BAE: Bureau of American Ethnology (not the Danish word for “poop” or an abbreviation of “babe”)

By: Colleen O’Brien, ARB Student Assistant

The acronym BAE does not refer to a common slang term amongst young folks or even to the Danish word for “poop.” Rather, in this instance it is a term which means Bureau of American Ethnology.

How did the Bureau of American Ethnology come to be and why is it important?

In 1879, as the discipline of anthropology was taking hold in universities across America, Congress established an agency called the Bureau of Ethnology.  There is some controversy over the exact purpose for which this department was founded, but one explanation is that the Department of the Interior needed to transfer archives and other materials to the Smithsonian Institution because the two entities were set to merge shortly thereafter.  Thus Congress decided to create a department to ease this change. The second reason, on the other hand, states the Bureau of Ethnology was established as a purely research division of the Smithsonian. Regardless, John Wesley Powell, the Bureau’s key founder, believed it should be used to promote anthropological research in the Americas.   In fact, in 1897, the Bureau of Ethnology changed its name to Bureau of American Ethnology in order to limit geographic interests. Continue reading

The Passing of Henry Heimlich (1920-2016)

Gallery

This gallery contains 7 photos.

The Winkler Center was saddened over the weekend to learn of the passing of Dr. Henry J. Heimlich. In lieu of writing another obituary or quick biography like the ones that can be read here at the Cincinnati Enquirer or … Continue reading

Dean Wang Invited to Participate on International Dunhuang Consultative Committee

Xuemao Wang

Xuemao Wang, Dean and University Librarian, attending the International Dunhuang Consultative Committee meeting.

This past October, Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, was invited by the Dunhuang Research Academy of China to participate in a two-day International Dunhuang Consultative Committee meeting sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to consult on the Digital Dunhuang project. The consultative committee included individuals from such institutions as UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, Microsoft Research Asia, The University of Hong Kong Libraries, the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jawaharlal Nehru University Library, the National Museum in New Delhi, the Korea Institute of Dunhuang, National Taiwan University, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, and the University of Science and Technology of China, among other institutions. Members of the Consultative Committee received a three-year appointment from the director of the academy, Mr. Wang Yuanlong.

The objective of the two-day meeting was to review Digital Dunhuang’s current infrastructures, policies, and challenges, particularly in the three key areas of: digital asset management, digital resource integration, and digital preservation. The committee was charged by the director to prepare a set of recommendations for future activities in each of the three areas. At the end of the two-day, intensive meeting, the international consultative committee presented a draft set of recommendations to the academy.

Dunhuang Cave

Dunhuang Cave

The Dunhuang Caves, the best-known of which are the Mogao Caves, comprise some 492 temples and contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, the caves are one of the most comprehensive cultural heritage museums in existence. The Dunhuang Research Academy  has been devoted to the protection of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves since its founding in 1944. Currently, the Academy is undertaking a massive endeavor known as Digital Dunhuang whose ambitious goals include, eventually, digitizing all 492 caves’ resources—including 3-D imaging of murals, sculptures and the caves themselves—as well as managing the resulting digital resources with long-term digital preservation strategies.

Another Dunhuang project, the International Dunhuang Project is a consortium of libraries and museums that are linking their collections of digitized Dunhuang manuscripts and making them available on the Internet.

This was Dean Wang’s first visit Dunhuang, although he remembers learning about it in his Chinese high school history class. “I was tremendously impressed by its historical and artistic richness and the beauty of the mural paintings, Buddhism manuscripts and massive cave structures,” said Dean Wang. “Dunhuang Research Academy’s vision and work on digitizing the cave’s entire historical and cultural objects for both access and preservation using cutting edge digital technologies is an important and impressive endeavor.”

NLM Biomedical Informatics: Bedside to Bench

GeneVariationAre the National Library of Medicine (NLM) National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) resources just for researchers or just for clinicians?  The upcoming HSL workshops on April 26 and May 18 will demonstrate that NCBI resources are for research, clinical and educational use.

NLM Biomedical Informatics: Bedside to Bench with NCBI will walk through a case study where participants will assist in diagnosing a genetic condition, identifying genetic tests for disease confirmation, and helping determine the molecular etiology of the disease. All while using NCBI resources.

So check it out. Find out how NCBI resources can work for you. Register for the April or May workshops being held in the HSL Troup Learning Space.

Questions? Contact Tiffany Grant, PhD joffritm@ucmail@uc.edu

SciFinder (Chemical Abstracts) Workshops & Consultations: March 24

On Thursday, March 24, UC Libraries will host topical workshops and Q&A/consultation session.  John Zabilski, SciFinder’s lead trainer and database expert will be our presenter.

These sessions will provide you with search techniques and tips to help scour the literature landscape and to keep updated on research findings. The workshops are designed for both advanced and entry-level SciFinder users.  Get to know SciFinder & register for your UC account at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/scifinder prior to the session.

You are welcome to attend any of the four session times.  Please register in advance: http://webcentral.uc.edu/hslclass/home.aspx .

9:30 – 11:00 AM

SciFinder Workshop – Polymers/Materials  850D Baldwin (CEAS Library)

11:00 – 12:00 PM

SciFinder Consultation time / Q&A  850D Baldwin (CEAS Library)

1:30 – 3:00 PM

SciFinder Workshop – Drug Discovery/Clinical                                     /Pharmaceutical Research Areas Troup Learning Space G005G (Health Sciences Library)

3:00 – 4:00 PM

SciFinder Consultation time / Q&A Troup Learning Space G005G (Health Sciences Library)

Workshop topics will include the following:

  • Analyzing and refining searches with controlled terms
  • Substance detail enrichments (i.e. Experimental Data, Physical Prop., Regulatory info, etc.)
  • Structure/Markush Searching, and Patent Indexing
  • SciPlanner (interactive workspace for reaction & synthetis schemes)
  • Analytical Method indexing and Protocol Searching
  • User Alerts and Notifications

John Zabilski, Senior Application Specialist at Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), has worked at CAS for 30+ years, with positions in editorial (organometallic), Customer Help Desk, new product development, and the STN search service.  John has a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Cornell, did graduate work in chemistry at Texas A&M, and received a MBA from Ohio State University. John is a registered US Patent Agent.

Register now at http://webcentral.uc.edu/hslclass/home.aspxPrior to the session, register for your UC SciFinder account at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/scifinder

Questions?  Contact Ted Baldwin baldwitw@ucmail.uc.edu or Edith Starbuck starbuem@ucmail.uc.edu

Welcome to the New Entrance to the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library

GMP entrance

New exterior entrance.

When users of the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library returned to campus for spring semester, they were greeted with a new entrance to the library. The more accessible and visible entrance is located on the exterior of Braunstein Hall across from the Old Chemistry Building and visible from the quad. It includes a book drop as well as a lounge space adjacent to the new entrance.

Over the next six months there are plans to improve the library’s upper level. First, the service desk and reserves will move across the room to be adjacent to the external entrance. In addition, more lounge and group collaboration spaces will be created, as well as a computing space to support GIS needs.

The new entrance will allow many people to discover, or re-discover, this library, and to make use of its resources.

GMP entrance

View from the quad.

 

GMP entrance and lounge.

View of the interior and the lounge adjacent to the new entrance.

Online Resources: HSL eBook Collections

Do you know how many Health Sciences ebook collections are available through the Health Sciences Library (HSL)?  There are 15!  Some are available just to the Academic Health Center and others are available to the entire university.

eBook Collections – Features:

Most of these collections provide the opportunity to search across the entire collection or browse for a specific subject or title. Collections vary in what they include in addition to ebooks. Some include multimedia, cases, self-assessment, drug monographs, calculators and patient education while others also include journals and guidelines. Most include the option to create a personal account that provides the ability to print or email and often more. One collection, ClinicalKey requires a personal account in order to access the PDF full text of an ebook.

Over the next few weeks these ebook collections will be introduced more fully. In the meantime, feel free to explore the collections below.

Health Sciences Library eBook collections:

  1. AccessMedicine
  2. AccessPharmacy
  3. AccessSurgery
  4. ClinicalKey (medicine)
  5. PharmacyLibrary APhA Collection
  6. Psychiatryonline Collection (DSM-5 and other psychiatric titles)
  7. LWW Health Library/Basic & Anatomical Sciences Health Library
  8. STAT!Ref Medicine
  9. STAT!Ref Nursing
  10. R2 Library (allied health, medicine, nursing)
  11. Facts and Comparisons

UC Libraries eBook collections:

  1. CRCnetBASE Collection (engineering, medicine, science, information technology)
  2. Knovel (environment & environmental engineering, safety & industrial hygiene & more)
  3. SpringerLink (biomedical, environmental, food sciences, life sciences & more)
  4. Wiley Online Library (life sciences, medicine, nursing, psychology, earth & environment, veterinary medicine & more)

Other Ways to Access:

HSL A-Z ebooks list: www.libraries.uc.edu/hsl/research/ebooks.html

Research guides (click on Subject Guide to see a list of guides in various subject areas): http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/hsl

Library catalog (most collections but not necessarily all the individual titles in those collections are in the catalog yet): https://uclid.uc.edu/search/X

Off Campus Access:

Most are accessible from off campus via the proxy server or the VPN (Virtual Private Network). The exception is ClinicalKey which is only accessible from off campus via the VPN.

To install the VPN Junos Pulse client on your home computer or device go to http://www.libraries.uc.edu/hsl/services/off-campus-access.html

Best bet: use the Junos Pulse manual installation instructions NOT the automatic installation instructions.

Questions?

Contact Edith Starbuck at 513-558-1433 or edith.starbuck@uc.edu

Looking for Historical Business Data?

In June 2014, The DAAP Library invested in Historical Business Data, Infogroup’s geo-referenced database of historic company records. Data comprises company name, mailing address, SIC and NAICS codes, employee size, sales volume, latitude/longitude and many more variables about each company.

Dr. Xinhao Wang, professor in the School of Planning in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), and Jennifer Krivickas, head of the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, are exploring the possibility of working with the UC’s Technology Commercialization Accelerator (an internal unit that provides seed funding, commercialization expertise and business connections to launch potentially high-impact entrepreneurial initiatives) to develop a proprietary discovery layer that would help researchers search, analyze and visualize data. Stay tuned for more.

Are You A Fan of the Renovated Langsam Classroom? The Bearcat Is.

BearcatThis summer, Langsam Library classroom 462 was renovated to improve functionality and to provide new capabilities for both students and instructors.

The renovated learning classroom has been enlarged and features a curved, glass wall for added visibility. New modular furniture and six large display screens connected to a main projection screen allow for flexible and responsive collaboration opportunities. Wireless access provides for seamless connectivity to the Internet with laptops.

The renovations to Langsam 462 are part of a university pilot project to create an active learning classroom. Four UC professors are using and testing the enhanced learning classroom this semester and providing feedback for use in planning similar spaces across campus.

The Bearcat visited the learning classroom recently and gave it two paws up.

Library Research Guides: Digital Literacy

Libraries provide hundreds of online research guides that point you to tools for all of your research and information handling needs – from finding information to citing sources and publishing the information you created. Some guides are specific to a software product, course or discipline, while others cover a broad range of resources.

This month’s featured guide, Digital Literacy, is a collection of links and tips on finding and evaluating information in digital environments. There is information on how to use online technologies to stay current, organize your citations, files and data, and how to create and publish digital content, as well as how to network and collaborate effectively, protect your online identity, and how to be an ethical and responsible digital citizen.

All these aspects of digital literacy apply to many facets of daily life, but the primary goal of the Research Guide is to equip students with the tools and techniques that would enhance their academic careers and future employment.

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Image source: Digital Literacy Forum.