AP Trust Recap

Posted on by

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

Posted on by
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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by
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

Posted on by
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 →

UCBA Library Hours for Fall Reading Days

Posted on by

Female reading a book

The UCBA Library hours for Fall Reading Days will be 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on Monday, October 9th and Tuesday, October 10th. The library will resume regular hours on Wednesday, October 11th. A full list of library hours can be found on the UCBA Library Hours webpage.

Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro

Posted on by

The 2Kazuo Ishiguro017 Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to the British author Kazuo Ishiguro “who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world”.

Ishiguro was born in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan. His family moved to England in 1960.  He was raised bilingual and bi-cultural. He received a B.A. with honors in philosophy and literature from the University of Kent and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. He published his first novel, A Pale View of Hills, in 1982. It was recognized with Winifred Holtby Award from the Royal Society of Literature in 1983. Ishiguro’s second novel, An Artist of the Floating World (1986) was also a success as evidenced by Whitbread Book of the Year Award. In 1989 the author won the prestigious Booker Prize for his bestseller The Remains of the Day. Ishiguro was named to the Order of the British Empire for his literary work in 1995.

Two of Ishiguro’s novels were adapted into feature films: The Remains of the Day (1993, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson) and Never Let Me Go (2010, directed by Alex Garland).

His most recent novel, The Buried Giant (2015), is set in the times of King Arthur and explores themes from British folklore.

UC Libraries’ collections feature a number of books by Kazuo Ishiguro, including records of conversations with the author. Library databases, such as Literary Resource Center and Literature Resources Center, provide a wealth of information about Kazuo Ishiguro and his works.

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to 114 authors since 1901. Past laureates include Rabindranath Tagore, Bob Dylan, John Steinbeck, Pablo Neruda, Gabriel García Márquez, and Ernest Hemingway.

 

 

 

 

 

Olga Hart

References

“Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 5 Oct 2017. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/facts/literature/index.html

“Kazuo Ishiguro.” Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2016. Literature Resource Center. Accessed 5 Oct. 2017.

“Kazuo Ishiguro.” Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Accessed 5 Oct. 2017.

“The Nobel Prize in Literature 2017”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 5 Oct 2017. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2017/

Posted in UC