Jéanne Brooks will join the University of Cincinnati Libraries on September 30, 2024, as the new associate dean for operations and user services. In this role, she will have managerial responsibility for circulation, reserves, interlibrary loan, facilities and the user experience.
Brooks has an MBA in marketing from the University of Tennessee and an EdD in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne. She comes to UC from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she served as the senior director of library operations and development. In this role, she led staff and student assistants across five library units as well as communication, fundraising and facilities projects.
While at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Brooks implemented operational excellence principles, leading to improved efficiency and service quality, equitable library policies and higher employee morale. She also oversaw student-centered facility projects, including a new Graduate Resource Center, pop-up instruction space, tech lending storage and the Maker Studio expansion.
“I look forward to working with Jéanne and welcome her to the UC community,” said Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian. “As we embark on a new strategic plan, her expertise and background will be a true asset as we work collaboratively to advance the mission of UC Libraries.”
Earlier this year, “eclipse fever” struck the Cincinnati area when a total solar eclipse was visible across portions of North America. The timing of the 2024 celestial event coincided with recent research on a group of photographs documenting an 1869 total solar eclipse housed in the records of the Cincinnati Observatory, which are preserved at the Archives and Rare Books Library. Those photographs will be featured in the upcoming public television documentary “Capturing Life” (1839-1869), the first episode in the series, The Big Picture: A History of Photography in Greater Cincinnati, produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Photographs from an 1869 total solar eclipse and a handwritten letter on their origins are housed within the records of the Cincinnati Observatory at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library.
Voyageur’s production team conducted research on two subjects at the Archives and Rare Books Library for the series. Project Director, Tom Law, says the ARB staff helped him research documents about Dr. John Locke, a professor of Chemistry at the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Locke was the first American to display an early form of photography, “photogenic drawings,” at a bookstore in Cincinnati in 1839.
The September 1869 issue of The Philadelphia Photographer featured some of the photographs taken during the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition.
Voyageur will also show twenty-four rare photographs of a total solar eclipse from the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition to study and photograph the eclipse along its path of totality in the Dakota Territories in 1869. Voyageur learned about the 1869 expedition when visiting an exhibit created by Mandy Askins, Assistant Collections Manager at the Cincinnati Observatory Center.
In the documentary, Askins describes how Cleveland Abbe, Director of the Observatory, led a team of scientists and photographer W.C. Taylor to Fort Dakota (near present-day Sioux Falls, South Dakota), to study and photograph the solar eclipse on its path of totality. Taylor took twenty-four photographs of the event, which were later printed by John Wildman Winder for the Cincinnati Observatory. It is Winder’s photographs that are preserved in the Archives and Rare Books Library at the University of Cincinnati.
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) closes with examples of how archival photographs are being used today in books, classrooms and exhibits seen throughout the world. Tom Law says, “The documentary is dedicated to the scholars, curators, archivists, and librarians who are preserving the region’s rich photographic heritage for future generations.” More information about this project, including three, free public screenings in October, is available on Voyageur’s website: https://voyageurmedia.org/
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) is a collaborative project among dozens of scholars and institutions throughout Greater Cincinnati. Two project scholars have ties to the University of Cincinnati. Author, professor emeritus, and former head of the Archives and Rare Books Library Kevin Grace is serving as a project advisor. Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, a professor in art history in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, is featured in the segment on African America photographer James Presley Ball. Dr. Leininger-Miller is also serving as a project advisor.
The UC DATA Day keynote speaker is Kira Bradford, co-lead of the Data Management and Consultancy Group for the NIH HEAL Data Stewardship Group. The HEAL project, or Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, is a large-scale project focused on ending opioid addiction through basic science research and data sharing. The project brings together scientists, community members, the private sector and multiple levels of government and is a model for researchers navigating the new NIH data management and sharing policy.
In addition to the keynote speaker, the DATA Day schedule will include student lightning talks, workshops and a resource fair. A more detailed schedule is available on the DATA Day website. DATA Day is free and open for all to attend and is sponsored by the Office of the Provost through a universal provider grant. Lunch will be provided for registrants. Register today!
The Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library is pleased to announce that Alex Temple has transitioned to the position of reference services coordinator effective September 9, 2024. Alex has worked as a contract archivist at ARB since September 2021 working on many projects, including the archival processing of the Al Gerhardstein papers, coordinating an inventory of the rare books collection, providing reference services and supervising student employees.
In his new role, Alex will be responsible for coordinating reference services at ARB, both in-person and remote, managing the reading room to ensure professional and prompt service to visiting researchers, providing primary source instruction, creating subject guides and outreach tools for ARB’s collections and scheduling and supervising student employees.
Alex is a familiar face around the University of Cincinnati Libraries, first helping out in the Preservation Lab in 2013 before moving to ARB and the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions. It’s safe to say Alex has a thorough knowledge of our archives and special collections. Welcome, officially, to Alex!
CECH Library is excited to announce our workshop offerings for the Fall 2024 semester. Workshops are open to faculty and graduate students across the UC community. Check out all our offerings below.
Citations and source management got you down? Learn more about Zotero, a free, open source citation manager! This in-person workshop will be offered twice this semester.
Publications on the brain? We’ve partnered with library colleague Mark Chalmers (CEAS Library) to offer a workshop on UC’s Read and Publish deals and the best ways to find unbiased information about journals and publishing opportunities.
Do your students not use library resources the way you would like? Want to learn more about incorporating library resources and skills into your classes? We have a workshop about library use too!
The Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB) will soon begin utilizing new space at an offsite storage facility maintained by the University of Cincinnati Libraries. This will free up much needed collections space in Blegen Library for new acquisitions and newly organized materials. Consequently, ARB staff be taking part in a major collections shift during the weeks of September 16th and September 23rd.
During that time, services at ARB may be disrupted. This includes fielding reference questions and communications. We apologize for any inconvenience during this time but look forward to enhancing collection services following the shift!
CECH librarians love engaging with students and teaching library instruction sessions to classes across the college. To better promote what is possible with library instruction, instruction librarians in CECH Library developed a newinstruction menu.
The menu has four categories of offerings with example lessons in each. These categories and examples are not exhaustive – course instructors are encouraged to reach out to discuss the specific needs of their students to customize the lesson!
The menu was developed based on common instruction requests, concepts students need assistance with during research consultations, and the particular programs and disciplines we serve.
Instructors who are interested in having a library instruction session for a class should reach out to Madeleine Gaiser (gaiserml@uc.edu) or Katie Foran-Mulcahy (katie.foran@uc.edu) for scheduling and more details.
On behalf of CECH Library, Madeleine Gaiser, instruction librarian
The 2024-25 Season began with a live broadcast of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony on Friday, 24 August. This concert will soon be available in the archive.
The season continues with a live broadcast on Saturday, 7 September, of a program conducted by Jonathan Nott, including Peter Eötvös’s Cziffra Psodia for piano and orchestra (German premiere), with Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano). and Charles Ives’s Symphony No. 4.
All the season’s concerts will be broadcast live in the Digital Concert Hall and then will be available in the archive.
If you like to access the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall, you should have no problem finding the site, either 1) on the CCM Library home page, through “Top Resources” > “Online Video”, OR 2) look it up through the UC Library’s A-Z list of databases.
When accessing the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall, UC users have two options: 1) Direct Access without setting up an account OR 2) Login by creating a personal account that will enable additional features like playlists and email notifications. BOTH OPTIONS WORK for UC users.
Welcome Back, Bearcats! Celebrate a new academic year with the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services and IT (CECH) Library by visiting our location at 300 Teachers Dyer Complex and participating in one of the many fun activities going on now through August 30th.
How well do you know UC Libraries? Test your knowledge with a library scavenger hunt. Follow the clues through the CECH Library to discover more!
Explore our newly refreshed MakerLab with our MakerLab BINGO boards! Try out our equipment and make something fun, crossing off squares as you go. With this self-guided activity, you are always the winner!
Just passing through? Don’t forget to visit our Welcome Week info table with free UC Libraries swag.
We hope to see you soon!
On behalf of the CECH Library, Rachel Hoople, operations supervisor
