Category Archives: UC Libraries

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Dean’s Corner: Remembering Dr. Henry Heimlich

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I first met Dr. Henry Heimlich, or “Hank”, shortly after I arrived at the University of Cincinnati. To my surprise, he had expressed a strong interest in meeting me, so I eagerly invited him to join me for dinner at my home, along with Associate Dean Emeritus Steve Marine, the libraries’ Director of Development Christa Bernardo and our respective spouses. It was then that I learned of his time as a surgeon with the US Naval Group in World War II. Hank had been stationed in China, and his first stop was my hometown of Chongqing.

Sharing dinner at my home with Hank Heimlich

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New Exhibit Uncovers Black History through Arts & Education

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On display on the 5th floor of Langsam Library, the exhibit “Uncovering Black History through Arts & Education” features prominent black writers, poets, educators and musicians. Featured in the exhibit are such notables as Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Derrick Bell, Katherine Johnson, Muddy Waters and Tammi Terrell among others. A bibliography of related resources found in UC Libraries is located at the exhibit and online.

The “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education” exhibit was curated by Meshia Anderson, acquisitions specialist in UC Libraries, and designed by Jessica Burhans, spring semester communications co-op design student from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

The exhibit was produced in coordination with an event scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., fourth floor Langsam Library in the Digital Commons Space. At the event, free and open to all, Littisha Bates, associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will speak about sociology of black families. Other activities will include poetry, soulful food bites and interactive trivia based on the exhibit. Brandon Hawkins of Soul Palette, a company that creates paint party experiences, will help everyone tap into their inner artistry.

Patent Searching Workshops in February

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UC Libraries is pleased to present a NEW workshop on Patents and Patent Searching !  Join us in 475 Langsam Library.

US Pat 725,069: Body Attachable Sunshade

Instructor: Dylan Shields, PhD Candidate in Chemistry & Grad Assistant in the Chemistry-Biology Library, scilib@ucmail.uc.edu

Description: A general introduction to patents and patent databases. Learn the basics components of patent documents and the various types of patents. Through hands-on examples, learn techniques for searching in some major patent information databases. Workshop materials can be perused at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/patentworkshop.  The workshop will be taught multiple times in February (same content each time).

To Register: log in with your UC Central Login at the links below.

Join Us for “Uncovering Black History through Arts & Education” Event and Exhibit

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uncoversing black history

Join the University of Cincinnati Libraries for “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education,” 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, on the fourth floor of Langsam Library in the Digital Commons Space. At the event, free and open to all, Littisha Bates, associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will speak about sociology of black families. Other activities will include painting, trivia and cultural food favorites.

In coordination with the event, check out the exhibit on the 5th floor of Langsam Library featuring Black writers, poets, educators and musicians. Featured in the exhibit are Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Derrick Bell, Katherine Johnson, Muddy Waters and Tammi Terrell among others. The exhibit will be available February 6 through March 30. A bibliography of related resources found in UC Libraries is located at the exhibit.

The “Uncovering Black History through Arts and Education” exhibit was curated by Meshia Anderson, acquisitions specialist in UC Libraries, and designed by Jessica Burhans, communications co-op design student from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

A Zeiss Butter Refractometer : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 42, January/February 2017

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The circa 1920 Zeiss butter refractometer recently acquired by the Oesper Collections.

The circa 1920 Zeiss butter refractometer recently acquired by the Oesper Collections.

Issue 42 describes a new addition to the museum’s refractometer collection – a circa 1920 Zeiss butter refractometer – and its historical importance as a means for rapidly differentiating between pure butter and margarine.

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

 

 

 

 

New Digital Content: UC’s First Thesis, Thomas Jefferson Letter, Hamilton County Morgue Records, News Record, UC Commencement Programs, and Preservation Lab Treatment Reports

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After working through some storage limitations on the Digital Resource Commons, the UCL Digital Lab is pleased to publish several recently digitized items.

John Hough James Thesis and Thomas Jefferson Letter

The first thesis written at the University of CincinnatiIn July 2016 the Eaton family donated two jewels from their family archive: the first thesis ever written at the University of Cincinnati in 1820 by John Hough James and a letter from President Thomas Jefferson, to whom James had written for additional source material on Poland.

Hamilton County Morgue Records

Ossie Bowman's death entryAbout three years ago, UC Libraries published a digitized collection of historical ledgers from the Hamilton County Morgue, documenting the circumstances of death for thousands of Cincinnatians. Somehow during this process, one of the volumes was missed. We have just published volume 11 of the Morgue Records, 1910-1911.

News Record

The News RecordWhile most issues of News Record from the 1960’s and 70’s have been digitized over the past five years, we were missing seven volumes from the 1970’s. The UCL Digital Lab is pleased to publish the complete run from the 1970’s, each issue has been OCR’ed and full-text indexed.

Commencement Programs

Invitation to first UC commencementWe have recently published a digitized collection of 116 UC commencement programs, from 1878 to 1973. While most years only include the official program, some contain invitations to commencement-related events and even the text from commencement addresses. These programs have been OCR’ed and full-text indexed to make it easier to search for UC alumni.

The Preservation Lab Treatment Reports

Preservation Lab Treatment ReportThe Preservation Lab has been publishing treatment reports and photographic documentation that are a record of conservation treatments conducted in the lab on special collections items held either by the University of Cincinnati Libraries or the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. The reports offer detailed bibliographic information and technical information on the construction of the materials. Several new reports have been added to both the UC Libraries and Public Library collections.

Local History at the Clermont College Library

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Elizabeth Terry’s ENGL 1001 students completed writing projects examining local cities, villages, and places during the fall 2016 term. The projects examined questions relating to a place’s relative growth or isolation.

Students spent a great deal of time using the local history collections of the Clermont College Library, the Clermont County Public Library, and local historical societies. They also snapped photos of their research subjects — now on display in the Peters-Jones hallway outside of the library.  The photographs represent an additional investigative method, capturing indefinable beauty in landmarks we often pass without a second thought.

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Clermont College Library Director

Smoking Permitted and No Tipping Allowed!?! Hospital Information for Overnight Patients, 1958

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The following post was written by Winkler Center assistant archivist, Nina Herzog.   All images courtesy of the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions

CGH  Informational Booklet, 1958.

 

Without a doubt, checking into and staying at hospitals is a lot different today than it was over a half century ago.  Computerized check-ins, televisions in rooms and bans on smoking, etc. have all improved the patient experience. The images below were taken from an informational booklet given to patients at the Cincinnati General Hospital (CGH) in 1958.

The instructive pamphlet titled, “Well Here I Am,” provides the incoming patient with information on subjects ranging from check in, dining hours, and visitor information to hospital maps, directions, and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome Back, Clermont Students!

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Dear Students,

I’m so happy to welcome you all back to campus!

With help from generous donors, we’ve worked hard during the winter break to make the library a better place for you to study, hang out, and get assistance with research. The big changes  include an upgraded service point and new front doors. We’ve also relocated some furniture and the printer-scanner combo in order to serve you better. Stay tuned for more improvements coming soon this term, including electric access for more first floor study tables and for the circular couches in the library atrium.

Let me know what you think of all of the changes!

Best wishes for a productive and happy spring semester,

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Clermont College Library Director

Dean’s Corner: Welcome Back!

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This fall, UC Libraries continued the pursuit of our mission to become the “globally engaged intellectual commons of the university.”

We began the semester with the announcement of Langsam Library’s transformation to a 24×7 space, and the opening of its new Starbucks cafe. We celebrated a number of new hires, including the director of the University of Cincinnati Press, Liz Scarpelli and the head of the CCM Library, Jenny Doctor. We featured new displays, such as Big Bone Lick: A Place of Discovery at the Geography-Mathematics-Physics Library, physical and online exhibits  celebrating Native American Heritage found at Langsam Library and on our library website, and a Halloween exhibit of creepy medical artifacts at the Winkler Center. We also celebrated at the Winkler Center the 100th birthday of Dr. Henry R. Winkler.

At the 10th Annual Books by the Banks Festival. From left to right, my wife Wendy, Director of Communications Melissa Cox Norris, and Interim Associate Dean for Public Services Dan Gottlieb

UC Libraries sponsored numerous events, including ones for Hispanic Heritage Month and the bi-annual Life of the Mind.* I held my third bi-annual Dean’s Advisory Council meeting.

All of these visible and publicized changes and events don’t account for the hard work done behind the scenes by UC Libraries’ excellent faculty and staff.

This spring will be a time of re-calibration. We will continue to serve the students, faculty, researchers and scholars of the University of Cincinnati community while examining the best way forward. On this blog, I plan to dig deeper into the initiatives, departments and personnel that make up UC Libraries.

Thank you for reading and welcome back!

Xuemao Wang
Dean and University Librarian

 

 

*For more highlights, check out the recently released 2015/2016 Progress Report: Transforming Our Spaces and UC Libraries’ Newsletter Source.