Welcome to the library: Celebrate recently updated spaces that elevate access, collaboration and services

Join UC Libraries this spring at events to celebrate newly updated spaces that foster an adaptive, accessible and productive user experience.

Science Library – February 16

science library

The fall semester saw the opening of a combined Science Library in Braunstein Hall. This thoughtfully transformed space creates a united hub of services, spaces, technology and specialized collections dedicated to supporting the teaching and research needs of the Natural Sciences departments within the College of Arts & Sciences. Although its collections focus on the sciences, the Science Library invites ALL to come and enjoy and make use of the revitalized space in the heart of UC’s campus.

Celebrate Our Grand Opening!
We invite you to join us on Monday, February 16 from 2:00-4:00pm for the Science Library’s Grand Opening Reception! Enjoy refreshments, learn about our new spaces and services, be inspired by our special collections displays, explore science through demonstrations and more!

DaVInci @ Langsam – April 2

The Data Visualization and Interaction at Cincinnati (DaVInCi) team led by Jillian Aurisano, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has created a collaborative space in the library. DaVInCi@Langsam is designed to support collaboration in research and teaching at UC. It offers a large display screen and specialized software that allow everyone in the room to share content and interact. Ongoing research is exploring new ways to heighten interaction with displayed content on the expansive display.

Drop into the DaVInCi@Langsam Open House
Check out the possibilities of the collaborative space at an open house on Thursday, April 2 from 9:30-11:30am, Langsam Library’s 4th floor. Enjoy refreshments while viewing demos of the technology and learn how to reserve and use the space.

CECH Library Reading Room – April 21

The beginning of spring semester brought with it the opening of the renovated College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library Reading Room. Located on the 4th floor of the Teachers-Dyer Complex, and totaling more than 3,000 square feet, the reading room is accessible via the staircase in the CECH Library or directly for those with a Bearcat ID.

Bathed in natural light, the renovated reading room features flexible, soft seating arrangements in the room’s south and north ends and four large study tables with integrated lighting (coming soon) and power access. An inclusive, reservable study room (400B) features adaptive lighting and study and focus tools.

Celebrate the CECH Library Reading Room Opening
Tuesday, April 21, 2:30-4:30pm, CECH Library Reading Room, 400 Teachers-Dyer Complex. Tour the space, hear remarks from UC Libraries and CECH and enjoy the refreshed space.

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

source graphic

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

In this issue of Source, Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian, writes about a new global library collaboration with the library at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. We announce the opening of two renovated library spaces: the Science Library and the CECH Library Reading Room as we bid a fond farewell to Crosley Tower. We highlight library services in the CECH Library to improve accessibility and our expanding Evidence Synthesis group. Library collections are on display in the Chem Bio building renovation featuring the Oesper Collection and online in a new exhibit by the Archives and Rare Books Library about the Bronson v. the Cincinnati Board of Education. Spring is events season in UC Libraries, and we feature those currently on the calendar.

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.

Check Out a Book this Valentine’s week at Marcotte Library

Check Out a Book at the Marcotte Library to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Want to win some Clermont College Library swag or maybe even a Stanley Quencher? All you need to do is have a book checked out from Marcotte Library on Friday, February 13th to be automatically entered into a prize drawing.

So during Valentine’s week 2026, swing by the Marcotte Library, check out a book, and see what we have to offer. We’ll see you then!

Brain Awareness Week Returns to UC Clermont This March

Clermont College is celebrating Brain Awareness Week in 2026, this time the week before Spring Break!

The festivities include an art contest where you can submit brain-themed art in response to these two prompts:

  1. Brain-y Bearcat: Illustrate how Bearcats use the power of their brains to succeed!   
  2. Beautiful Brain: Create an art image of the brain that illustrates its beautiful, inner workings. 

Be sure to submit your pieces through the Google Form link during the acceptance period of February 2nd through March 5th! Online voting to determine contest winners takes place March 9th through 14th. You can see all submitted entries on the display across from the Marcotte Library’s entrance.

In addition to the contest, the Marcotte Library will have brain-themed coloring and activity pages from March 9th through 13th. We’ll also have a display of brain and neuroscience related books for you to check out throughout March. Be sure to swing by to see us!

If you would like more information on Brain Awareness Week, feel free to ask the Marcotte Library or reach out to Dr. Andrea Schultz-Duncan at schulta6@ucmail.uc.edu.

Celebrate the grand opening of the Science Library Monday, Feb. 16, 2-4pm

science library invite

During the summer and fall semesters of 2025, a significant university investment fueled the vibrant formation of a combined Science Library in Braunstein Hall. This thoughtfully transformed space creates a united hub of services, spaces, technology and specialized collections dedicated to supporting the teaching and research needs of the Natural Sciences departments within the College of Arts & Sciences. Although its collections focus on the sciences, the Science Library invites ALL to come and enjoy and make use of the revitalized space in the heart of UC’s campus.

Celebrate Our Grand Opening!
We invite you to join us on Monday, February 16 from 2:00-4:00pm for the Science Library’s Grand Opening Reception! Enjoy refreshments, learn about our new spaces and services, be inspired by our special collections displays, explore science through demonstrations and more!

The Science Library boasts a new service desk, new carpeting, expanded and improved lighting, updated stair treads and a remarkable selection of contemporary furniture. Seating capacity has greatly increased, and over 230 seats are available for individual study, computing, group collaboration and a wide range of special events. The interior design – highlighted by innovative fabrics and wall graphics – draws inspiration from scientific disciplines and the natural world, including works by Cincinnati-based artist Charley Harper. A soothing palette of blues and greens invites students and other visitors alike to experience focus and tranquility.

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Join us Feb. 18 for an afternoon of poetry at the next Poetry Stacked event

The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster 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, Feb. 18 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:

  • Richard Hague is author or editor of 23 volumes, including, with Sherry Cook Stanforth and Michael Thompson, Tributaria: Poetry, Prose, & Art Inspired by Tributaries of the Ohio River Watershed, the poetry collection Continued Cases, and the essay collection Earnest Occupations: Teaching, Writing, Gardening, & Other Local Work. He was named Co-Poet of the Year in 1984 by the Ohio Poetry Association, received the Appalachian Poetry Book of the Year in 2003, and the Weatherford Award in Poetry in 2013. He has been a Pushcart Prize nominee in both poetry and nonfiction and has received several Individual Artist Fellowships in poetry and creative nonfiction from the Ohio Arts Council, and a Katherine Bakeless Scholarship in Creative Nonfiction to Bread Loaf. He is 2025-2027 Poet Laureate of Cincinnati & The Mercantile Library and was 2021-2022 President of the Literary Club of Cincinnati. He has taught writing in Cincinnati and elsewhere for 56 years.
  • Chelsea Whitton is the author of Bear Trap and Wonder Wheel, forthcoming in March of 2026. She holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA in Poetry from The New School. Her poetry and prose have appeared in many of print and online publications, including Beloit Poetry Journal, Copper Nickel, Cream City Review, Poetry Ireland, The Atlanta Review, and Forklift-Ohio. Her work has been a finalist for the Gearhart Prize and the Frost Place and Adrienne Richard awards for poetry. She is the recipient of the 2018 Sandy Crimmins National Poetry Prize. Since 2021 she has been a staff member for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Raised in North Carolina, she spent her twenties in New York, and now lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Matthew, their twin sons, and their cat, Dolly. She teaches creative writing and literature at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. 
  • Emma Johnson-Rivard is a doctoral student in creative writing at the University of Cincinnati. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Tales to Terrify, Red Flag Poetry, and others. She can be found @blackcattales on Bluesky and at emmajohnson-rivard.com
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Spring 2026 Events at Marcotte Library

The Marcotte Library is hosting both new and returning events this spring! Join us to connect with friends and colleagues, learn new things, destress, eat food, and more, all at your Clermont College library.

While our full event calendar is posted to GetInvolvedUC and Bearcats Landing, here are a some highlighted events where we’d love to see you:

  • Check Out a Book is your chance to win a Stanley Quencher or some Marcotte Library swag! To enter the raffle, simply have at least one item checked out from the Marcotte Library by noon on Friday, February 13th.
  • National Muffin Day celebrates the day with free muffins for library visitors while supplies last.
  • Poetry Reading with Christopher Bakken is a late-February reading where the featured poet shares poetry selections with attendees. A Q&A session takes place the reading, and event refreshments are provided.
  • Pre-Pi Day Potluck happens the Wednesday before Spring Break. Bring your favorite pie and sample what others bring!

To find out more about our events or to register for them, be sure to visit the full event calendar on GetInvolvedUC or Bearcats Landing. We hope to see you at some of these!

2026 Systematic Review Workshop Series

The University of Cincinnati Libraries is again offering the popular series of workshops on systematic reviews. Through these students, staff, and faculty can learn about and work through various components of the review process – from protocol to data extraction – with the support of experienced librarians. Attendance at each session is not required, so pick those that best fit your need! More information and registration can be found at OneStop.

Recordings and PowerPoints will be shared with all those that register. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Join us Nov. 19 for an afternoon of poetry at the next Poetry Stacked event

The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster 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. 19 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:



Kim Jacobs-Beck is the author of Luminaries and a chapbook, Torch. Her poems can be seen in Museum of Americana, Great Lakes Review, West Trestle Review, Nixes Mate, Gyroscope, SWWIM, and Apple Valley Review, among other journals. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Milk & Cake Press. Kim is professor of English at UC Clermont College.

Matt Hart is the author of 12 books of poetry, including most recently FALLING FINE: Selected & New Poems. His poems, reviews and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous print and online journals, including American Poetry Review, Big Bell, The Kenyon Review and Poetry, among others. From 1993-2019, he was a co-founder and the editor-in-chief of Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety. Currently, he lives in Cincinnati where he plays in the post-punk/indie rock band NEVERNEW and edits, solders, and publishes the poetry journal SOLID STATE.

Bella Gordo is a creative writing student at UC, where she is an intern for Short Vine Literary Journal and the vice president of Cincinnati Poetry Collective. She edits the zine Cincinnati Girlfriend with her roommate in hopes to spread awareness of the revolutionary potential of bug life in the Queen City. 

In addition to reading their poetry, each poet will speak briefly on their experience as an editor.

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Check out two new exhibits on display in Langsam Library

Two new exhibits have been installed in the Walter C. Langsam Library.

On display on the 4th floor lobby, Bronson v. Board of Education: Cincinnati Desegregation Efforts in the 1960s and 1970s chronicles the work of project archivist Julianna Witt as she completed the archival processing of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s, Bronson v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati records. This collection contains material related to the class-action lawsuit Bronson v. Board from 1974-1984 and consists of legal documents created for court submission and records that originated from the Cincinnati Board of Education. The collection itself, housed in the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library, provides a detailed history of race relations in Cincinnati. A finding aid is available for more information.

Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to ARB.

bronson v board of education: Cincinnati desegration efforts in the 1960s and 1970s

On display on the 5th floor lobby is an exhibit promoting The Libraries of UC. The exhibit includes images and descriptions of each of the nine University of Cincinnati Libraries, along with the fan-favorite Triceracopter. A map of the libraries is available for take away at the exhibit.

the libraries of UC. come learn about all nine of our amazing libraries and their spaces

Both exhibits were designed by UC Libraries design co-op student Ashleigh Stout.