Tune into the Preservation Lab’s Instagram feed the entire week before Halloween (Oct. 25-29), where they will share five of the scariest “preservation horrors” that they encounter in their work. It’s bound to be a fun but frightening week that you won’t want to miss!
An exhibit on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library showcases the work of University of Cincinnati professor Isay Balinkin, a pioneer in the field of color studies. From being an impassioned teacher, awarded the prestigious Godlove Award for his lifelong contributions to color in art, science and industry, Balinkin’s impact was far reaching. His colorful book collection is available for use and study in the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library, while his personal communication, lab notes and various other belongings are available for research in the Archives and Rare Books Library.
UC Data Day 2021, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, will offer online panel discussions and a keynote address by Heather Krause, founder of We All Count and the Data Equity Framework, centered around the theme of bias, miscommunication and equity in data. The event will also include a week-long virtual screening of the documentary film Coded Bias and an afternoon panel discussion on Good vs Bad AI.
In order for data to be equitable, the processes involved in the data life cycle must consider the ethical nuances of each step in the process. Careful consideration must be paid to the way that we collect, analyze, interpret and distribute data in order to ensure that bias is not integrated (consciously or unconsciously) into the process. Today we are barraged with information, couched as fact, that is misleading, potentially harmful and that is replete with biases. These miscommunications can lead to the reinforcement of negative stereotypes, poor decision making, social upheaval and mistrust of vetted, factual information. Social Media is often a “mixed bag” of facts and fiction, and many people have difficulty navigating and drawing the line between them. UC Data Day 2021 will take aim at data miscommunication and bias and discuss ways in which data can be re-examined through an equity lens.
More information about Data Days past and present, along with a link for registration, is available on the Data Day website.
In October of 2020, we celebrated our 5th Annual Data Day event. As we prepare for subsequent similar events, we would like to assess the impact of our previous events on those that attended. We are asking that if you have attended any Data Day event in the past that you would kindly take a few moments to participate in a survey to assess your experiences. Your responses will be confidential unless you choose to submit your contact information for further inquiries regarding the events.
Please use this link to access the survey: https://redcap.link/ucdataday. Please know that your feedback is very important to us, and we appreciate your time filling out the survey.
In the middle of the 4th floor of the Walter C. Langsam Library are three Yamaha digital grand pianos nestled in front of the Multimedia Productions Department. At different times of the day all three pianos are in use. When walking by, all you can hear from the pianos are the keys bottoming out, nothing harmonious, but rather a thud sound as each player presses the keys. Jay Sinnard, manager of the Multimedia Productions Department, recorded one of the students making those non-harmonious sounds, but from a different perspective. The student is freshman geology major Ian Rogers.
A collaboration between UC Libraries and the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the keyboards are open to anyone wanting to play on a first come-first served basis, but bring your own headphone as they are required.
Join the Preservation Lab staff on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 3pm (EST) for a quick Instagram Live event centered around a collection of Japanese bindings that were recently conserved and are now in the process of receiving specialized, custom enclosures. They will talk about the two different types of bindings in the collection, creating Japanese four-sided enclosures, why they make models, and answering any questions you might have!
Mark your calendars, or better yet, follow them on Instagram @thepreservationlab for updates, because you won’t want to miss this behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the Lab. See you then!
The members of HathiTrust have elected four new members to its Board of Governors, including UC’s Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian and vice provost for digital scholarship, who will serve a three-year term (2022-2024). Other new board members include Theresa Byrd, University of San Diego, Anne Houston, Lafayette College, and Beth Namachchivaya, University of Waterloo.
Holly Mercer of the University of Tennessee Knoxville and Chair of the HathiTrust Board of Governors, said, “the energy and vision promised by these new board members is invigorating as we look forward to HathiTrust’s future. We’ll benefit greatly from their leadership in their own organizations and in our member community. I am grateful for their willingness to serve and can’t wait to get started.”
Dean Wang supports the HathiTrust Board’s primary goal to “sharply focus on ‘strategic’ roles for the organization’s continuing evolving future.” He advocates for finding ways “to broaden multidisciplinary scholar engagement from disciplines beyond humanities and social sciences.” Dean Wang’s 35+ year-career spans multi-library sectors from the academic, public, consortium and international library worlds. He has served on several professional organizations’ governing boards, standing and advisory committees, task-forces and working groups, including the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and OhioLINK. His roles leading UC Libraries and working to achieve the university’s digital scholarship agenda will provide him with valuable insights to contribute to the goals of HathiTrust.
Founded in 2008, HathiTrust is a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries preserving 17+ million digitized items. The University of Cincinnati Libraries joined as members in 2018. The HathiTrust Board of Governors has ultimate responsibility for HathiTrust’s activities, strategy, finances and operations. It includes six at-large members elected by the membership and six members appointed by the founding institutions, which include Indiana University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, and members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The current members of the Board can be found on the HathiTrust website.
The mission of Life of the Mind is to celebrate UC faculty research, scholarship and creative output and to foster the free and open exchange of ideas and discourse. The annual lecture features interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty around a distinctive point of view. This year’s Life of the Mind is scheduled as a hybrid event with both in-person and virtual components; therefore, it is not required that the speaker present in person.
The Life of the Mind Steering Committee seeks nominations for the featured UC faculty presenter at the Tuesday, Feb 22, 2022 lecture. The faculty presenter should be an expert in their respective field with a proven record of scholarship or creation of works, as well as be an engaging speaker able to address a diverse audience. The presentation will not simply be a recitation of the faculty member’s work or research, but will promote a point of view and provoke discussion that spans broad intellectual interests from multiple perspectives.
Following the faculty presenter’s lecture, a panel will respond to and discuss the lecture and a moderator will encourage audience engagement. The Life of the Mind event will also celebrate the published or performed creative and scholarly works of UC’s artists, authors, editors & composers with an exhibit and bibliography. Continue reading
Calling all UC Artists, Authors, Editors & Composers!
The annual Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with University of Cincinnati faculty, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Once again, the event will celebrate the published or performed creative and scholarly works of UC’s artists, authors, editors & composers with an exhibit and bibliography. To include creative and scholarly works, UC faculty and staff members are invited to self-submit via an online form. Include only those submitted works performed or published between January 1, 2020 and June 20, 2021. Submissions are limited to three per category per artist, author, editor or composer. Categories may include: books, book chapters, journal articles, editing, artwork, photography, plays, musical scores, CDs or DVDs, and more. Contact melissa.norris@uc.edu with any questions.
The mission of Life of the Mind is to celebrate UC research, scholarship and creative output and to foster the free and open exchange of ideas and discourse. It is organized by UC Libraries, Faculty Senate and the Faculty Enrichment Center, and is sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Life of the Mind supports the university’s Research2030 initiative, which focuses on two key objectives: Enhancing UC’s national reputation and emphasizing the impact of UC’s research enterprise. The Life of the Mind lecture creates a platform to exchange interdisciplinary research and foster intellectual conversation. The artists, authors, editors & composers exhibit and bibliography promotes faculty and staff research and creative outcomes.
For information on last year’s event, visit the Life of the Mind website.
All UC Libraries locations are closed Monday, Sept. 6 for Labor Day. The Libraries will reopen as scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Have a safe and relaxing holiday.
And for more information on labor, check out the exhibit Working for a Living, featuring the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library labor collections.
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