Category Archives: UC Libraries

Dean’s Corner: IFLA Revisited

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Welcome back!

It was a long and busy summer here at UC Libraries with several exciting projects that kicked off just in time for the start of the fall semester.  August in particular was full of library sponsored events, including the Grand Opening of the Langsam Starbucks the first week of school. Several other events took place right before the start of the semester that centered on the International Federation of Library Associations and Institution’s (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress. Continue reading →

Behind the Scenes with UC’s Digital Archivist: Much Ado About Digital

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By Eira Tansey, Digital Archivist/Records Manager

Within the archives profession, “Digital Archivist” is one of the fastest-growing job titles (http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/vol31/iss2/5/). The Society of American Archivists offers a Digital Archives Specialist curriculum and certificate (www2.archivists.org/prof-education/das).   And library and archives conferences abound on topics of an electronic and digital nature – like Saving The Web (https://www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/news/save-web-2016.html), the Digital Library Federation (https://www.diglib.org/), and the Software Preservation Network Forum (http://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/spn-forum/).

So what does a digital archivist do? Every digital archivist’s responsibilities will look slightly different depending on institutional mission, priorities and resources. As the first link indicates, there isn’t even professional consensus whether a digital archivist is one who works with digitization of analog material (like paper documents and manuscripts, rare books, maps, etc), or someone who works with “born-digital” materials. In many institutions, both of those responsibilities may be within the Digital Archivist’s charge. As UC’s Digital Archivist/Records Manager, my responsibilities center on working with born-digital archives, digital preservation, and overseeing UC’s Records Management program. I also work closely with my colleagues in Digital Collections on digitization projects (http://digital.libraries.uc.edu/).

Continue reading →

A New Rackham-Illustrated Volume in the Rare Books Collection

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By: Bridget McCormick

Hans Christen Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark on April 2, 1805. Hans Andersen Sr. died in 1816, leaving his son and a wife, Anne Marie. While Andersen was not born into wealth, he was finely educated, which has led to speculation that he was secretly an illegitimate child of the Danish royal family. These rumors have never been confirmed.

Cover of Andersen's Fairy TalesInner Cover of Andersen's Fairy Tales

By 1819, Andersen returned to school supported by a benefactor named Jonas Collin. At the time, he was working as an actor.  However through Collin’s encouragement, Andersen began to write. Despite the support, during this period of Andersen’s career, his work was often discouraged by teachers. Continue reading →

Check out the UCBA Faculty Research Guide!

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by Lauren Wahman

ucba-fac-researchAs another fall semester gets underway, the UCBA librarians are ready to help faculty with their research needs.  Whether it’s discipline-specific, creative, or a classroom-based (e.g. Scholarship of Teaching & Learning) research project, we’re getting you started with a newly updated Faculty Research Guide (guides.libraries.uc.edu/ucba-facultyresearch).  You still find those resources that you know and trust, but you’ll also find new grant and data management resources along with contact information for your go-to experts (including your library faculty liaison).  In addition, check out UC’s institutional repository – Scholar@UC – as well as OhioLINK’s Digital Resource Commons.  As the semester moves forward, we’ll continue to add more resources.

Bookmark the guide for quick and easy access: http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/ucba-facultyresearch

Langsam Library’s 4th Floor Now Open 24/7

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As the university’s main library, the Walter C. Langsam Library — and especially the busy fourth floor — is a destination of choice for University of Cincinnati students. Beginning Aug. 21, UC students, faculty and staff looking for a place to study for an exam, access a public computer or meet with a project team to finish an assignment now have access to the fourth floor of Langsam Library 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Langsam Library

No library staff or services requiring assistance will be available after The Desk@Langsam closes; however, security will be present thanks to UC’s Public Safety. A valid UC ID is required to enter the library after The Desk@Langsam closes. The hours for The Desk@Langsam and the Student Technology Resources Center (STRC) are listed online at http://www.libraries.uc.edu/about/hours.html. Continue reading →

ARB’s “50 Minutes” Series Return Next Week

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By:  Kevin Grace

The Archives & Rare Books Library will usher in its 7th year of the “50 Minutes” lunchtime talks this August with “A Skeleton, Some Lions, Pigeons, and Gods! The Seldom-Noticed Art in UC Architecture.”

The talk is scheduled for Thursday, August 25, at 12 noon in 814 Blegen and as always, the “50 Minutes” presentations are very informal and conversational.  Bring your lunch, relax, ignore the clock on the wall which is invariably an hour behind (though we may climb on top of the piano beneath it and change the battery this year), and enjoy a look at the history and culture of the “hidden” campus.  Not advertised in the title, we will also be looking at semi-naked people in the architecture.

50 minute talk, August 2016

Continue reading →

Visit UC Libraries Welcome Weekend for Treats and Selfies with Einstein and Neil Armstrong

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LangsamoutUC’s Welcome Week kicks off Wednesday, August 17 as new students begin moving in. UC Libraries is part of the weekend festivities to acclimate students to campus.

Stop by Langsam Library Saturday and Sunday, August 20 & 21 from 1-5pm for lemonade, cookies AND a free print of your class schedule.

Neil ArmstrongVisit any of the three Science and Engineering Libraries (College of Engineering and Applied Science, Geology-Mathematics-Physics, and the Chemistry-Biology) from 1-5pm on Sunday, August 21 for treats, beverages and brief tours of the libraries.  At CEAS Library, visitors are welcome to grab a respectable selfie with Neil Armstrong (outside the library entrance) or with Albert Einstein (in the reading room)! 

Welcome to UC Libraries!

 

The Steelyard Balance : Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 39, July/August 2016

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A recently acquired 19th-century Chinese steelyard or so-called “opium balance” with an 11” ivory beam and accompanying “teardrop” storage case

A recently acquired 19th-century Chinese steelyard or so-called “opium balance” with an 11” ivory beam and accompanying “teardrop” storage case

Issue 39 briefly outlines the history and principles underlying traditional single pan or “steelyard” balances and illustrates their evolution using examples from our museum collections.

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