Tag Archives: dean

Announcing the 2022-2023 UC Libraries Annual Report

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Beginning Anew

Announcing the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Report. My tenure as dean and university librarian began in mid-August 2023, a time of great growth at the University of Cincinnati. I’ve spent these past six months learning as much as I can about the Libraries – how our mission to “empower discovery, stimulate learning and inspire the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to dynamic data, information and resources” supports the university’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions. Documents such as the Annual Report have been key to my education.

In this Annual Report, we look back at the top News & Events, applaud Staff Accomplishments & Milestones and look at the Libraries By the Numbers and Financially. Under the leadership of interim dean and university librarian Lori Harris, we welcomed a significant number of new librarians and staff members who will provide essential library services and research support and help move the Libraries forward. We acquired, processed, preserved and made available collections used for research. We held events to bring people into the Libraries to interact with our facilities and collections. We created welcoming places – both virtual and in-person – for people to study, research and collaborate. And, we provided our expertise to the students, faculty and researchers who rely on UC Libraries for their academic pursuits.

Looking Forward

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward and plan for the future. This past fall we began the process of developing an updated strategic plan with goals and initiatives that will continue to advance the mission of the University of Cincinnati. This plan will build upon the successes of UC Libraries and respond to the rapidly changing landscape of higher education, as well as the increasingly diverse needs of our students, faculty and researchers. The strategic plan will be completed this summer and will guide our work for the next three years. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy reading the 2022-2023 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report.

Liz Kiscaden,
Dean and University Librarian

Welcome Elizabeth Kiscaden, Dean and University Librarian

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Today we officially welcome our new dean and university librarian Elizabeth Kiscaden on her first day at the University of Cincinnati Libraries.

Dean Kiscaden comes to UC from Creighton University where she was university librarian and assistant vice provost of library services. While at Creighton, she worked to modernize legacy library systems and infrastructure to support an anytime, anywhere, any device philosophy and oversaw the development of a single library enterprise, bringing together campus and health sciences libraries. She has extensive experience administering large grants and library services to support academic programs, faculty teaching and student learning. Her research largely focuses on consumer health information.

Read Source for the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries

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Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

In this issue of Source, Lori Harris writes about some of the changes that have occurred this past year as she has served as interim dean and university librarian. We announce Elizabeth Kiscaden as the next dean and university librarian, as well as a new digital collection in honor of Dr. Lucy Orinthia Oxley, the first African American to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Student workers are a key component to UC Libraries success, which is why the UC Libraries Student Worker Scholarship Fund was established. We announce the most recent winners of this scholarship. We spotlight the College of Engineering Library and look back at the successful inaugural year of Poetry Stacked. We interview ChatGPT to get its opinions about its potential role in libraries and academia and hype the new, and very popular, library stickers.

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 seeks the next dean and university librarian

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The University of Cincinnati seeks a visionary and dynamic leader to serve as dean and university librarian. Reporting directly to the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, the dean is the chief administrator over numerous venues, facilities, collections, and oversees a diverse faculty and staff. The dean is also a member of the Council of Deans and actively participates in the governance of the university. As the intellectual and administrative leader of the Libraries, the next dean will play a key role in developing new ideas and forging consensus among stakeholders to build upon current and past successes and further strengthen the Libraries’ presence on campus.  Continue reading →

Lori Harris named interim dean and university librarian

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Lori Harris

Lori E. Harris has been named interim dean and university librarian of the University of Cincinnati Libraries effective July 1, 2022. Harris initially joined the Libraries in 2015 as an associate fellow from the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). She permanently joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries in 2016.

Harris previously served as assistant dean and director of the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library and the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions. More recently, she co-led the development of the Libraries’ strategic framework NEXT Directions, which outlines the Libraries’ Guiding Principles and Pathways to operational excellence with special emphasis on initiatives relating to research, diversity, equity and inclusion and aligns with the University’s Next Lives Here framework. She has helped to support the College of Medicine’s LCME process by serving as a member of the reaccreditation committee and she currently sits on the College of Medicine’s Education Committee representing the Health Sciences Library.

Harris has worked tirelessly to build external relationships for the University of Cincinnati Libraries. Recently, she worked with Dr. Phil Diller, College of Medicine and the Henry R. Winkler Center Board, to bring to the university campus the six-part lecture series and exhibits that examined the work of Andreas Vesalius. Building upon her continued relationship and collaborations with colleagues from NIH/NLM, Harris helped bring to the Health Sciences Library the Native Voices traveling exhibition and lecture series, which honored the native tradition of oral history.

“I look forward to working with my University of Cincinnati Libraries colleagues in this new capacity,” said Harris. “Our recently completed Strategic Framework will provide the guiding principles and pathways for us to continue to advance our mission and realize our vision.”

Harris obtained her M.A. MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her B.A. in American studies, museum studies and archives from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

In her new role, Harris will provide leadership and coordination for the daily operations of the University of Cincinnati Libraries, working collaboratively with the library leadership of UC Blue Ash, UC Clermont and Law Libraries. Harris will continue to work directly with UC Libraries’ senior leadership, faculty and staff to ensure that continuity, growth and development of the University of Cincinnati Libraries is maintained throughout her tenure as interim dean and university librarian.

Dean and University Librarian Xuemao Wang to take on Additional Title of Vice Provost of Digital Scholarship

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Xuemao Wang

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Kristi A. Nelson announced that Dean and University Librarian Xuemao Wang will take on the additional title and responsibilities of vice provost of digital scholarship.

The new title reflects both the university’s commitment to digital scholarship as well as Wang’s extensive expertise in the subject. As dean and university librarian, he has led UC Libraries in the formation of the Digital Scholarship Center (DSC), the creation of the university’s digital repository, Scholar@UC, along with the development of new digital publishing capacities with the University of Cincinnati Press, the establishment of new services offered through research and data management and he partnered with three colleges to form the Digital Media Collaborative (DMC).

“Xuemao’s broad expertise in digital scholarship and strategic-thinking approach that has developed UC Libraries into an intellectual commons will be a tremendous asset in advancing UC’s dynamic data, information and resource offerings as we implement the Innovation Agenda outlined in Next Lives Here,” said Nelson.

This additional role of vice provost of digital scholarship will cover a broad spectrum of areas including the DSC, Scholar@UC, the DMC and research and data management, but also digital archives and preservation, digital records and assets management, scholarly communication and digital publishing, as well as the rapidly evolving movements of open science, open education resources, open data and open access.

Wang, who joined the University of Cincinnati in 2012, will continue to provide leadership of UC Libraries as the dean, which includes the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library and Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, the Archives and Rare Books Library and seven college and departmental libraries. The Libraries’ strategic plan, created under the leadership of Wang, has as its vision to transform UC Libraries into “the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university — positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus.”

“I am honored and thrilled to take on this new responsibility for the university. My additional role in leading university wide digital scholarship efforts will allow me to contribute at a new level in supporting the advancement of UC’s Next Lives Here strategic direction,” said Wang. “I plan to capitalize on the experience, resources and the catalyst role of the Libraries, as well as the extraordinary expertise of library faculty and staff, to facilitate university wide digital scholarship integration.”

With a career that spans international, public, library consortium and academic library worlds, Wang came to UC from Emory University where he was the associate vice provost of University Libraries. Prior to that, he worked at Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, Borough Public Library, as well as spent numerous years gaining academic librarian experience in China. He has a strong research interest and background in global librarianship and digital scholarship, publishing and consulting internationally. Wang currently chairs the OhioLINK special task force on the future of the digital library system, is chair of the Innovation Lab Working Group of the Association of Research Libraries, and chair of the Digital Humanities/Digital Scholarship Special Interest Group of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Dean’s Corner: IFLA in Barcelona

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This month, I traveled to Barcelona to participate in IFLA’s (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Global Vision Kickoff. This two-day meeting, followed by a two-day workshop, helped to confirm the united goals of IFLA’s global community, and our joint commitment to the value and growth of librarianship and libraries.

     
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Come Play at the STRC and Adaptive Technologies Open House

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BearcatinSTRC 011Stop by the 4th floor of Langsam Library on Wednesday, January 30, from 1pm – 3pm, and join UC Libraries and the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost at an Open House for the Student Technology Resources Center (STRC) and Adaptive Technologies Office. The event will highlight the recent renovation to the space and the services and technologies available in both areas.

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