Tag Archives: Exhibits

Langsam Library exhibits installed in honor of Black History Month pay tribute to trailblazers and display the enormous loss in the Middle Passage

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On display in the Walter C. Langsam Library are two new exhibits created and installed for Black History Month. The first pays tribute to Cincinnati African American Medical Trailblazers – Lucy Oxley and O’dell Owens. The second exhibit displays the enormous loss of life in The Middle Passage.

Cincinnati African American Medical Trailblazers

On display on the 4th floor lobby of Langsam Library, this exhibit features materials from the collections of UC Libraries about Lucy Oxley, MD, the first person of color to receive a medical degree from the UC College of Medicine, and O’dell Owens, renowned physician, former Hamilton County coroner and the first African American to sit on the board of the University of Cincinnati.

cincinnati african american medical trailblazers

The Middle Passage

On the 5th floor lobby of Langsam Library is a large map depicting the Middle Passage, which commonly refers to the experience of enslaved African people as they traveled across the Atlantic Basin to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. Illness, insanity, hunger, dehydration, torture, revolt, suicide and ship wreck led to the death of ~1.8 million Africans at sea during their Middle Passage.

The exhibit corresponds with the Uncommon Read of the book “Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage” by Sowande’ M. Mustakeem. A Lunch and Learn with the author is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 from 12:30-2pm in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library’s Stanley J. Lucas M.D. Boardroom (E005HA). Register to attend the Lunch and Learn.

the middle passage graphic

Both exhibits were curated by UC Libraries faculty and staff: Meshia Anderson, Susan Banoun, Sidney Gao, Tiffany Grant, Gino Pasi and June Taylor-Slaughter. It was designed by UC Libraries communications design co-op Jakob Elliott.

Announcing the 2021/22 UC Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…

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annual progress report header

Announcing the 2021-22 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…a year that saw the broad return of students, faculty and staff to campus for fall semester. The transition from virtual to in-person was an extensive process as library spaces were re-evaluated to allow for a safe return to working and studying on campus. We welcomed students, faculty and staff back to campus with refreshed spaces, enhanced safety protocols for social distancing and a revived appreciation for working together in person.

The year also saw the announcement of our renewed Strategic Framework: NEXT Directions. The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions focus on the core areas of Academic Excellence, Urban Impact and the Innovation Agenda in order to engage people and ideas – and to transform the world. The University of Cincinnati Libraries is key to what’s NEXT.

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.

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward in pursuit of our vision of being the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus and beyond. I invite you to be a part of our journey – a journey led by our Guiding Principles of Investment in our People; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Digital Transformation.

The Annual Progress Report is available online via Sway. Happy Reading!

‘Indigenous Dispossession.’ UC Libraries exhibit highlights laws, treaties and policies that resulted in mass Indian Removal

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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.”

illustration of native american woman

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.

native american man

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.”

native american village

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.”

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

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source graphicRead 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.

New digital display for 1911 graduate Valentine Barker

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A collection donated to the College of Engineering and Applied Science Library is now  a new digital exhibit. The Valentine Barker collection provides a snapshot of technical education and advertisement work in the early twentieth century. The collection was recently digitized by the UC Libraries’ Digital Collections Team. 

Valentine Barker was a 1911 graduate of the Ohio Mechanics Institute comprehensive art program.  The Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI), founded in 1828, is one of CEAS’ source institutions and provided vital technical education during the early development of the city. Beginning in 1901 OMI served as a technical high school, Barker attended as a student of the technical high school.  

A selection of Barker’s talents and a brief overview of OMI history can be found in the digital exhibit.

CEAS library art collection

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The College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) Library recently added labels to their collection of artwork. Visit the library at 850 Baldwin Hall and view part of the CEAS art collection. Many paintings adorning the library walls are from the early twentieth century and capture the prominent change of the beginning of that century in Cincinnati.  

The start of the CEAS art collection: 

Continue reading →

Hello, Central!: Telephones in Illustrated Sheet Music

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hello centralBy Theresa Leininger-Miller,

This two-part exhibition commemorates the 145th anniversary of the invention of the telephone (1876) that took place in 2021; COVID-19 slightly delayed the celebration. Displayed on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library are reproductions of 68 vibrant, chromolithographic covers of illustrated sheet music dating from 1877 to 1939.

The display outside and inside the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art & Planning (DAAP) features two dozen original pieces of sheet music, along with ten vintage telephones. The name of the device, from the Greek, means “far speaking” a way of increasing human earshot. With it, people can make themselves heard and understood around the world with a whisper. Continue reading →

Life of the Mind celebrates the creative and scholarly works of UC’s Artists, Authors, Editors & Composers

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The annual Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with University of Cincinnati faculty, was held Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Jennifer Wright-Berryman, associate professor of social work in the College of Allied Health Sciences, presented “BEING A CAMPUS COMMUNITY THAT CARES: Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the University of Cincinnati.” 

Following Professor Wright-Berryman’s remarks, a panel of three responded to the lecture.

  • Calisha Brooks, mental health activist, Soul Care, LLC
  • Kelly Cohen, Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in aerospace engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
  • Xander Wells, UC student and president of Men4Mental Health
A recording of the lecture is available for viewing on the Libraries YouTube Channel.
bibliography coverThe Life of the Mind lecture series has merged with the former Authors, Editors & Composers to create one event that celebrates the achievements of UC’s Artists, Authors, Editors & Composers.

A bibliography of the submitted creative and scholarly works is available online.

The bibliography includes the works of 114 UC faculty and staff representing 14 colleges and units. The 166 submitted works include research journal articles, chapters, books, and editing. The creative and performing arts are well represented with poetry, artwork, public performances, videos, music and fashion. There are solo works, as well as multiple works representing collaborations with fellow scholars both at UC and around the world.

A selection of the submitted works is on display now on the 4th and 5th floors of the Walter C. Langsam Library. More information about Life of the Mind is available on the Libraries website.

CEAS Library displays supplies from a 1950’s Mechanical Engineering student

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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.

Display of supplies from a 1950's student.

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.

UC Libraries resources in celebration of Black History Month

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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 →