The Don Heinrich Tolzmann German-Americana Collection

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By:  Kevin Rigsbee, ARB and History Department Intern

Tolzmann German Americana Turnfest PostcardThe University of Cincinnati Archives and Rare Books Library recently received the papers of Don Heinrich Tolzmann, a retired Senior Librarian at UC and the former director of German-American Studies.  He has served as president of the Society for German-American Studies and during his tenure of office, he helped commemorate the 1983 German-American Tricentennial to mark the establishment of the first German-American settlement at Germantown, Pennsylvania Tolzmann also led the 1987 campaign to establish October 6th as German-American Day in the United States.  He has also served on the boards of international and national organizations, including the Deutsches Auswandererhaus in Bremerhaven and the Friends of the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. and he is currently president of the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati,

Dr. Tolzmann created the German-Americana Collection (also known as the Fick Collection because the initial bulk of the collection came from the library of noted Cincinnati educator and poet H.H. Fick) when he was on the University of Cincinnati Libraries faculty and built it into a world-renowned resource for research and teaching. This extensive collection contains materials from the nineteenth century to the present day, and ranges from periodicals and newspapers to personal letters, census records, and spelling books and almanacs. Continue reading →

Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association

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The Ohio Pharmacist, highlighting the unique black recruiting program.

Recently, the Henry R. Winkler Center received a donation of materials that are now titled the Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association: Diversity Recruitment History Collection. It is one of the Winkler Center’s long overdue first steps in attempting to document African American involvement in the city’s health professions.

The Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association, also known as CinPha is an organization of African American Pharmacists in and around the Cincinnati area. In 1975, Ruby Hill and other black pharmacists in Cincinnati formed the organization due to poor recruitment of minorities into the University of Cincinnati, more specifically, the College of Pharmacy. The group was also formed as a professional organization which would allow African Americans an opportunity to network, build professional relationships, and stay current on trends and developments in the pharmacy profession. CinPha is the oldest African American pharmacy organization in the city. Originally known as the Cincinnati Black Pharmacists Association, in 1984, Dr. Robert L. Thomas became the organization’s president and the name was changed to Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association CPhA. In February, 1989, the acronym “CinPha” was adopted to represent the association.

The primary objectives of the association include:

  • Maintaining minority representation in the profession of pharmacy
  • Educating the general public on matters regarding pharmacy and health care with a focus on the minority population
  • Maintaining interaction with other groups and organizations in order to promote the practice of pharmacy and health care in general
  • To provide a forum for updating the membership on issues, concepts and developments pertaining to pharmacy
  • Support and maintain a code of ethics for pharmacists.

Jerry Rucker, the collection’s donor, was a graduate of the UC College of Pharmacy and practiced his career as a registered pharmacist. He collected the materials in this collection and served as the president of CinPha for several years. We thank Mr. Rucker for his donation and look forward to the collection growing in the future.

Jerry Rucker’s copy of a program from the annual Norris ‘ Bus’ Gordon scholarship dinner/dance.

One of the first advertisements from the UC College of Pharmacy targeted toward minority students.

This blog was written by Charles Talarico.

 

AP Trust Recap

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By:  Eira Tansey

University of Maryland mascot

University of Maryland’s mascot in front of the McKeldin Library

Preservation has always been central to the mission of research libraries, which are charged with preserving knowledge, in all its forms, for use. Digital material faces different preservation challenges than analog materials. Rapid changes in file formats, software and hardware mean that digital content created according to today’s best standards risks being unusable or degraded in the future.

At the University of Cincinnati Libraries, we have significant born-digital and digitized content. Much of this can be found in Scholar@UC, UCL Digital Collections, and Luna. Digital preservation refers to the various preservation measures undertaken to ensure long-term use and access of digital materials for enduring sustainable preservation. Archivists and librarians must make many key digital preservation decisions, such as whether to migrate old file formats to new ones, determining how and where to store files, and scheduling file integrity checks. Digital preservation is more than just backups, but storing extra copies of content is a critical component of a digital preservation strategy. To mitigate against complete loss, it is important to store extra copies in different locations. According to the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, increasingly enhanced levels of digital preservation emphasize greater geographic distribution of copies. Continue reading →

Books by the Banks Brings Bestselling Authors to Cincinnati

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books by the banksFor more than a decade, the region’s biggest book festival has brought the best in literature to downtown Cincinnati. This year’s festival is no different and will feature more than 130 authors, as well as literary themed activities for all ages.
The 11th annual Books by the Banks: Cincinnati Regional Book Festival will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown Cincinnati. UC Libraries is an organizing partner of the literary event along with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Mercantile Library, Northern Kentucky University Library, Gateway Community and Technical College, MidPointe Library System, Lane Libraries and Clermont County Library.

Many bestselling national authors will be present at the event, including:

  • Kate DiCamillo, the author of “Because of Winn Dixie” and one of only a handful of people to have been honored with not one, but two Newbery Medals.
  • Lauren Oliver, best-selling author of many young adult novels, including “Before I Fall,” which was recently adapted as a major motion picture.
  • Stephanie Powell Watts, a literary newcomer but already an award winner with her novel “No One is Coming to Save Us.”
  • Matt Bellassai, Buzzfeed writer and YouTube sensation.
  • Gretchen Carlson, returning to Cincinnati, cut her teeth as a reporter for WCPO before heading to Fox News. She has now become a spokesperson against sexual harassment in the workplace with her book “Be Fierce.”
  • It is again a banner year for children’s authors including Rafael Lopez, Ben Clanton, Will Hillenbrand, Loren Long, Chris Grabenstein and many more.

Several authors at the festival have a UC connection, including:

  • Phillip J. Obermiller, co-author of “The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission: A History, 1943 – 2013,” is a senior visiting scholar in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning’s School of Planning.
  • Obermiller’s co-author, Thomas E. Wagner, is professor emeritus in the School of Planning.
  • Judy McCarty Kuhn, editor-in-chief of the 1966-67 “News Record,” is a retired Cincinnati English, history and journalism teacher. Her book, “The Other UC and Me: Editing the Sixties,” talks about her experiences at the newspaper.

The day-long festival will feature book signings, author panels and activities for the entire family to enjoy in the Kids’ Corner and Teen Scene. The popular “Writing and Getting Published” series returns this year with panel discussions covering hot topics for writers and workshops to help hone the craft of writing. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors and purchase signed copies of their books. Books by the Banks features writers in various categories, including fiction, non-fiction, cooking, children’s literature, local travel, sports and more.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, and to see a complete schedule of events, visit www.booksbythebanks.org.

Scholar@UC Upgrade and Content Freeze

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Scholar@UC is undergoing an upgrade!  On Oct. 19 or soon after, Scholar@UC will freeze content to undergo a planned migration to an upgraded platform, “Scholar 3.0”.  During the freeze, all content including works, collections, and user profiles will be available but read-only; submitting new content will not be possible during this time.  The content freeze is projected to last a little over one week (restoring full access on October 30th or soon after).  Once the migration is complete, an all-clear email will be sent out and new content contributions and changes can resume.

The Scholar@UC 3.0 upgrade includes some exciting new features: Continue reading →

Named Glassware, Notes from the Oesper Collections, No. 46, September/October 2017

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Assorted 19th-century round-bottom wine flasks from the Oesper Collections

Assorted 19th-century round-bottom wine flasks
from the Oesper Collections

Issue 46 explains that common laboratory glassware is often named after famous chemists of the past, though the exact reason for these name choices is not always obvious.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Art Referential: Catherine Richards

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DAAP Library Display Case

DAAP Library Display Case

Art isn’t created in a vacuum, and Art Referential justifies this. Art Referential doesn’t just highlight an artist’s work; it also highlights the rich resources the artist is pulling from.

The second installment of Art Referential highlighted DAAP School of Design Professor, Catherine Richards. We asked Catherine three questions, and these were her answers:

Continue reading →