Martin Luther King, Jr. from LIFE Magazine
UC Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.The Libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Want to read up on Martin Luther King, Jr., his impact and legacy, and how you can make a difference? Check out these library resources and the Racial Justice Resources for Activists, Advocates and Allies Research Guide.
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the University of Cincinnati Libraries’ RESPECT (Racial Equity Support Programming to Educate the Community Team), presents the exhibit “Indigenous Dispossession: U.S. laws & policies promoting European settlement and Western Expansion resulting in Indian Removal from tribal, ancestral lands.”
Rant Che Wai Me. From the McKenney and Hall digital collection.
On display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the exhibit begins by listing the justification for European Settlement on Native American lands through the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny, the ideas that the United States is destined to expand its dominion and to spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. The exhibit then goes on to list laws and acts such as the Northwest Ordinance, Indian Removal Act and the General Allotment Act that all contributed to the removal of Native American peoples from their tribal homes. It also includes information on the Indian Civilization Act, which aimed to “civilize” and “Christianize” Native children. What resulted was a loss of their culture and identity and a system of abuse.
Ne Sou A Quoit – A Fox Chief. From McKenney and Hall digital collection.
The second part of the exhibit, on display on the 5th floor lobby, outlines steps to rectify the early treatment of Native Americans by granting citizenship and ending allotment of tribal lands with such policies as the Indian Citizenship Act, the Indian Reorganization Act and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. It is noted, however, that while legislation around self-determination and self-governance offers a certain degree of independence and protection under the law, the legacy of displacement, oppression and neglect in American public policy affects Native communities and families to this day.
The exhibit highlights the collections of UC Libraries by featuring prominently illustrations from George Catlin who traveled the North American continent from 1830-1838 to chronicle the people, customs and traditions of Native American tribes and from Thomas Loraine McKenney and James Hall’s “History of the Indian Tribes of North America.”
From George Catlin’s “The Printed Works.”
To learn more, a bibliography of works from the collections of UC Libraries is available in print at the exhibit and online as a PDF.
The exhibit helps the RESPECT group in their mission to draw awareness of Systemic Racism, defined as “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization, and that result in and support a continued, unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.”
The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next set of poets for Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.
At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 4:30pm, three poets will read original works.
Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.
In this issue of Source, we document the record number of students visiting and studying in the Walter C. Langsam Library this fall and feature the services and resources available in the Albino Gorno Memorial (CCM) Library. We spotlight Hannah Harper, a student worker in the Science and Engineering Libraries and the generous support of retired University of Cincinnati professors Laura and Richard Kretschmer.
Fall semester is a busy time for events in the Libraries. The Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) are displaying selections from the library’s collection about hair. Our upcoming Poetry Stacked series, scheduled for Oct. 19, will raise awareness of the collections of both UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room by engaging students and others in attendance with UC and community poets, including a student poet. On Thursday, Oct. 20 the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library is hosting a talk by Dr. Debbie Reese, noted children’s literature scholar, former classroom teacher, and founder/co-editor of the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog.
Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.
The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor East stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.
Scheduled for Wednesdays, Oct. 19 and Nov. 30 at 4:30pm, each event will feature three poets reading their original poetry. Each session will include a UC faculty or staff member, a student and a local or national community member. Following each reading, attendees will be invited to tour the Elliston Poetry Room.
The mission of Poetry Stacked is to celebrate poetry and raise awareness of the collections of both UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room. Each reading will engage audiences via exposure to contemporary poetry and increase appreciation for both the talents of UC and community poets, as well as for poetry itself. Poetry Stacked is free and open to all to attend.
Announcement of the Oct. 19 poets is coming soon. Stay tuned…
April is National Arab American Heritage Month. Below is a list of library resources for further exploration of Arab cultural and history.
UC librarians Olga Hart and Sally Moffitt created two research guides with links to information related to the Arab world. The Arabic Languages and Cultures guide provides an overview of Arabic language, literature and culture resources at the University of Cincinnati. The Middle Eastern Studies guide offers suggestions for conducting cross-disciplinary research into the history, politics, culture and social structures in the modern Middle East. The guide focuses on the Middle East after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. With the exception of Egypt, North Africa is included only when that region is part of a more comprehensive survey of the Muslim Mediterranean world. Continue reading
Looking for resources about the present crisis in Ukraine? The University of Cincinnati Libraries can help. Librarians have created a Research Guide that includes library resources, including books, journal articles, news reports and more.
The Present Crisis in Ukraine Research Guide includes both public and UC-only resources focusing on the historical background, geopolitical information, politics and international affairs, newspapers and more.
Are you interested in what a student brought to college over 70 years ago? The College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Library helps answer that question with their newest display. Featured at the library, is a sample of original supplies a Mechanical Engineering student used while enrolled at University of Cincinnati in 1950.
For current students enrolled in Mechanical Engineering, their supply list might include a laptop, scientific calculator and access to CAD software. While the student from 1950 differs with supplies needed for hand drafting.
While visiting the CEAS Library at 850 Baldwin Hall, make sure to view the other displays, such as the tokens on display from the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition.
Throughout February, we shared UC Libraries resources and collections in celebration of Black History Month. Below is a list of those highlights, as well as others, so you may continue exploring and learning Black history throughout the year.
Theodore M. Berry Papers Project
An exhibit highlighting the 2010 project to completely process the papers of Theodore Moody Berry, Cincinnati’s first African mayor.
Louise Shropshire: An Online Exhibition
An online exhibit featuring Louise Shropshire a Cincinnati Civil Rights pioneer and composer.
Marian Spencer: Fighting for Equality in Cincinnati
An alumna of the University of Cincinnati (Class of 1942), Marian Spencer fought for Civil Rights in Cincinnati for nearly seventy years. This exhibit examines her career and her papers at the Archives and Rare Books Library.
The Colored Citizen
Published in Cincinnati sporadically from the height of the Civil War in 1863 until approximately 1869, The Colored Citizen was edited by a group of African American citizens from Midwestern cities, including Cincinnati. It was a paper with general news, but with a focus on the political, economic, and cultural affairs that had an impact on African Americans of the age. The Archives and Rare Books Library hold one issue of this paper.
Phillis Wheatley
In 1773, at the age of 20, Wheatley published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, making her the first published African-American poet.
Lucy Oxley
Source article highlighting Lucy Oxley, MD, the first person of color ever to receive a medical degree from the College of Medicine. Continue reading
The Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI), founded in 1828, is one of the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s (CEAS) source institutions and provided vital technical education during the early development of Cincinnati. In 1870, OMI partnered with the Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce to present the first “Grand Industrial Exposition.” These showcases attracted exhibitors nationwide representing industrial developments and artistic achievements of the day.
Commemorative tokens from the expositions were adorned with visual reminders of the events. Many of the tokens feature the buildings that housed the exposition, such as the Saengerfest Hall, a structure that sat at the intersection of Elm and 14th streets. Other common symbols found on tokens represent the industrial exposition subjects: agriculture, science, art, and learning.
A sampling of these tokens are currently on display in the CEAS Library.