Mozart in the Library: Act II

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Ever wonder what people are playing while they are practicing the keyboard in Langsam and CCM Libraries? Jay Sinnard, manager of the Student Technology Resources Center, did so he asked one student if he could listen in.

Eliza Walsh

Eliza Walsh, Spanish major.

 

Can you identify what she’s playing? Bach? Beethoven?

A collaboration between UC Libraries and the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the keyboards are open to anyone wanting to play on a first come-first served basis, but bring your own headphone as they are required.

Provost Technology Innovation Award to Fund Data Visualization across Disciplines

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The Provost Technology Innovation Award will fund visualization technology for faculty and students to communicate knowledge in graphical form.

data visualtion wall

Vendor supplied photograph of a data visualization wall.

The Office of the Provost has provided more than $1.3 million in funding to collaborating departments and groups across UC, helping each of them push the university community to new academic heights. UC Libraries, partnering with the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and IT@UC  was one of four Technology Innovation Award recipients recently announced with the successful proposal “Data Visualization Across Disciplines: Digital Literacy for the University of Cincinnati’s Third Century.” These partners will work together to invest in the development of an interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate in data visualization; training students to communicate complex data by placing it in a visual context. This cross-college program will incorporate coursework designed and team-taught by faculty, blending multiple perspectives on data visualization to a wide range of students. Data visualization is an emerging art and science that has changed people’s relationship with information. It harnesses new technologies to communicate knowledge in graphical form by merging aesthetic form with analytical function to present large and complex datasets in an intuitive and human-interpretable fashion.

From the Provost Office Announcement – As the University of Cincinnati moves toward its Bicentennial in 2019, the Office of the Provost supports academic and technological innovation keeping our university’s educational mission core to what we do and who we are at UC. This is the drive behind the Provost Technology Innovation Awards program, which funds projects developed by faculty and students who collaborate between colleges and discrete disciplines to support interdisciplinary projects that turn original ideas into reality. “At UC we have a strong, shared commitment to the continued modernization of the learning experience,” says Interim UC Provost Peter Landgren. “It is a pleasure to see the spirit of partnership change and improve the academic journey at the university through collaborative ideas like the ones funded through this program.”

Continue reading →

Hungry? Bite into an Edible Book with UC Libraries

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Celebrate books good enough to eat at the International Edible Books Festival set for 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 4, Langsam Library 5th floor lobby.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will celebrate the International Edible Books Festival with an event scheduled from 1-2 p.m., on Tuesday, April 4, in the fifth floor lobby of Langsam Library.

At the event, nearly 20 participants will present their edible creations that represent a book in some form. There are few restrictions in creating an edible book – namely that the creation be edible and have something to do with a book. Submitted entries include edible titles such as “Me Cookie.” Best sellers “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “The Manual of Detection” are represented along with favorite children’s books “Charlotte’s Web,” “Ten Little Ladybugs” and “Where do Balloons Go?” among other literary greats.

Interested in creating an edible book? E-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu by Tuesday, March 28 with your name and the title of your creation. Continue reading →

Want to Haiku at Clermont?

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In honor of National Poetry Month, the Clermont College Library is sponsoring its 6th Annual Haiku Contest.

You must be a Clermont College student to participate. Write up to 3 haiku and submit them for a chance to win a $50 gift card.  Professors Phoebe Reeves and Cassie Fetters will serve as our judges.

Read the complete contest guidelines: http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/clermont-poetry/haiku

Submit haiku here: Haiku submissions

The entry deadline is April 12th.

Go forth and haiku!

Penny McGinnis
Technical Services Manager

Irish Writers and Culture

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Q: What do Oscar Wilde, Bono, and St. Patrick have in common?

A: They’re all Irish!

Check out your Clermont College Library for all things Irish, including books by Irish writers, plus books and videos (and streaming-specific video) about Ireland. If we don’t have what you need, we can find it for you. Click the authors’ names below for a listing of UC Libraries holdings.

 

Edgeworth, Maria, 1767-1849

Gregory, Lady, 1852 1932

Joyce, James, 1882-1941

Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989

Heaney, Seamus, 1939-2013

Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912

Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900

Yeats, William Butler, 1865-1939

 

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Library Director

What do Pearl Jam and the Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions have in common?

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Not much I can assure you.  That said, recently we were performing a large scale book move to make room for newly cataloged monographs when I stumbled upon the book in the image below.

Vitalogy by E. H. Ruddock, M. D.

It was the cover that caught my eye because it seemed immediately familiar. Within a split second I realized that the cover of the book in question looked exactly like the cover of my favorite album by the band Pearl Jam.

Wait a second?  “Who’s Pearl Jam” you may be asking yourself. That’s OK. They are a rock and roll band from Seattle that broke around 1992. Released on Epic Records in the fall of 1994,Vitalogy was the band’s third album.  And as I’ve just found out, the title of a book.

Vitalogy Cover

I didn’t know it when the record was released, but the band chose the title because the lead singer/songwriter of the group, Eddie Vedder, saw the volume at a garage sale, liked it’s title, design, font, etc., and purchased it. He later showed it to the rest of the band and it soon became the title of the new album. The Vitalogy album/CD cover mimicked the cover of the book and original text from the book was used to populate the album’s liner notes.

 

Text

Textual diagram

So what about the book?  Vitalogy, An Encyclopedia of Health and Home Adapted for the Home, the Layman, and the Family by E. H. Ruddock, M.D. was first published in 1899; the edition we have is from 1926. Biblical in proportion it contains 1004 pages full of holistic cures, medical advice and proverbial wisdom. In addition, it is full of incredibly detailed and intricate color illustrations and fold outs.

Example of some of the detailed color foldouts

Glancing through its pages, one can imagine Vitalogy at home in any aisle of a Whole Foods or a Sprouts Market–the book that is, though I’m sure the album would do well there too.

 

OhioLINK Services Unavailable Tonight- March 21, 2017

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Maintenance will take place on OhioLINK servers tonight, March 21, from 7:30-10pm.  During the outage, however, all OhioLINK services will be unavailable.

Affected Services:
·         ohiolink.edu
·         EJC
·         EBC
·         ETD Center
·         Central Catalog*
·         DRC
·         Music Center
·         Rave URL resolver

We recognize that OhioLINK users are working all the time, and regret any inconvenience that this maintenance may cause

Freedom of Information Day

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Did you know that March 16th, Freedom of Information Day, is also the birthday of U.S. President James Madison?  That’s no accident, as Madison was famously known for his advocacy of transparency in government.

In addition to the Federal Library Depository Program, various internet-based portals exist to promote access to government information.  Federal Digital System (FDSys) provides access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. The site will migrate soon to GovInfo, now in beta release. Great reading here – from congressional reports to presidential papers to recent bills.

Freedom of Information Day represents an idea that has always been integral to libraries – open access for all.  What are you doing with your freedom?

 

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Director, UC Clemront College Library

Facts & Comparisons eAnswers Moves to Redesigned Interface

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Facts & Comparisons eAnswers Logo

 

 

Facts & Comparisons eAnswers is moving to their new redesigned interface and retiring the legacy view by the end of the month.  The library links to Facts & Comparisons eAnswers will continue to go to the legacy view until March 24, 2017.

Check out the new interface by clicking on the “Enter New Site” button.

For tips on how to use the new interface and enhanced content and tools, check out training videos and the quick reference guide also available from the lower right-hand corner of the Facts & Comparison eAnswers home page.

 

Digital Archivist Eira Tansey Named an Archives Leadership Institute Cohort

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Eira Tansey

Eira Tansey

Eira Tansey, digital archivist and records manager in the Archives and Rare Books Library, has been selected as an ALI17 cohort member. The Archives Leadership Institute (ALI) is a program funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and is being hosted at Berea College for the years 2016-18. ALI will provide advanced training for 25 archival leaders each year, giving them the knowledge and tools to transform the profession in practice, theory and attitude.

“The Archives Leadership Institute is a well-regarded program in the American archives profession that brings together archivists of diverse backgrounds and work experiences to learn leadership skills together at a week-long institute every summer,” said Eira. “All ALI participants commit to working on a practicum at their home institution, and I have committed to working on increasing documentation of student life within University Archives at the Archives and Rare Books Library.”

Eira joins an elite group attending ALI as only 25 people are accepted each year. More about the Archives Leadership Institute is available on its website.