New UCBA Library Guides/Tutorials Web page

The new UCBA Library Guides & Tutorials web page is now available at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/guideshome.  This web page provides a basic starting point for research on any topic.

cg home


UCBA Subject Guides: Use this web page to find guides based on these characteristics:

  • Special Topics: guides that cover a specific topic or issue
  • How To Do Research: guides cover a variety of research tips and strategies
  • Faculty Guides: guides for UCBA faculty members
  • Tutorials: Online web videos give step-by-step directions on how to use a variety of research tools.

You can also use the search box to search for any UCBA Library guides.

This is the final step in the CampusGuide transition of subject and class guides that began during the 2011-2012 academic year.

The Guides/Tutorials link on the UCBA Library homepage has been updated to point to this new page. Please be sure update your bookmarks if you frequent this web page.

 

Slip, Slide and A Parkway = Adventures in the Subway and Street Improvements Digitization Project

By:  Angela Vanderbilt

Cincinnatians who drive along Columbia Parkway from downtown to the eastern suburbs know the parkway for its breathtaking scenic views of the Ohio River below. But these commuters also know the danger of driving along this parkway after a quick, heavy downpour or a prolonged period of rain-drenched days.

Landslide along railroad tracks

Columbia Parkway Bridge

The hillside embankment along the parkway, cut at a steep angle when the road was constructed in 1938, is well known for becoming unstable after heavy rainfalls, causing mudslides that leave debris strew across the roadway as it passes over the low retaining wall at its base. One of three major urban projects undertaken by the city during the 1930s, nearly half the cost of the parkway was paid for by a grant from the Works Project Administration. In 1929, the city of Cincinnati passed an ordinance to upgrade and expand the existing road, which at that time was named Columbia Avenue and was a simple dirt and gravel road that meandered above the Ohio River eastward from downtown. Continue reading

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: An Unsolved Mystery

Dr. Sabin and Mr. O'Connor

Albert Sabin and Basil O’Connor pose with Dr. Sabin’s bust, sculpted by Edmond Romulus Amateis.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) recently launched, and, of course, I wanted to see if there was anything Sabin-related in the collection. Doing a quick search for Albert Sabin revealed a bust which resides at the National Portrait Gallery. According to the DPLA, this bust, a 1966 cast after 1958 terra cotta original, was originally sculpted by Edmond Romulus Amateis.[1] This bust was originally created for the Polio Wall of Fame in Warm Springs, Georgia. We have a photograph in our collection of Dr. Sabin and National Foundation President Basil O’Connor posing with the bust created by Amateis. Continue reading

And the Winners Are: Library Research Contest Results

Friday Challenge Winner:
Madhavun Candadai

Madhavun used the library catalog to find the book and searched its contents to find the answer to the question.

Grand Prize Winner:
Raj Kapadia

librarian_action_figure

Our virtual Oscar: a librarian action figure

Throughout the week Raj demonstrated proficiency with the library catalog as his preferred search tool. Indeed, if used efficiently, the catalog can provide you with a lot of information and unlock many useful sources.
Raj also used Google Books to search for the text in the book. This is a wonderful research tool for finding text fragments, especially for books not available electronically in the UC collection.

See the names of other winners in our earlier post.

Congratulations, winners!

Many thanks to all the students who took part in the contest!

Good luck with your exams and have a great summer!

 

Library Research Contest: Lessons from the Winners

During National Library Week UC Libraries celebrated the library users by offering them an opportunity to demonstrate their research skills and win prizes by participating in a research skills contest.

It was interesting for us to see how different students approached the same challenges and what tools and strategies they used. Here are some lessons from our participants and winners. Continue reading

Student Project Shows Value of Libraries

Librarians are used to getting any kind of questions and requests at the InfoCommons. However we were pleasantly surprised when one day student Ashley Kraus approached us with a question about UC Libraries. She wanted to get all kinds of facts and numbers about libraries. Ashley explained that she needed to do a visual project for a class assignment. We were delighted that with any topic in the world to choose from, Ashley chose to demonstrate the value of libraries. Following is more about her work. Continue reading

UC Libraries Donation Becomes a Sizeable Challenge in Preservation

By Dawn Fuller

UC Libraries will host a special reception to celebrate the installation of one of the most extraordinary urban maps in the Western world in the Archives & Rare Books Library. The reception will take place from 3-5 p.m., Monday, April 22, in the Reading Room of the Archives & Rare Books Library, located on the 8th floor of Blegen Library.

Continue reading

UC Libraries Pay Tribute to Authors, Editors & Composers at UC

aeclogowebThe annual Authors, Editors and Composers reception and program was held Tuesday, April 9, in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center. At the event, UC Libraries honored 321 faculty members and their 481 creative and scholarly works published in the year 2012. Participating faculty members represented every UC college plus the Division of Professional Practice, and the Libraries.

Continue reading