Tag Archives: CECH Collections

CECH Library’s study room was designed for you!

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As part of the 4th floor renovation, CECH Library reimagined the study room located in 400B to be a space where learners of all kinds can be successful. The room includes a shelf of study and focus tools, part of the Study & Focus Tools Collection (STFC), for your use while in the space.

In addition to the enhancements below, wall art was added to space to make it more inviting and colorful.

Choose your own lighting

The room’s overhead lights are on a dimmer switch so you can adjust the brightness to your preferences. Not a fan of fluorescent lighting? There is also a floor lamp. The lamp has three LED lamp heads that operate independently. Each lamp head can be adjusted for both brightness and color temperature.

Supporting your focus

Our study room has its own set of SFTC items, available to anyone using the space. This includes a variety of fidgets, a weighted lap pad, blue light glasses, a small timer, and more! These items are designated to live in the study room. If you are interested in borrowing an item from the library, check out the shelf of SFTC items on CECH Library’s 3rd floor, by the board games and stairs.

Volume controls

Enjoy our private study room with the right amount of noise for you. The SFTC shelf has sound-blocking headphones and a white noise machine. The white noise machine has 30 sounds and a sleep timer.

Get comfortable

Study is hard work so you should at least be comfortable. Our space has a comfortable armchair in addition to a round table with four chairs on wheels. Feeling antsy? Try standing on the wobble board! It might even help you think.

The study room is available by reservation only. Make a reservation on 25Live and check in at the CECH Library front desk at the time of your reservation. Hope to see you soon!

Madeleine Gaiser, CECH Library.

New Collection Alert: CECH Library Study & Focus Tools

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CECH Library is excited to announce that the new Study and Focus Tools Collection (SFTC) is available to the UC community. The collection is located on the 3rd floor of the CECH Library near the stairs and items can be checked out for one week.

The SFTC was created with your help through a survey and many of you have interacted with the collection at ‘sneak peek’ events in Spring 2025. With your help, we also named our fidget slugs: Gleeb, Glorb, and Grape Juice.

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Renovation Alert: CECH Library 4th Floor

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We’re excited to share that the 4th floor of the CECH Library will undergo a renovation beginning Tuesday, May 27. The space will be closed for the summer and is set to reopen at the start of the fall semester.

This transformation is designed to better support our students and academic community by creating a more dynamic, flexible, and welcoming environment.

Architectural rendering of planned improvements to the CECH Library reading room.

What’s coming:

  • Reconfigured layout for enhanced study, collaboration, and events
  • Modern study tables with integrated power and lighting
  • Comfortable seating, refreshed study room, new carpet, and paint
  • A thoughtful blend of modern design and the existing classic architectural elements

The main level (3rd floor) will remain open, and materials will still be accessible by request.

This project reflects our ongoing commitment to student success and innovation in academic spaces. Stay tuned for updates — and have a fantastic summer.

Katie Foran-Mulcahy (she/her)
Head, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) Library

ERIC Updates, May 2025

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In March 2025, journal publishers received the following notice from ERIC. This information was also detailed in a prior LiBlog post in April:

The Department of Education is working with the Department of Government Efficiency to “reduce overall Federal spending” and “reallocate spending to promote efficiency” (EO 14222). As a result, the number of records added to the ERIC collection will be significantly reduced going forward. The number of actively cataloged sources will be reduced by approximately 45% starting April 24, 2025. Subject matter was not considered during the process to identify which sources would be made inactive.  Please note that all records currently in ERIC will remain available.

On April 28, 2025, the acting director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) announced a contract renewal with the AEM Corporation and the continuation of ERIC. The announcement also stated that “no content has been removed or deleted from ERIC” but characterized the future as a “new phase” with a “refined scope”. 

With a 50% cut to its annual budget, the future of ERIC remains uncertain. For up-to-date information on ERIC, see the ERIC Updates page of our Education Complete LibGuide.

Further Reading

Barshay, J. (2025, April 28). Education Department restarts online library ERIC. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-restart-eric-ed-library/  

Fitzgerald, S. R., Weaver, K. D., & Droog, A. (2025). Selecting a specialized education database for literature reviews and evidence synthesis projects. Research Synthesis Methods, 16(1), 30–41. doi:10.1017/rsm.2024.11 

CECH voted!

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This semester the CECH Library wanted to know your thoughts. You helped us name fidget slugs, determine the best book-to-screen adaptation, and even answered burning questions like ‘is water wet?’ Check out all the ways CECH Voted this Spring Semester:

March Madness

Popular books battled it out throughout the month of March to determine: what is the best book-to-screen adaptation? With surprising early round eliminations of fan favorites like Holes and Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games claimed the prize, narrowly beating out Harry Potter. Disagree? Check back next March for the next round of CECH Library March Madness!

Large yellow poster showing a voting bracket with books and their movie adaptation.
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Changes to ERIC: 2025

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In March 2025, journal publishers received a notice from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) which stated: 

The Department of Education is working with the Department of Government Efficiency to “reduce overall Federal spending” and “reallocate spending to promote efficiency” (EO 14222). As a result, the number of records added to the ERIC collection will be significantly reduced going forward. The number of actively cataloged sources will be reduced by approximately 45% starting April 24, 2025. Subject matter was not considered during the process to identify which sources would be made inactive.  Please note that all records currently in ERIC will remain available.

ERIC is a core resource for education, social sciences, and engineering research, and UC Libraries is working hard to learn more about these announced changes. While this is currently an evolving situation, we do know the following: 

  • On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that includes closing the Department of Education. ERIC is funded by the Department of Education under Institution of Education Sciences (IES).
  • Journal availability in ERIC will be reduced from approximately 1,200 to 700 by April 25, 2025.
  • Journals cut from ERIC will not have content added to ERIC going forward. Records currently in ERIC will remain searchable but there will no longer be full-text access.
    • For example, if a journal is removed from ERIC, articles in ERIC prior to April 2025 will appear in your search results but there will no longer be full-text access, nor will new article records from that journal be added.
  • Other resources such as National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) will also be affected by changes to the Department of Education.

Some things are still unclear, such as: 

  • Which journals will be removed from ERIC
  • If additional journal cuts will occur in the future
  • If other source types will be removed from ERIC in the future

As soon as we have more information, we will provide updates via the Education Complete LibGuide’s ERIC Updates page. In the meantime, UC Libraries provides access to several education databases and we would be happy to work with you on your education research. As always, reach out to a librarian for support with your literature searching.

Tech & MakerLab Playground at CECH Library

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Join us Wednesday, April 2 from 3-5pm in the CECH Library for our 2nd annual Tech & MakerLab Playground.

This open-house style event will offer a variety of hands-on exploration opportunities with our MakerLab and STEAM Kits. Check out projects from Trends in Learning Technology Innovation students, play with robots, and see demos of our newest MakerLab equipment. We’ll also offer visitors a special sneak-peak of our new Study and Focus Tools Collection.

Light refreshments available courtesy of the CECH Dean’s Office.

We hope to see you at this fun event — celebrating the intersections of learning, tech, and creativity.

See you in the library!

On behalf of Team CECH Library,
k

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Head, CECH Library

Fidgets, sound muffs, and more coming soon to CECH Library

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Sometimes the hardest part about studying is staying focused. Whether you’re antsy or someone’s phone call is more interesting than tomorrow’s exam, focusing on school work can be a challenge.

CECH Library is building a new Study and Focus Tools Collection (SFTC) to debut in Fall 2025. Checkout two great opportunities to get a sneak-peak of the collection and play with some awesome fidgets!

Wednesday, March 12 (10am-12pm):
Get a first look at the collection. We’ll be tabling in the Teachers-Dyer Complex lobby (3rd floor).

Thursday, March 13 (1-4pm):
Come to the CECH Library and visit our Fidget Petting Zoo. A table will be set up near the MakerLab.

Wednesday, April 2
(3-5pm):
See our fidgets and study tools during the Tech & MakerLab Playground in CECH Library.

Gravity timer and fidget slug
Blue light glasses and worry stones

After doing research and surveying library users, CECH Library selected 20 items to support students’ focus and study habits – white noise machines, sound muffs, fidgets, and more! These items will be available for anyone in the UC community to use and checkout beginning Fall 2025. 

The Shashibo cube can shape-shift

–Madeleine Gaiser, CECH Library

CECH Library Book Returns

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Did you know? The CECH Library services two book returns outside of the CECH Library to make book returns easier than ever!  

The first is located just outside the CECH Library entrance on level 3 of the Teachers-Dyer Complex. This book return is serviced immediately upon opening and multiple times a day while the library is open.

The second book return is in the lobby of Edwards 1, next to the WEPA printer. This book return is serviced by CECH Library student employees and staff 2 times a week. Items returned to this book return are backdated upon check in to ensure overdue fines do not accrue between service.  

Library books may be returned to any UC Libraries location during their open hours as well. Special collections such as mixed materials, equipment, and reserve items belonging to the CECH Library should be returned to the CECH Library Info Desk. If you are unsure about the return policy for your item, please call us at 513-556-1430. 

Rachel Hoople
operations supervisor, CECH Library 

d/Deaf Children’s Books in the Classroom

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Last semester, the CECH Library collaborated with the American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Studies Department to expand d/Deaf representation in their children’s and young adult literature collections. After working with ASL 2003 students to create a book selection framework, the ASL Club helped CECH librarians choose which books to add to the library’s collections in February 2024. 

Now that we have these awesome books on our shelves, Elementary Education major Alice Somers shared an exciting update on how she’s using the collection in her kindergarten practicum classroom: 

As an education student completing my kindergarten practicum, I have found myself in a Deaf & Hard of Hearing classroom. I have been able to take the books from this collaboration and bring it into a classroom where the students can see themselves in the literature around them. The students and teachers have shown great interest in the books, and are excited to utilize them throughout the school year! 

Thanks for this great update, Alice! We love knowing that our children’s book collections are being used and enjoyed by children, especially in a way that is affirming of their lived experience.

Katie Foran-Mulcahy 
Head, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) Library 

Alice Somers 
CECH Library Student Employee 
Elementary Education and Deaf Studies (CECH 2026)