the IET Digital Library and contains more than 300 e-books dated 1979 through 2011.  These e-books are also discoverable through the UC Library catalog (series IET Digital Library) and the Summon search system.

Content covers twelve major areas:

  • Circuits, Devices and Systems
  • Control Engineering
  • Electrical Technology
  • Electromagnetic Waves
  • History of Technology
  • Manufacturing
  • Management of Technology
  • Power and Energy
  • Professional Applications of Computing
  • Radar, Sonar, Navigation and Avionics
  • Renewable Energy
  • Telecommunications

These e-books are downloadable in PDF format as either individual chapters or the entire book.

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Commemorative Stamp

By Megan Ryan, Sabin Project Student Assistant

A scientist cannot rest while knowledge which might reduce suffering rests on the shelf.
-Albert B. Sabin [1]

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Commemorative Stamp

Albert B. Sabin Commemorative Stamp

On March 8, 2006, Dr. Albert B. Sabin was recognized for his work in the elimination of polio by the United States Postal Service. An 87-cent stamp was created to honor the virologist “who developed the ‘sugar-cube’ vaccine that’s credited with wiping out polio in much of the world.”[2] The stamp, part of the Distinguished Americans series, was issued to recognized his various accolades and research accomplishments. The USA Philatelic Catalog explained that Dr. Sabin’s “successful efforts to develop a polio vaccine made him one of the most esteemed scientists in the world. For his dedication to fighting polio and other infectious diseases, he received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science (1970) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986).”[3] Continue reading

Leigh Harline Brought Memorable Characters to Life

Pinocchio Recordings

Record Cover for Recordings of the Music from Pinocchio

Walt Disney Studios is known for their great animated films filled with memorable songs, songs that we remember from our childhood and that last with us through adulthood.  They are songs we share with our own children as they grow.  We usually remember the names of the actors who brought the characters to life, but not everyone pays attention to the names of those who wrote those songs that stay with us.  Leigh Harline, a prolific composer, was one of those people who brought the early Disney characters to life through his songs.

Harline was the son of Swedish immigrants who converted to Mormonism.  He was born in Utah on March 26, 1907, and was his parent’s thirteenth child.  His family recognized his musical talents early in his life, and he played the organ on Sundays at the Mormon Tabernacle when he was twelve years old.   He attended the Latter Day Saints High School and then the University of Utah, where he majored in music and studied piano and organ with J. Spencer Cornwall, the conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Continue reading

From Pyramids to Spacecraft

exhibit imageThe traveling exhibition From Pyramids to Spacecraft will be shown at the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) April 20 – May 15, 2012. The exhibit features selected projects by the design studio Architecture and Vision, founded by Italian architect Arturo Vittori and Swiss architect Andreas Vogler, with offices in Munich, Germany and Bomarzo, Italy. Continue reading