Join us Feb. 12 for an afternoon of poetry at the next Poetry Stacked

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. 12 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:

poets Aditi Machado, Abigail Rudibaugh and Whitney Hendrix

Aditi Machado is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Material Witness from Nightboat; a novel translation from the French; and several pamphlets of nonfiction prose and poetry. Soon-to-be published works include a book-length translation of Swiss poet Baptiste Gaillard’s In the Realm of Motes and the collaborative mistranslation project Ancient Algorithms headed by Katrine Øgaard Jensen. Machado is an Associate Professor at UC and an Advisory Poetry Editor at The Paris Review.

Abigail Rudibaugh is a writer and teacher. Her writing has been published in Pensworth Literary Journal, Noble Pursuit Magazine, and Fathom Magazine. Abigail holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching through the Ohio Writing Project at Miami University as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry through Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. She calls Cincinnati, Ohio home with her husband and two daughters.

Whitney Hendrix is an undergraduate senior at the University of Cincinnati. Raised in a small conservative town in Northeast Ohio, she much enjoys the Cincinnati student lifestyle. She will graduate this Spring with degrees in English Creative Writing and Film and Media Studies. Whitney mainly writes poetry but is inspired by all genres and forms of storytelling. Her work explores themes of identity, the mundane every day, memory, and childhood. Most of Whitney’s literary inspiration comes from her dream journal and her favorite fiction novelist Ottessa Moshfegh. 

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 engages audiences via exposure to contemporary poetry and increases 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. Following each reading, guests are invited to tour the Elliston Poetry Room.

The intent of the series is to enrich and engage the UC campus and Cincinnati communities in accordance with the Libraries’ Strategic Framework and the Next Lives Here Strategic Directions in support of Academic Excellence and Community Engagement. It aligns with the Libraries’ vision as the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation, and scholarly endeavor on campus and beyond.

Can’t make it to Poetry Stacks in person? It will be live streamed via the Elliston Poetry Room’s Instagram. And look for information soon about the March 12th Poetry Stacked.


poetry anthology

Poetry Stacked Anthology – Buy your copy today for $25+tax.

The Poetry Stacked Anthology, Volume 1 features the work of the poets, artists and dancers of the 2022-2023 series. Accomplished poets featured in the anthology include University of Cincinnati faculty members Alecia Beymer, Elijah Guerra, Aditi Machado and Felicia Zamora, along with current and former UC students Hussain Ahmed, Taylor Byas, Casey Harloe, Asher Marron, Nicholas Molbert, Dior Stephens and Connor Yeck. Community poets bring a vibrancy to the anthology with Manuel Iris, Violeta Orozco, Caroline Plasket, Kristen Renzi and Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour. The Poetry Stacked Anthology is a true artist book – designed, created and edited through a collaboration with UC Libraries, the Elliston Poetry Room, the Preservation Lab and the University of Cincinnati Press.

Purchase online now while supplies last. Copies will also be available at the Feb. 12 event.

Major upgrade coming to the Library Services Platform (LSP)

The OhioLINK consortium, which includes the University of Cincinnati Libraries, is upgrading the Library Services Platform (LSP) in summer 2025 to Ex Libris Alma/Primo VE, a state-of-the-art systems software, and the most-used academic library system in the United States. More than 65% of Association of Research Libraries use Alma.

This cloud-based, enterprise system software is the backbone of day-to-day library operations (acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, etc.), and generates the underlying data that drives library business decisions and reporting. The new system will provide user benefits to help students, faculty and other library users find (and access) information critical to learning, teaching and research. Its user-friendly interactions will be more user intuitive.

book stacks

Primo, the new user interface, will streamline search functions and access to local resources and scholarly research. It will offer new and improved features and benefits for library users, including:

  • Faster searching – search electronic and print resources in one search,
  • Enhanced discovery – explore automatic recommendations, citation trails, availability in multiple formats and track requests, including finding resources across the OhioLINK network,
  • Personalized features – save preferences, searches, citations and export to citation management systems,
  • More intuitive user experience, and
  • Mobile friendly – a responsive user interface designed specifically for mobile devices.

Although UC Libraries is working to minimize disruption to services, the transition to the new system will impact acquisitions and summer borrowing of print materials among other OhioLINK institutions. Most immediate, March 1, 2025 is the last date to purchase or license new materials during this fiscal year (ending on June 30, 2025).  Please contact your subject librarian as soon as possible for spring needs. Purchasing and licensing will resume after the new fiscal year begins on July 1, 2025. More information about the resumption of purchasing/licensing will be shared as information becomes available.

More details and updates can be found on the Libraries LSP web page, which includes an FAQ. Check this page throughout the spring for project updates.

Langsam exhibit looks back at the Cincinnati Subway and Street Improvements project

The latest University of Cincinnati Libraries exhibit showcases historic images of Cincinnati from the Archives and Rare Books Library’s Urban Studies Collection. On display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Cincinnati Subway and Street Improvements exhibit features photographic prints and negatives from 1920 to 1956 from an extensive archive of the City Engineer, City of Cincinnati.

The collection of over 8,000 photographic negatives and prints were taken by the city’s Rapid Transit Commission as part of a failed subway development project in the 1920s, along with photographs documenting various street projects from the 1930s through the 1950s. It provides a glimpse at the interior views of homes and businesses damaged during the construction and follows the growth of the city through various street improvement projects that took place between the 1920s and 1950s.

The Cincinnati Subway and Street Improvements exhibit was designed by Francesca Voyten, communications design co-op student.

cincinnati subway and street improvements collection exhibit

Health Sciences Library celebrates opening of The Anatomy Learning Lab with two events scheduled in January

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library announces the opening of The Anatomy Learning Lab to enhance the study of the human body. Located on the E level of the library, the 10 specimens placed throughout the space provide the opportunity for close study of torsos, a hand, foot, kidneys and other body systems. The specimens coupled with the Sectra Virtual Anatomy Table, also located in the space, provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the structural and functional complexities of the human body.

To celebrate the opening of The Anatomy Learning Lab, the Health Sciences Library is holding two events:

Open House

Thursday, January 16, 3:30-5pm
Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library – E Level

Brief remarks by: Dr. Gregory Postel, senior vice president of health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine; and
Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian


Lunch & Learn

Human Anatomical Models: History & Development of Plastination

Thursday, January 23, 11:30am
Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library – The Anatomy Learning Lab, E Level

RSVP requested.

lunch and learn invite

Dr. Efrain Miranda, CEO of Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. will review the history of three-dimensional models to study anatomy, including wax models, paper mâché models and other techniques and materials, culminating with the present, utilizing 3D computer-based systems and plastination.

Both events are open to all to attend in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, 231 Albert Sabin Way.

Langsam Library offers extended hours through exams

Need a place to study for exams? Working late on a class project? The Walter C. Langsam Library has extended building hours beginning Sunday, Dec. 1st through exams.

The Desk@Langsam will maintain regular hours.

extended hours. langsam library open until 3am, sunday-thursday, dec. 1-11

Extended Building Hours:

Sunday, Dec. 1: 8am-3am
Monday-Thursday, Dec. 2-5: 8am-3am
Friday, Dec. 6: 8am-10pm
Saturday, Dec. 7: Noon-10pm
Sunday, Dec. 8: Noon-3am
Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 9-11: 8am-3am
Friday, Dec.12: 8am-5pm

Winter Break hours begin Saturday, Dec.13.

UC Libraries closed for Thanksgiving holiday

turkeys

The University of Cincinnati Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 28 through Saturday, November 30 for the Thanksgiving holiday, with some locations closed the entire holiday weekend and many library locations closing early on Wednesday, November 27 at 5pm. Check the listed hours for each library location’s specific hours.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Carly Fledderjohann joins UC Libraries as the digital content specialist

Carly Fledderjohann joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries on November 18th as the digital content specialist. In this new role, Carly will be responsible for managing the Libraries various social media accounts and creating animated and video digital content for promotional purposes. She will work closely with the communication design co-op student and the director of library communication to raise the external profile of UC Libraries.

carly fledderjohann

Carly is a 2024 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, majoring in film and media studies. She worked as a creative communications intern for the Dayton Dragons where she created still and animated video board graphics, produced content for social media and filmed videos for promotional purposes. Prior to the Dragons, Carly was social media manager and office assistant for Closets & More and was an intern for UC Athletics.

Welcome back to UC, Carly!

Archives and Rare Books Library receives national grant to process historic Cincinnati schools desegregation case records

national archives

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library a $109,349 grant to support a project to complete archival processing of the records of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP related to the 1974 Bronson v. Cincinnati Board of Education, the city’s most significant legal case in the fight for school desegregation.

Filed in 1974, the Bronson case was not the first litigation to address segregation and discrimination in the Cincinnati Public Schools, but it was the first to create some accountability for the Cincinnati School Board. Housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB), the collection contains the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP’s records related to the case, including correspondence, court filings, background research on segregation in education in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, the conditions of schools, curriculum and how the Cincinnati Public Schools addressed the decree that was agreed upon as a result of the case.

“The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1974 filing of the Bronson v. Cincinnati Board of Education suit. This collection details a significant period in the history of the Cincinnati Public Schools and the history of education in Cincinnati,” said Chris Harter, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library. “This collection will be useful to students, faculty and researchers interested in the history of public schools in not only Cincinnati but throughout the United States.”

The Cincinnati NAACP collection complements two significant ARB collections documenting African American leadership and civil rights activism in Cincinnati, both of which contain materials related to the Bronson case. These include the personal papers of Theodore Berry, Cincinnati’s first African American mayor and mayor at the time of the Bronson case, which were processed in 2015 with the assistance of an Archival Projects grant from NHPRC. In addition, the personal papers of NAACP member, and later chapter president, Marian Spencer were processed in 2017. While these collections contain some documentation of the Bronson case and provide insight into the role of two specific individuals in the NAACP’s activism, the records of the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP will provide a view into the larger legal strategies, research and community activism involved with the court case.

ARB has hired project archivist Julianna Witt to organize the collection and create an online finding aid. Once fully processed, the Cincinnati NAACP Project records will be available for research through the online publication of a full-text searchable finding aid created using the ArchivesSpace collection management system. In consultation with the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP and local scholars and activists, the University of Cincinnati will sponsor a public program related to the history of public education in Cincinnati and civic engagement. In addition, a public exhibition will be designed and installed focusing on the lead up to and results of the Bronson case.

“This project aligns with the larger strategic directions of the University of Cincinnati and the Libraries,” said Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian. “The University of Cincinnati’s Next Lives Here strategic directions make a commitment to our community, particularly Cincinnati’s local public schools. In addition, making this collection widely available meets our goal to enrich and curate library collections that enable intellectual endeavors and to expand the visibility of diverse perspectives and voices.”

The grant received by ARB is part of $4 million historical records project grants awarded as part of the National Archives grant program.

Cento as Form: Poetry found in the stacks

Join UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room for a hands-on discussion and workshop about creating Cento poetry.

Thursday, Nov. 14, 6:30pm

Elliston Poetry Room, 646 Langsam Library

Katie Foran-Mulcahy, librarian and head of the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services Library, will begin the event with an overview of library collections. She will instruct how to navigate the stacks and then give directions on how to proceed with a scavenger hunt to find resources to collect lines from various texts.

Dior Stephens, poet and PhD graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, will then lead participants in a workshop to create their own Cento poem. Dior will introduce the Cento form, its history and creative potential, and explain that participants can use lines from any genre of books they find in the stacks to create their own poems.

The event is free and open to all to attend. Come to learn about and create a Cento poem.

cento as form flyer

This special issue of the online newsletter, Source, announces the University of Cincinnati Libraries Strategic Plan, 2024-2027.

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, announces UC Libraries Strategic Plan, 2024-2027. This participatory and data-informed process to draft a Strategic Plan resulted in a renewed mission, Values and four Strategic Directions: Enrich Our Collections, Expand Our Impact, Strengthen Our Organization and Support Our Students.

This special issue of Source includes examples of how we’re already working to achieve the goals articulated in our Strategic Directions:

  • Enrich Our Collections. Social Activist with a press showcases recently acquired work of Amos Kennedy to the collections of the Archives and Rare Books Library.
  • Expand Our Impact. Read about Mac-Anthony Cobblah‘s, university librarian for the Sam Jonah Library at the University of Cape Coast, summer visit to UC Libraries, as well as an article about how three librarians from the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library launched a pilot 15-week Systematic Review cohort.
  • Strengthen Our Organization. UC Libraries is building its capacity by welcoming new leaders to UC Libraries – Jéanne Brooks & Brian Gray.
  • Support Our Students. Two recent UC collaborations – one with the UC Learning Commons to provide student and tutoring opportunities in Langsam Library and another with the Accessibility Resources Offices to revamp the Accessible Technology Space – are prime examples of how UC Libraries is working for students.

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.