Tag Archives: Library News

University of Cincinnati Press publication co-edited by UC’s Rebecca Wingo named the National Council on Public History’s Best New Book of the Year

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digital community engagement book coverThe University of Cincinnati Press publication edited by Rebecca S. Wingo, Jason A. Heppler, and Paul Schadewald, Digital Community Engagement: Partnering Communities with the Academy has won 2021 Best New Book of the Year from the National Council on Public History. Each year, the Council selects one book in the area of public history theory, study or practice.

Available via open access on Manifold, Digital Community Engagement brings together cutting-edge campus-community partnerships with a focus on digital projects. Through a series of case studies authored by academics and their community partners, this collection explores models for digital community engagement that leverage new media through reciprocal partnerships. The contributions to this volume stand at the crossroads of digital humanities, public history, and community engagement.

“The team at UC Press made the whole process easy, and the TOME grant made the open access publication possible. My co-editors and I decided early on that this book in particular required open access publication. We spoke to a lot of different presses and we most closely matched with UC Press’ mission,” said Rebecca Wingo, editor of Digital Community Engagement.

“It is fitting that our first award-winning book was published in open access and print in order to inspire engagement to the widest audience possible. As a university press focused on publishing interactive books designed to brings authors and readers together, we are delighted to see this edited volume win a national prize in a discipline that connects the academy to the community,” said Elizabeth Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press.

Welcome back to the CCM Library for Spring Semester!

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The CCM Library faculty and staff welcome you back to Spring Semester 2021!

The CCM Library is open and ready to support your work for the semester.

  • From Monday, 11 January 2021, the physical library is open Monday-Friday, 1-6pm (on the 6th floor, Blegen Library).  For more service information, view full post.
  • Study spaces are available by appointment in the Reading Room and the Media Lab
  • (see CCM Library Appointments).
  • The Click & Collect retrieval and pickup service allows UC users to request physical library materials in the Library Catalog. For details about requesting items, please see the CCM Library home page.
  • For entrance to the Blegen Library building, UC ID card swipe access is required, and a green light on the COVID Check app is required for UC students, and is strongly recommended for others.
  • The due date for most checked-out materials is now August 31, 2021.
  • Returns of CCM Library materials are accepted and encouraged. Place return items in the dropbox/carts on the landing outside the main entrance to the CCM Library (on the 6th floor, Blegen Library).

Welcome to spring semester. Check out service updates and library location hours.

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cech libraryWelcome back, Bearcats, to spring semester 2021!

Check the Libraries website for any spring semester service updates and for operating hours by location. With limited exceptions, there remains no browsing of library materials in the stacks. The Click & Collect retrieval and pickup service allows UC users to request printed library materials in the Library Catalog for pickup at designated locations.  CHAT and email reference services are available to answer any question.

UC Libraries remains open and available online to provide users with access to library resources and services.

Have a productive, successful and safe semester.

Liz Scarpelli awarded a UC Staff Excellence Award

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liz scarpelliAt a virtual ceremony held Wednesday, Dec. 15, Liz Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press, was awarded a Staff Excellence Award for her work starting the Press and also for her commitment to the university and to the Next Lives Here philosophy.

Her nominator noted her work on the development of the Toward Open Access Monograph Ecosystem (TOME) review committee and the creation of the first-ever regional university press/publisher information technology Development Tech Exchange. Moreover, she is committed to improving the academic mission of UC by directly recruiting, consulting and supporting faculty authors on all three of its campuses. “In just a few short years, UC Press has already published three TOME funded books, placing UC in the top 20% of all participating publishers. But that’s not all. During this short time, under Liz’s direction, the University of Cincinnati Press has already cranked out scholarly books, a textbook and journals!”

“My work in Cincinnati over the last three years has been rewarding. To be acknowledged from individuals outside the publishing world, specifically by my own university, is indeed an honor. This acknowledgement signals to me that a university press is not only of value to the institution, but is also able to move university initiatives forward while maintaining integrity and rigorous peer review within the American University Presses core values, service-oriented Library Publishing and the innovative University of Cincinnati model.  I am excited that our unique model has created 12 published books, a pipeline of 50 projects and six academic journals authored by scholars from both within and outside of the university. While this award is being presented to me, I am grateful for the support of everyone on the Press’s board for their continued support and advice, the authors who believe in us, my colleagues in UC Libraries, our dean Xuemao Wang and my staff at the Press, Mark Konecny, Sarah Muncy and Sean Crowe, who work tirelessly to make these books–open access and otherwise–come to fruition,” said Liz of the honor.

The Staff Excellence Awards ceremony was emceed by Chris Collins, chair of the Staff Senate, and Heidi Pettyjohn, incoming chair of Staff Senate, with remarks from President Neville Pinto, Provost Kristi Nelson and Bob Ambach, senior vice president for administration and finance. In addition to Liz, five other UC Libraries’ staff members received nominations: Michael Alfieri, Dean Bachelder, Ben Kline, Yu Mao and Rebecca Olson.

Congratulations, Liz!

The University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report, 2019-2020: A Year Like No Other

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annual progress report graphicWhat a year it’s been.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report, this year completely online, covers July 2019 through June 2020, an academic year that started off normally, but in the spring would be disrupted in ways never thought possible because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fall semester was business as usual with students, faculty, researchers and staff accessing our facilities and resources for research and study, or simply to grab a cup of coffee between classes. Librarians and staff provided instruction on how to find the best research materials, offered reference assistance, collected and made our collections available and collaborated with faculty and researchers to translate information and data into knowledge. The usual activities in the library would come to a sudden halt spring semester.

This year’s report reviews how we responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it also celebrates our numerous accomplishments, highlights new special collections and library exhibits, spotlights the achievements of our faculty and staff and provides usage stats and financial information.

As the semester and 2020 come to a close, we wish you warm wishes for the holiday season. May the new year bring you health, harmony and joy.

Sidney Gao takes on new role as digital collections manager

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sidney gaoSidney Gao, formerly the digital imaging coordinator in Preservation Services, has transitioned to a new role of digital collections manager in the Digital Collections unit of UC Libraries’ Content Services Team (CST). In her time at UC Libraries, Sidney has been deeply involved in the provision and planning of digital content services, far beyond digitization and production, and has worked extensively as a member of the Digital Collections team, including with James Van Mil, digital projects and preservation librarian. Bringing Sidney officially into the Digital Collections team in CST will provide greater synergy for digital content management and allow her to utilize her knowledge and skill set to its fullest.

In her new role Sidney will: manage digitization projects; oversee quality control workflows for in-house and outsourced digitization; report on digitization growth; assess collections status regarding digital preservation, accessibility and sustainability; analyze best practices for accessibility; assist stakeholders in grant writing; collaborate with digitization vendors; create submission information packages for aggregators; train and supervise student staff in digitization production; coordinate with the Preservation Lab to maintain and improve the digitization lab facility and to preserve and protect special collections materials during the digitization workflow; collaborate with colleagues in UC Libraries and other units on campus on digital projects including digital exhibits and outreach.

Please join us in congratulating Sidney on her new position and responsibilities.

UC Libraries closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday

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thanksgiving graphicThe University of Cincinnati Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 for Thanksgiving, with the Walter C. Langsam Library closing early on Wednesday, November 25 at 5pm.

Beginning Monday, November 30 library hours will vary by location with some closing their facilities and offering weekly Click & Collect library material retrieval and pick up service. Library hours and information about the Click & Collect service is available on the Libraries website.

Through the Online Library portal and CHAT reference service, UC Libraries remains open and available online to provide users with access to library resources and services.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Lori E. Harris named assistant dean and director of the Health Sciences Library and Winkler Center

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lori harrisXuemao Wang, vice provost for digital scholarship and dean and university librarian, is pleased to announce that Lori E. Harris has been appointed UC Libraries 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.

In her new role, Harris will plan, direct and assess the services and resources of the Health Sciences Library and Winkler Center within the context of UC Libraries’ mission and strategic plan. She will develop and implement library procedures, collect and analyze library data and oversee the implementation of the Health Sciences Library and Winkler Center strategic directions. She will provide leadership and coordination of the daily operations of the Health Sciences Library and Winkler Center.

Harris joined UC in 2016 as the assistant director of the Health Sciences Library after completing the second year of her National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library of Medicine (NLM) Associate Fellowship Program at UC Libraries. She received her MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a B.A. in American Studies from Smith College.

During her tenure at UC Libraries, Lori has lead and collaborated in numerous initiatives and projects including acquiring and managing the traveling Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness exhibition to the Health Sciences Library, serving as interim director of the Health Sciences Library since January 2019 and co-leading the Libraries Return to Campus Task Force, which is managing how the libraries are providing access to research, services and facilities during the pandemic.

“My time at UC Libraries has been a rewarding one, and it’s just beginning,” said Harris. “I look forward to working with my library colleagues in this new capacity to continue to provide access to the Health Sciences Library’s and Winkler Center’s excellent research collections and services that help to advance the university’s research, teaching, learning and clinical practice initiatives.”

To learn more, read an interview with Lori Harris that appeared in Source in September 2015 when she first came to UC Libraries as an NIH/NLM associate fellow. Congratulations, Lori!

Inaugural Cecil Striker Webinar Series to discuss the book University of Cincinnati Health Colleges: 200 Years

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On Thursday, November 12, 7:00 p.m., the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions will hold its inaugural Cecil Striker Webinar with a discussion with Stephen Marine, associate dean emeritus of the University of Cincinnati Libraries, and Gino Pasi, archivist and curator of collections at the Winkler Center, regarding their new book University of Cincinnati Health Colleges: 200 Years. The talk will be led and moderated by Philip Diller, MD, PhD, senior associate dean for educational affairs at the College of Medicine and chair of the Winkler Center Board.

The webinar link will be available on the Winkler Center’s website at https://libraries.uc.edu/libraries/hsl/winkler-center/cecil-striker.html.

cecil striker webinar series graphic Continue reading →