Service Note: Alienware Workstations and Disability Services Moving Temporarily for Renovation of STRC

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On Monday, March 19, construction will begin on the renovation of the Student Technology Resources Center (STRC) on the 4th floor of Langsam Library. A full-height, drywall construction barrier will be installed around the STRC area to minimize dust and noise throughout the project.

Beginning Monday, March 12, the Alienware Video Editing workstations located in the STRC, as well as the Disability Services workstations will be relocated temporarily to Langsam Library 461 to allow for the renovation of the STRC and the Disability Services Office. All other services will remain available in the current STRC space.

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Books Good Enough to Eat. Create an Edible Book for the International Edible Books Festival.

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For the 10th year, the University of Cincinnati Libraries will celebrate the International Edible Books Festival with an event scheduled for Thursday, April 5, 2012, from 12:30-1:30pm in the 5th floor lobby of Langsam Library. The Libraries are seeking people interested in creating an edible book for the viewing and consuming enjoyment of those in attendance at the event. Continue reading →

Paul Hoxworth and Greater Cincinnati's Blood Bank

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Blood Donation

Blood Donation, circa 1940. Image from Paul Hoxworth’s dissertation.

If you have ever donated blood, you probably did not sit and think about the history of blood donation in the process.  You likely were more concerned about the needle stick, watching that little bag fill up with your blood or avoiding doing so, or maybe you were already thinking about that cookie you could eat after it was all over.  What you may not have realized was the important role the University of Cincinnati played in developing the modern blood donation process.  Certainly, if you have ever donated blood in the Greater Cincinnati area, you have heard of the Hoxworth Blood Center, which is actually part of the University of Cincinnati.  You may not have heard of its namesake, though.  Dr. Paul Hoxworth was the founder of Greater Cincinnati’s blood bank.  He helped to revolutionize blood donation, thereby saving countless lives. Continue reading →

OhioLINK Access Tip

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OhioLINK is a wonderful resource for Ohio students, faculty, and researchers.  Thousands of electronic journals, e-books, images, videos, and sounds are available from anywhere at any time.  That’s especially true when you are on campus.  But when you’re off campus, the OhioLINK authentication process may slow down the ease of access.

Access Tip:  bypass the OhioLINK authentication process by logging into the UC proxy server instead, then go to OhioLINK.

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Greg Hand's History of UC Series Now Available from the ARB Website

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Greg Hand

By Janice Schulz

In January, 2012, UC Assistant Vice President and University Spokesperson Greg Hand began a series of lunchtime talks focusing on the history of the University of Cincinnati. At the inaugural presentation, Hand noted that the dozen or so talks he plans to give will be a good way to get people thinking about the University’s bicentennial celebration in 2019. The UC Foundation has agreed to record and post each lecture and make them available on the web. The first two, “Cincinnati’s Efforts to Create a University: 1800 to 1870” and “An Overview of UC History from 1870 to 2010” have been posted and are linked from ARB’s University Archives page.

The talks are held the third Thursday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in TUC’s Main Street Cinema. The remainder of Hand’s talks this academic year includes:

  • March 15  —  Evolution of UC’s Campus and Many Campuses of UC’s Colleges
  • April 19     —  Student Pioneers: First Alumni
  • May 17     —  Origin of UC Regalia & Symbols

The University Archives page offers many links to information about UC’s history and is a great starting point for researchers interested in UC’s story.

City Reports Offer Wealth of Information for Cincinnati Researchers

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Loan Sharks

In 1912 the Department of Charities and Correction launched a crusade against loan sharks who were targeting the poor of Cincinnati

By Janice Schulz

The Archives & Rare Books Library holds City of Cincinnati Annual Reports from 1853-1870, 1875-1876, 1905-1914, and 1926-1958. These reports contain valuable information for anyone researching the history of Cincinnati, its departments, its people, and its issues.

While reports included in each volume vary, the Mayor’s report is always available.  Also available may be various city financial reports and reports from City Council, schools, the Health Department and health care facilities, the House of Refuge, the Fire Department, the Police Department, Public Works, the City Engineer, jails, Civil Service Commission, City Solicitor, Parks Department, the University of Cincinnati, and other city commissions. Until 1914, each individual annual report is published in full, but after that time the reports take on more of a summarized format under the title Municipal Activities. Continue reading →

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: "Useful to Mankind"

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April 24, 1957 - This letter from Dr. Sabin endorsed Dr. Dulbecco for the John Scott Award.

I read a recent New York Times obituary of Dr. Renato Dulbecco, a Nobel Prize winning virologist. In 1975, he and his colleagues received the award “for their discoveries concerning the interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell.”[1] Although most knew him from his cancer research, Dr. Dulbecco’s earlier research was an important piece of Dr. Sabin’s oral polio vaccine puzzle. The work that they completed together was mentioned in a previous blog post called “A Polio Research Collaboration.” Continue reading →

Source, UC Libraries Newsletter Available

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Want to Know the Latest in Library News? Read Source, the UC Libraries newsletter for faculty, students, staff, and friends.

This volume announces the availability of the papers of Theodore M. Berry in the Archives and Rare Books Library. Berry (1905-2000) was the first African American mayor in Cincinnati, served the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential administration in civil rights programs, and was an active attorney for the NAACP. The Berry papers, acquired by the UC Libraries many years ago, were able to be fully processed through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives. The materials are now available for research and teaching. Continue reading →

Does the Magic 8 Ball have a UC connection? Signs Point to Yes.

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By Janice Schulz

At the Archives & Rare Books Library we frequently get requests asking us to verify that a certain individual attended UC or one of its predecessor schools. Recently a call came in asking us to substantiate a claim found on the internet that Abe Bookman, creator of the Magic 8 Ball, was a graduate of the Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI). Generally this is an easy task – we simply look in alumni directories, yearbooks or commencement brochures for the person – but Abe proved to be a bit more elusive than most. With no attendance dates to go by, we started pouring through all of the resources we have for OMI using his birth date and the Magic 8 Ball’s introduction as guides, but to no avail. After further research, the reason for his elusiveness began to become clearer – at some point around 1936, we believe he Anglicized his surname from Buchmann to Bookman. He seemed to use both names until around 1955, eventually dropping Buchmann and exclusively using Bookman. That research also uncovered some interesting details about his life. Continue reading →