Tag Archives: Services

Return to Campus Library Service Updates

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As the university plans for a broad return of students, faculty and staff to campus for fall semester, the Libraries are preparing our facilities, services and access to collections. Following are important things to know as we Return to Campus. Library spaces, services and access may be adapted in accordance with current and changing safety guidelines. Check the Libraries Return to Campus web page for library service updates.

Library Spaces

  • Beginning August 2, most library locations will be open and available for use. The availability of certain services and spaces within each library may vary by location. Hours and specific library location information are listed on the website.
  • Users are encouraged to maintain social distancing and must follow current university safety protocols outlined on UC’s Public Health Website.
  • In addition:
    • Tables and chairs may not be moved or reconfigured so as to ensure social distancing.
    • All users are encouraged to clean their table and chair upon leaving. The library advises that all users consider a wipe-down upon arrival to their seating location as well. Cleaning supplies will be provided.
    • Consumption of food and drink should occur when seated. Please note that some library locations continue to prohibit food and drink.
    • Public computers and labs located within library facilities will be available with social distancing measurements and cleaning protocols in place.
  • Library spaces and services may be adapted in accordance with safety guidelines. Visit the Return to Campus website for the latest updates.

Requesting Library Materials

  • Daily deliveries between libraries have resumed.
  • All pickup locations are reactivated, which allows users to request UC materials be sent to the University of Cincinnati library location of choice for pick up.
  • OhioLINK, SWORD and SearchOhio items can be requested.

Access to Print Collections

  • Service desks and library stacks will re-open at most locations on August 2. This re-opening includes the previously closed floors of the Walter C. Langsam Library and the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library.
  • The Click & Collect retrieval and pickup service ends on August 2.
  • Course Reserves will resume on August 2.
  • Regular, pre-pandemic loan rules and borrowing periods have resumed.
    • Summer semester loans continue through August 31.

Access to Online Library Resources

  • Beginning August 10, access to licensed online library resources requires user authentication by logging in with a UC username + password and Duo Two Factor authorization.
  • More information on accessing online licensed library resources and help with troubleshooting problems will be available on the Libraries website.

Questions?

  • Need help finding library resources? Can’t remember how to access My Library Record to renew materials checked out? Librarians and staff are available to answer your questions via CHAT, Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm.
  • Users can also reference the Contact Us webpage to report a website error or to ask a reference or circulation question.

Library Location Information

  • Detailed facility, service and contact information for specific library locations is available on library web pages.

UC Libraries looks forward to a safe and productive fall semester. More information about UC Libraries, as well as access to the library catalog, is available via the website.

New Hours for the Archives and Rare Books Library beginning Aug. 9

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Beginning Monday, August 9, 2021 the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library, located on the 8th floor of Blegen Library, will institute new hours:

Monday: Closed to the public
Tuesday-Friday: 9am-5pm, available by appointment
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Mostudent researching in the archives and rare books librarynday public closures will allow the ARB staff additional time to process collections and prepare materials for upcoming research appointments.

To schedule an appointment, please contact ARB at archives@ucmail.uc.edu or (513) 556-1959. For more information about the Archives and Rare Books Library, including access to online exhibits and collections, visit our website.

Service Note: Planned Internet outage for Saturday, July 24 to impact library services

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IT@UC will upgrade the equipment that connects UC’s campus to the Internet (F5 Global Traffic Managers) during a planned maintenance window from 6-8 a.m., Saturday, July 24.

Users may experience brief interruptions to cloud-based IT services during the planned upgrade. Affected systems may include:

  • Canvas
  • Microsoft Office 365 (OneDrive, Outlook email, etc),
  • Some UC Library resources, including access to the Library Catalog, website, CHAT and more
  • NightRide
  • Web conferencing tools (Teams, WebEx, Zoom)

This upgrade is necessary and will better prepare UC for fall semester. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your support.

Please contact the IT@UC Service Desk if you experience any issues following this necessary planned maintenance window.

  • Submit a ticket.
  • Or, call us: Dial (513) 556-HELP (4357) or (866) 397-3382 from your personal phone. Dial 6-HELP (4357) from a university phone on campus. Then, select option 2.

Upcoming changes in off-campus access links to library resources

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User access to library electronic resources is controlled by UC credentials and the Libraries proxy server. To improve management of this, UC Libraries is changing proxy servers at the end of the spring semester. As a result, all URLs containing the library proxy will need to be changed to the new server address. The Libraries has created tools to assist users in changing/creating proxy URLs. For anyone who bookmarks or includes library resource links in communication, course syllabi, canvas, etc., please plan to change library resource links starting in the month of May to the new proxy URL.  The Libraries will maintain the old server through the end of 2021, so access will be continuous for summer semester and ample time is provided for the URLs to be updated.

If you have any questions about how to access electronic library resources, please contact a library liaison.

Love Data Week, Feb 8-12, 2021.

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Love Data Week 2021

Love Data Week 2021

Love Data Week takes place the week of Valentine’s Day. Created to raise awareness of research data management, sharing, reuse, and preservation of data, it has been promoted by library and data professionals since 2016 in both online and in-person events.  You can see some of the events taking place around the world at the International Love Data Week 2021 schedule.

One of the ways we at RDS/UCL celebrate is to participate in the Adopt a Dataset program that ICPSR hosts every year.  ICPSR choses to highlight interesting data sets from their collection for individuals to explore to learn more about data. Once a dataset is chosen, you may fill out the Dataset adoption form and have your name added to the wall of adopters.  Adopters are encouraged to delve into the data by reading about the research, look at the variables, try out the analysis tools online, and read related publications.

ICPSR is a member consortium that UC belongs to that provides access to datasets from over 15,000 studies, over 5.6 million variables, which have had over 95,000 publications that cited those studies. It also provides curated data repository services for researchers, including secure data enclaves, which fulfill finding requirements for data management plans. Although most studies are quantitative in the social and behavioral sciences, there are also themed collections in the arts, humanities, and some health sciences. Teaching resources, online analysis tools, and pre-made exercise modules also are available to members.

There are a wide variety of datasets to choose from this year, ranging from education, to social media, social justice, to health. I chose to adopt one on music, Study of Jazz Artists, 2001 (ICPSR 35593). I started out by looking at the description of the study and how it was conducted. I then jumped into browsing the variables, one of the tabs found on the data set page. One of the great features of ICPSR is that you can search by variable if you are looking for specific studies to replicate or want to see if your own survey questions fit what others have asked in the past.

One variable jumped out at me – Q32- Age Began Playing First Instrument. My own children play instruments and I always wonder if we’ve started them at the right age or not. Looking at the result for this variable, I can see the unweighted results, including summary statistics and a variables chart. The median age was 9, the mode was 10, the maximum was 35, and the minimum was 1! I guess there’s still hope if you’re in your 30s to pick up an instrument to become a professional jazz musician!   The sweet spot to start your child appears to be the 8-10 year old range.

If you have questions about Love Data Week,  ICPSR, Data, Data Management Plans, Cleaning, Storing, Finding, or Using Data, contact us at Research and Data Services here at UC Libraries. We would love to help you with your projects, offer a workshop to your department or class, or discuss your data needs.

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.