The blog of the University of Cincinnati Libraries
As anyone who has done historical research can tell you, locating old records is not always easy. Sometimes records simply were not kept. Other times, they were destroyed by fire, water damage, or pests. The House of Refuge records at UC is one collection in which the records are incomplete. The collection consists of five volumes and include inmate registers, employee registers, and a financial ledger. There are two volumes of inmate registers in the collection, which cover the years 1869-1882 and 1891-1902. Missing from the collection at UC are the years 1850-1869, 1883-1890, and 1902-1912.
This fall while conducting some general research related to the House of Refuge, I started searching local libraries for items connected to the history of the House of Refuge. Through a simple catalog search, I discovered that the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCH) had three volumes of House of Refuge records! Even more exciting was how well these records complimented the collections at UC. Although registers at the University of Cincinnati list the name of the children who were admitted to the House of Refuge, their offense (or reason for being sent to the House of Refuge), and some general family information, there really is not much detail on the specifics of each child’s case or information on what happened to them after they left the House of Refuge. The records at PLCH do provide specific information on inmates’ family history, offense, and the details of their release from the House of Refuge. Continue reading
By: Kevin Grace
One of the most in-the-news phrases of this past year has been “fake news.” Every political point of view has employed it to the point where the first reactions among readers and listeners to current events has a question in mind, “Is this real information?” And in times of political or social stress, there is a mounting trepidation over who controls information, or, who preserves it. Librarians are often in the forefront of acquiring information, protecting it from those who would alter or destroy it, and preserving it for now and for the future. The sources of information, of knowledge, continue to grow exponentially and in our rapidly changing technological world, much of it disappears. As websites continue to grow – and to disappear through political exigencies – the expertise of librarians and archivists are called upon, a recent example of which is illustrated in a science article on web discovery and preservation: https://apps.sciencefriday.com/data/librarians.html. Continue reading
Please note that many IT systems and services will be unavailable on Thursday, December 28, from 5 a.m. to midnight, during a planned power outage for maintenance in the university’s primary data center. Several UC Libraries systems that are located in the data center or that reside on UCIT managed servers will also be unavailable during this outage. UCIT will send a message to all users once the maintenance is completed and all services become available.
Systems that will NOT BE AVAILABLE include:
Systems that WILL be available:
For more information, please visit: www.uc.edu/ucit/maintenance
The Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art & Planning (DAAP) will be closed Wed., Dec. 20 because of a planned electrical outage in the Aronoff Building. It will reopen 8am, Thurs., Dec. 21 as scheduled.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the University of Cincinnati a $900,000 grant in support of the Digital Scholarship Center’s research on machine learning and data visualization in multiple disciplines in the humanities and beyond. Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) is a joint venture of the University of Cincinnati Libraries and the College of Arts and Sciences. Launched in September 2016 as an academic center, the DSC provides faculty and students across the university with support for digital project conception, design and implementation.
“As a Research 1 university, the University of Cincinnati must be equipped to support the highest level of research activity. Digital scholarship plays a key role in setting the stage for our continued momentum in investigation and innovation. It helps to break down silos to share new knowledge across disciplines,” said Neville G. Pinto, president of the University of Cincinnati.
In partnership with faculty and motivated by their research questions, the DSC serves as a ‘catalyst,’ making new forms of digital research possible by lowering the technical barrier to entry for faculty to investigate their research questions. Continue reading
By: Alex Temple, Gettler Project Archivist
Hi, my name is Alex Temple, and I’m the Project Archivist who will be letting the life and work of Benjamin Gettler out of the box, so to speak. While I am unpacking and learning, I will be using this blog to share with you some of the interesting footprints* left behind by Mr. Gettler throughout his accomplished life of service and business achievement. To round it out, I will also be sharing with you my process and experiences with the project.
These “footprints” are currently stored in six boxes. It is my job to sort through these boxes and arrange their contents in a way that best represents the life of Ben Gettler, and to describe the contents and arrangement to make his life easy for you to access and discover for yourself. There will be detailed finding aid created, along with a web exhibit and select digitization of important documents.
To put another way, Mr. Gettler wore many shoes in his life while leaving these footprints, and I’ll be determining their style and occasion. I will also be rehousing the collection to ensure that these records of his life will be preserved for long-term care, so with some luck we just might meet a cobbler on the way!
In his life, Benjamin Gettler worked as a lawyer, served on the University of Cincinnati’s Board of Trustees, and was deeply involved in Cincinnati public transportation, the Jewish community, and local, state, national, and international politics and philanthropies. What are the contributions of Ben Gettler that you are interested in? Throughout this project, your thoughts are always welcome and encouraged!
To learn more about the holdings of the Archives & Rare Books Library and its ongoing projects, visit us on the 8th floor of Blegen Library, call us at 513.556.1959, email us at archives@ucmail.uc.edu, visit our web page at http://libraries.uc.edu/arb.html, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRareBooksLibraryUniversityOfCincinnati.
*Visible Footprints is the autobiography of Benjamin Gettler, co-written with Michael G. Rapp and published in 2012.
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