How many archives are in the United States?

Posted on by

Archives located in the Gulf South

In recent years, there’s been growing awareness within the United States cultural heritage community about exposure to climate change. Many emerging communities of concerned cultural heritage professionals have emerged. There is now a Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice, the American Library Association Sustainability Roundtable, and ProjectARCC (Archivists Responding to Climate Change). Climate change is showing up at conferences and journals in the field.

One of the major challenges in assessing the risk of climate change to cultural heritage is that data on cultural heritage is inconsistent. How can you predict how many museums, libraries, or archives will be exposured to climate change without adequate data on how many institutions exist in a given vulnerable location? There is a lot of great data on museums thanks to the Museum Universe Data File. There is a semi-representative directory of American libraries (but it leaves out school libraries). But as an archivist working on climate change issues, I was pretty dismayed to discover a few years ago that there really isn’t a comprehensive data set of archives in the United States.

Last year, my research collaborator Ben Goldman (Penn State University) and I received a Society of American Archivists (SAA) Foundation grant to attempt to compile the first comprehensive data set of all US archives. The roots of this project began with an article we co-authored with geospatial experts from Penn State, in which we took a very limited data set of around 1,200 archives (furnished by OCLC’s ArchiveGrid) and examined their exposure to climate change risks, like sea-level rise, storm surge, and changes in temperature/humidity. However, we knew if there was ever going to be a comprehensive risk assessment of US archives, someone had to bring together a comprehensive data set of how many US archives exist and where they are located. This is what we set out to do with our SAA Foundation grant.

Over the course of the grant, we worked with a fantastic assistant, Whitney Ray, who did an incredible amount of heavy lifting with contacting over 150 archival organizations for any data they had. Essentially, we reached out to anyone we thought may have maintained lists of archives in their region or area of interest. What we received was over 30,000 raw data points! The data came to us in every way you can imagine – from very tidy spreadsheets to webpages with broken links to PDFs of archives. You can read much more about our workflow and process on our RepoData project blog.

We’ve now made data available for 30 states plus Washington DC on our public GitHub repository. We plan to work through the remainder of the states through 2018. While we originally created this data because we know it’s critical for future climate assessment work, we know there will be a lot of potential reuse for it – and we’re excited to see how people use it!

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library Selected to Host Traveling Exhibition about Native Concepts of Health and Illness

Posted on by
Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Powwow, Mashpee, Massachusetts, July 2010. Courtesy National Library of Medicine/Bryant Pegram

Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Powwow, Mashpee, Massachusetts, July 2010. Courtesy National Library of Medicine/Bryant Pegram

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library has been selected in a competitive application process to host Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness, a traveling exhibition to U.S. libraries.

Native Voices explores the interconnectedness of wellness, illness and cultural life for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. Stories drawn from both the past and present examine how health for Native People is tied to community, the land and spirit. Through interviews, Native People describe the impact of epidemics, federal legislation, the loss of land and the inhibition of culture on the health of Native individuals and communities today.

As one of 104 grant recipients selected from across the country, the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library will host the traveling exhibition July 23 through Aug. 30, 2018.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) developed and produced Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in partnership with NLM, tours the exhibition to America’s libraries. Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness was displayed at the NLM in Bethesda, Maryland, from 2011 to 2015. To learn more and view content from the exhibition, visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices.

Suzanne L. Singer

Suzanne L. Singer

Related Events

In association with the Native Voices exhibit, related events have been scheduled to explore the topic of Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. The first scheduled event is keynote speaker Suzanne L. Singer scheduled for 5-7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 26, in the CARE/Crawley Atrium (Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way). Throughout August, lectures that cover such topics as “The Contribution of Native Voices to Medicine through Botany,” “Breaking Bread: A Perspective of Fry Bread and Native Health” and “Preventing Tuberculosis while Regulating Indigenous Bodies” have been scheduled in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room, E level of the Medical Sciences Building near the Kresge Circle.

A full schedule of events is listed online.

Continue reading →

Dorcas Washington Joins UC Libraries as a Content Analyst

Posted on by

Dorcas Washington joins UC Libraries today, Monday, July 2, 2018, as a content analyst on the Content Services team.  Dorcas comes to us from Wright State University where she was a statistical consultant and a graduate teaching assistant.  Dorcas was previously an intern for Care Source in Dayton, OH in the System Information and Security division.  She holds an MS in applied statistics with a concentration in bio-statistics from Wright State University and a BA in mathematics from Transylvania University.

As a member of the Content Services team, she will focus on innovative ways to perform functions, manage access and provide services for collections.

Welcome, Dorcas!

UC Libraries Closed Wednesday, July 4th

Posted on by

july 4thUC Libraries will be closed, Wednesday, July 4 for Independence Day. This includes Langsam Library’s 4th floor, which will close Tuesday, July 3 at 11pm and reopen Thursday, July 5 at 8am. Normal hours for all library locations will resume July 5th. Have a safe and enjoyable July 4th.

Dean’s Corner: Collaborating at Home and Abroad

Posted on by

One of UC Libraries’ greatest strengths is its partnerships and collaborations. On or off campus, at home or abroad, the Libraries are always looking for opportunities to forge new relationships, while engaging in the university’s global agenda. As library dean I am fortunate enough to be involved with many of these relationships from their infancy.

This spring I traveled to China with UC’s Provost Kristi Nelson and Vice Provost for International Affairs Raj Mehta to visit Beijing Jiaotong University and Shandong University. In my role as Special Advisor to the Provost on China Initiatives, I have traveled to China on many occasions with various members of UC’s senior leadership, assisting in UC’s China engagement. More often than not, these trips include tours of university libraries (see the picture on the bottom left corner of Provost Nelson and me at the new Shandong University Qingdao campus library).

Pictures from China:

Continue reading →

UCBA Librarians in the Big Easy

Posted on by

by Michelle McKinney and Kellie Tilton

Michelle McKinney, Reference and Web Services Librarian

After a five year conference break, I was very excited to attend #ALAAC2018 in New Orleans! I spent the majority of the conference working with and for this year’s class of Spectrum Scholars. I had the honor of being named a Spectrum Scholar in 2005 and am currently serving as a member of Spectrum Advisory Committee. This year’s class of scholars networked, attended panels featuring Spectrum Alumni and took part in the greater conference, which included an Opening Session featuring Former First Lady Michelle Obama and Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden.

Spectrum Scholars group photo

         Michelle (front row, second from right) with other scholars awaiting Michelle Obama

I had the chance to reconnect with many colleagues and library friends, including fellow Spectrum Scholars from my class, during the Spectrum Scholars Founders Reception.

Michelle McKinney and three library colleagues

   Michelle and fellow 2005 Spectrum Scholars: Brenda Linares, Nancy Kirkpatrick and Nia Lam

When I wasn’t in sessions or meetings, I wandered around the Exhibit Hall and enjoyed some of the local cuisine, including the required serving of beignets.

Kellie Tilton, Instructional Technologies Librarian

Unfortunately, my #alaa18 trip was way too short. I flew in to attend my last official duty as a member of the Alex Award Committee, which presents an award to 10 books published for adults that has a unique appeal to young adults. (Check them out!) Luckily, the last event is also one of the best, as we honor the award winners with a program and book signing for anyone to attend.

Alex Awards Book Signing

I also was able to visit the exhibit hall to say hello to many vendors and publicists and check out the new products coming to libraries near you!

ALA Conference Decorations

It was awesome to be in New Orleans for its 300th birthday and the best way to celebrate was a late night run to Cafe du Monde for their famous beignets!

NOLA 300th birthday sign

It may have only been about 48 hours, but ALA is always a blast and a reminder how awesome the library profession is!

The Cycle of Knowledge and Do Unto Others: The Ouroboros of Blegen Library

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

For several months from July of 2017 to April of this year, each day on the Archives & Rare Books Library’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRareBooksLibraryUniversityOfCincinnati/, featured an architectural element of Blegen Library, from printer’s marks to the original floor tiles and terrazzo walls.  In the way the cultural Belgen Library exteriorheritage of the building was presented with its sculptures and carvings representing the history of the book and the legacy of education, every detail was explored with a capsule account of its meaning and importance.  The figures in the bas reliefs of “Ex Occidente Lux” and “Ex Orientale Lux” were freshly discovered.  The bronze symbols of knowledge over the front door were explained.  The human stories behind the plaster and bronze printers marks were revealed. Continue reading →

AHRQ National Guideline Clearinghouse Not Available After July 16th

Posted on by

AHRQ National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) will no longer have funding after July 16th and so will no longer be available.

The NGC was originally created by AHRQ in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans (now America’s Health Insurance Plans [AHIP]), the NGC mission was to provide physicians and other health care professionals, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining objective, detailed information on evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and to further their dissemination, implementation, and use.

For more information, see NGC Announcements.

Artifact from the Future: Summer 2018 UC Scholars Program

Posted on by

The Winkler Center would like to thank Nandita Baxi Sheth (DAAP) and the University of Cincinnati Scholars Program for seeking the Center’s participation in the Summer 2018 Scholars Program titled Artifact from the Future: A Trans Disciplinary Critical Inquiry Experience.

The UC Scholars Program brought Hughes STEM High School 10th and 11th grade students to the University of Cincinnati for a two-week residential, immersive summer critical thinking experience that:

  • built skills through problem based and experiential learning activities
  • provided exposure to multiple UC Colleges and Programs, degrees, and careers
  • provided on campus residential living experience
  • introduced community and industry partners
  • developed mindfulness and self-care practices
  • developed collaborative, leadership, and study skills

The program planned all these learning activities and experiences through a lens of thematic inquiry.

The theme of inquiry for the summer ‘18 Scholars was a deep consideration of the future. Using a wide-range of multimedia and disciplinary approaches including the anthropocene, speculative fiction, science fiction, afrofuturism, and technology, students delved into prospective world scenarios and dystopian futures, and were charged with developing artifacts from that future.

One stop for the scholars was the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions.  There, curator, Gino Pasi, gave a workshop for the students which included an introduction to archives, curatorship and public history, and a brief overview of what it is the Winkler Center actually does. Students then were introduced to health science-related artifacts from the past.

Student examines a kymograph (an early blood pressure montoring device) at the Winkler Center

Students are introduced to artifacts at the Winkler Center

After that, four teams of scholars were created and each team received an artifact to examine, describe, and then use in a story, play, poem, or some other written work to be presented at the end of the workshop.  The Winkler Center objects given to the students included the “iron lung,” an electro-convulsive therapy unit, a baby incubator from the 1950s, and a “quackery” cure-all from the 1930s called the Electraply. Amazingly each team described and guessed the proper uses of each artifact without any hints or clues.

 

A team examines the Iron Lung.

Students work to describe there artifacts.

Another team examines the “Electraply” device

We hope the students enjoyed not only their Winkler Center experience, but also the rest of their time here at UC. We hope to see them here in the future. For more on this year’s scholars program see:  https://www.rtefakt.org/