Tag Archives: CECH Library Blog

Children, Youth and Environments exhibit in CECH Library

Posted on by

Join us in celebrating 40 years of Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) with a special exhibit in the CECH Library, inviting you to explore the journal’s mission to foster inclusive, sustainable environments for children and youth worldwide.

Managed and published by the University of Cincinnati’s Arlitt Center since 2015, CYE connects a global community of research, policy, and practice, highlighting diverse perspectives on the spaces where young people live, learn, work, and play.

This special exhibit will be available to view in CECH Library through January 2025.

Leslie Kochanowski, PhD
Director of Research & Initiatives | Arlitt Center for Education, Research & Sustainability Managing Editor | Children, Youth and Environments
University of Cincinnati

MakerLab Glow Up

Posted on by

You may have noticed that our CECH Library MakerLab has had a bit of a glow up in recent months. The first phase of improvements was completed this summer, just in time for the fall 2024 term.

Initial phase improvements in our MakerLab include:

  • Re-organization of the space
  • Improved signage
  • A co-located collection of books and resources about making pedagogies
  • Artist prints from iconic picture book illustrators Eric Carle and Christian Robinson

We hope you’ll join us for the first workshop in our Teachers are Makers series, Intro to Cricut on Wednesday, November 13 at 2pm. This workshop is on-site in our MakerLab so participants can practice hands-on with some of our newest tools and make a project to take home.

We are appreciative for the advocacy and support of our colleagues in the 1819 Groundfloor Makerspace, the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, and the CECH School of Education. Thanks for helping us get this “glow up” off the ground and bring new tools and ways of making to our users.

Stay tuned for additional phased improvements. Hope to see you soon in the MakerLab.

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

CECH Library Book Returns

Posted on by

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 

CECH Library Annual Highlights, AY24

Posted on by

Please enjoy this Microsoft Sway presentation of CECH Library’s key data points and proud achievements from academic year 2023-24. As always, feel free to reach out directly with any feedback, ideas, or questions.

On a personal note, I couldn’t be prouder to lead this team in support UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. It’s a privilege and a gift to serve our vibrant, innovative community here at CECH.

Don’t forget to check out our highlights page for the latest CECH Library news on spaces, collections, and innovative services.

With gratitude,
Katie Foran-Mulcahy
CECH Library Head

d/Deaf Children’s Books in the Classroom

Posted on by

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) 

Learn more this fall with CECH Library 

Posted on by

CECH Library is excited to announce our workshop offerings for the Fall 2024 semester. Workshops are open to faculty and graduate students across the UC community. Check out all our offerings below. 

You can see a full listing of CECH Library workshops and all UC Libraries workshops on Faculty OneStop, including descriptions, times, locations, and how to register.  

New Library Instruction Menu from CECH Library

Posted on by

CECH librarians love engaging with students and teaching library instruction sessions to classes across the college. To better promote what is possible with library instruction, instruction librarians in CECH Library developed a new instruction menu.  

The menu has four categories of offerings with example lessons in each. These categories and examples are not exhaustive – course instructors are encouraged to reach out to discuss the specific needs of their students to customize the lesson!  

The menu was developed based on common instruction requests, concepts students need assistance with during research consultations, and the particular programs and disciplines we serve. 

Instructors who are interested in having a library instruction session for a class should reach out to
Madeleine Gaiser (gaiserml@uc.edu) or Katie Foran-Mulcahy (katie.foran@uc.edu) for scheduling and more details. 

On behalf of CECH Library, 
Madeleine Gaiser, instruction librarian 

CECH Library Spotlight: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Posted on by

CECH Spotlight highlights recommended books in the the UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) Library.

Imogen, Obviously / written by Becky Albertalli (2023)

“True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world. Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” – Brene Brown

Becky Albertalli, most well known for her novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, has written multiple novels that explore different yet positive LGBTQ+ experiences. Her latest novel Imogen, Obviously, focuses on the lived experience of realizing one’s own identity. It follows Imogen Scott, a high school senior who is so sure that she’s straight, at least that’s what everyone tells her. It’s not until she visits her best friend at college, and begins meeting her friends (who all happen to be Queer) that Imogen begins to rethink her identity. 

Albertalli intimately explores the process of self-acceptance, and the anxiety of feeling enough. Imogen, Obviously is a love letter to those who are on their journey of learning to understand their identity. This novel shouts, “You’re enough, you matter, you belong!” For the first time in a long time, I felt the power of seeing myself in the media.

This book is available for checkout in the CECH Library, as well as via the OhioLINK and Search Ohio lending networks.

Review by Alice Somers, CECH Library Student Assistant | Early Childhood Education and Deaf Studies, CECH 2026

Welcome Week with the CECH Library

Posted on by

Welcome Back, Bearcats! Celebrate a new academic year with the College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services and IT (CECH) Library by visiting our location at 300 Teachers Dyer Complex and participating in one of the many fun activities going on now through August 30th.  

MakerLab BINGO card, a scavenger hunt clue, and various CECH buttons scattered on a brown background.

How well do you know UC Libraries? Test your knowledge with a library scavenger hunt. Follow the clues through the CECH Library to discover more!  

Explore our newly refreshed MakerLab with our MakerLab BINGO boards! Try out our equipment and make something fun, crossing off squares as you go. With this self-guided activity, you are always the winner!  

Just passing through? Don’t forget to visit our Welcome Week info table with free UC Libraries swag.  

We hope to see you soon!  

On behalf of the CECH Library,  
Rachel Hoople, operations supervisor 

CECH Library Spotlight: Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Posted on by

CECH Spotlight highlights recommended books in the the UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) Library.

This book was purchased with funding provided by a 2024 CECH Diversity Grant and selected using the Framework for Selecting Children’s Literature With d/Deaf Representation created by Emma Kist’s ASL 2003 students.

Give Me a Sign / written by Anna Sortino (2023)

Anna Sortino’s summer camp contemporary romance Give Me a Sign will pull at your heartstrings the entire read, while also leaving you giddy with what is to come next. 

This novel follows Lilah, a seventeen-year-old who happens to be deaf in one ear. All her life, her parents encouraged her along the oral route, where she got hearing aids and took years of speech classes to blend in with those around her. To Lilah, the only time she’s ever felt seen is when she attended Camp Gray Wolf, a summer camp for the Deaf and Blind. So, when she gets the opportunity to be a junior counselor for the upcoming summer, Lilah can’t say no. Throughout the summer, Lilah immerses herself in Deaf* culture, American Sign Language, true friendship, and romance. But she still has some things to learn about herself, and parts of her identity to come to terms with. 

Give Me a Sign is more than just a fun, summer romance. It shines a much-needed light on the spectrum of Deafness*, the importance of accommodations, the negative aspects of having a disability, and the struggle of accepting one’s identity. One of the biggest topics that carries throughout is the idea of ‘being Deaf enough’. Lilah struggles with this as she is surrounded by people who are fluent in ASL, who are more immersed in the culture, who are from a multi-generational Deaf family. 

Early on we are introduced to Lilah’s brother, Max, who happens to have the same type of deafness, though slightly more advanced. Max acts as a foil to Lilah, being shown to prefer the oral route to Lilah’s manual preference. Max’s character helps open the discussion of hearing devices like hearing aids and cochlear implants, which are often given to young children in hopes of integrating them into the hearing world more easily. Sortino’s novel examines so many hard-hitting topics that impact the Deaf* community such as hearing people using ASL for clout or even faking disabilities when it is convenient.

There is a quote from Sortino’s author’s note that I felt extremely poignant: “I simply hope [my novel] gives readers a glance into the depth and complexities of Deaf culture, as well as an understanding of why I and so many others are proud to be Deaf”. This novel shines a light on the ups and downs of Deafness* and basks in the pride it has for the Deaf* community. 

This book is available for checkout in the CECH Library, as well as via the OhioLINK and SearchOhio lending networks.

NOTE: In alignment with the UC ASL/Deaf studies department, I use Deaf* above to include and acknowledge the different cultures and ways of being Deaf.

Review by Alice Somers, CECH Library Student Assistant | Early Childhood Education and Deaf Studies, CECH 2026