The University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report, 2020-2021

Looking back as we plan our NEXT Directions.

This year’s Annual Progress Report covers July 2020 through June 2021. It was an exceptionally complicated time, during which we entered the second year of the pandemic, developed and adopted new digital resources to support remote learning and remote research and prepared for the transition back to campus for the 2021 fall semester.

In these unprecedented times, library faculty and staff continuously found ways to transform and elevate library services by bringing their experience, talents and dedication to the forefront so as to continue to fulfill our mission to “empower discovery, stimulate learning and inspire the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to dynamic data, information and resources.” Continue reading

Man Qi joins RDS team as a student research consultant

Man QiMan Qi is joining UC Libraries’ Research and Data Services (RDS) team as a student research consultant where she will provide consultations in the Data & GIS Collab in the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library.

Her expertise is GIS software, hydrological modeling, SWMM modeling, geographic data processing, spatial analysis, map design, Python and R.

Man Qi is a PhD candidate in Geography & GIS from UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. She is passionate about helping others with data visualization and spatial data analysis. Her main job is to provide support to our UC community in spatial data processing and analysis (e.g., location analysis, spatial interpolation), map design and making using GIS techniques and hydrological modeling using SWMM. In addition, she also works with UC RDS team to develop workshops according to the UC community’s needs in learning GIS techniques, such as ArcGIS StoryMaps workshop.

Welcome, Man!

UC Libraries commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a week-long online learning event

martin luther king, jr.The UC Libraries Racial Equity, Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team (RESPECT) will be hosting an online asynchronous, interactive program to commemorate and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Visit the online presentation beginning Jan.17 to read and listen to Dr. King’s speech, “The Other America,” then engage in conversation and learning throughout the week of Jan. 17-21.

 

UC Libraries Closed Monday, Jan. 17 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. from LIFE Magazine

UC Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 17 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day . The libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Want to read up on Martin Luther King, Jr., his impact and legacy, and how you can make a difference? Check out these library resources and the Racial Justice Resources for Activists, Advocates and Allies Research Guide.

Spring 2022 Return to Campus Update for UC Libraries

With the university shifting to online learning until January 24 because of the increase in local, state, and national COVID-19 cases, and the high transmission rate of the Omicron variant, UC Libraries are making adjustments to operating hours. Library locations remain open with reduced hours, except for the Archives and Rare Books Library, which is not currently taking new research appointments, but is available to answer reference questions via phone and e-mail.

Hours by location are listed on the Libraries website, including those for UC Blue Ash, Clermont and Law, which vary from those for UC Libraries.

Current information on the Libraries Return to Campus plans, can be found online.

 

Winter Break hours for UC Libraries

Winter Break Hours for the University of Cincinnati Libraries begin Saturday, Dec. 18. All library locations will be closed Dec. 18-Jan. 2, except for the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library (HSL), which will be open noon-5pm, Dec. 20-23 and closed Dec. 24-Jan. 2.

winter sceneIn addition, all library locations except for Langsam Library and HSL will close at noon, Friday, Dec. 17. The Desk@Langsam will also close at noon, Friday, Dec. 17.

A listing of all hours is available on the Libraries website.

Have a relaxing and safe Winter Break.

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library introduces Andrea Chemero and Jessica Heys

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library is pleased to welcome two new faces to its ranks.

Andrea Chemero

Andrea Chemero

Andrea Chemero

Andrea Chemero has joined the Health Sciences Library in the role of temporary health sciences librarian. She comes to the library with over 10 years of experience as a librarian, having worked in libraries at both the community college and academic levels. Andrea may be a familiar face to some as she also spent time working in the Karl J. Schlachter and Robert A. Deshon Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

Andrea brings to her position at the Health Sciences Library experience in reference and instruction, customizing online finding aides and providing research workshops. She has made frequent use of custom online finding aides, such as LibGuides, to support students’ research needs and has extensive experience helping students with medical reference questions and databases such as CINAHL, Medline and Ovid.

Upon moving to Cincinnati in 2012, Andrea took a break from being a librarian to pursue art, which led to her earning an M.F.A. from DAAP in 2020. Andrea states that she was “unable to keep away,” and took a one-year break from her studies at DAAP to work as a librarian at the DAAP Library.

Jessica Heys

Jessica Heys

Jessica Heys

Jessica Heys has joined the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions. Jessica works directly with Gino Pasi, Winkler Center archivist, to help create a series of exhibits corresponding to a lecture series focused on Renaissance doctor and anatomist, Andreas Vesalius. In addition, she is processing the papers of environmental and occupational health pioneer Eula Bingham, PhD.

Jessica has been the archives contractor for The Charles F. Kettering Foundation in Dayton for several years and was formerly the archivist for the National Afro American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce. A Certified Archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists, Jessica holds an M.A. in history with public history emphasis, focus on museum studies and archives and records management from Wright State University, a B.A. in art history from the University of Cincinnati College of DAAP, and an A.A. in art with emphases in painting and life drawing and anatomy from Sinclair Community College. In addition to having been invited to the Cincinnati Women Leadership Conference, she is a member of numerous academic and professional organizations, and is looking forward to her time working here at UC.

Welcome, Andrea and Jessica!

Next lecture in The Illustrated Human series to examine the impact of Andreas Vesalius’s “Fabrica” publication

fabrica

The Fabrica

The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, University of Cincinnati Libraries and the College of Medicine are hosting a series of lectures and exhibits exploring the Renaissance anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius (December 1514 – June 1564). Vesalius revolutionized the study and practice of medicine with his careful descriptions and anatomical studies of the human body published in “De humani corporis fabrica libri septem” (“On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books”).

Join us Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 12:00 p.m. online via Zoom for the third lecture in the six-part series – “The Impact of Vesalius: Short-Term and Long-Term Perspectives.” Award-winning cultural historian Dániel Margócsy, PhD, University of Cambridge, will discuss the book he co-authored with Mark Samos, PhD, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellow and senior research affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and Stephen Joffe, MD, professor, Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, “The Fabrica of Andreas Vesalius. A Worldwide Descriptive Census, Ownership and Annotations of the 1543 and 1555 Editions.”

The initial reception of the 1543 edition was highly controversial and Vesalius encountered a great deal of criticism and attack by his former teachers and contemporaries. Slowly over time, the validity of his introduction of the scientific approach to teaching and learning human anatomy firsthand took hold and by the time of the second edition in 1555, the truths contained in the “Fabrica” were diffusing into medical schools across Europe.

Register to attend to the lecture.

More information about The Illustrated Human lecture series and accompanying exhibits is available on the Vesalius website.

The Illustrated Human: The Impact of Andreas Vesalius is sponsored by Stephen and Sandra Joffe.

CEAS Library displays Cincinnati Industrial Exposition tokens from 1870-1874 

ceas displayThe Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI), founded in 1828, is one of the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s (CEAS) source institutions and provided vital technical education during the early development of Cincinnati. In 1870, OMI partnered with the Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce to present the first “Grand Industrial Exposition.” These showcases attracted exhibitors nationwide representing industrial developments and artistic achievements of the day. 

Commemorative tokens from the expositions were adorned with visual reminders of the events. Many of the tokens feature the buildings that housed the exposition, such as the Saengerfest Hall, a structure that sat at the intersection of Elm and 14th streets. Other common symbols found on tokens represent the industrial exposition subjects: agriculture, science, art, and learning. 

A sampling of these tokens are currently on display in the CEAS Library.

Welcome, Lauren Reder, to the University of Cincinnati Libraries

Lauren Reder has recently joined the Content Services Team as a temporary employee working primarily with the Classics and Modern Greek collections. She will be updating invoices for payment, cataloging material, reviewing records and assisting with other catalog data quality projects as the team continues to explore improvements in workflow, updating procedural documentation, and identifying how this work can be most efficiently performed for UC Libraries. She will also assist the Digital Collections Team with accessibility remediation for the project underway of digitization of the UC News Record issues from 1980-1985. 

Lauren received her MS in Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Previously, she earned her BA in Classical Languages & Cultures from Wright State University, where she studied Latin and Greek and also minored in English and Art History. She held two previous UC Libraries’s internships at the John Miller Burnam Classics Library during her undergraduate career, served as President of Wright State’s chapter of the Eta Sigma Phi Classics honorary and tutored students in Latin for several years. 

While deeply passionate about the humanities, Lauren also feels drawn to librarianship as a way to serve others by connecting them to the information they need. She has spent the past few years working as a Job Developer and HR Generalist at an employment agency serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lauren finds it incredibly rewarding to accompany her clients as they work to create resumes, apply to jobs and obtain meaningful employment. Informed by this experience, she hopes to have the opportunity to assist with accessibility initiatives within UC Libraries in order to ensure that patrons of all abilities can access our materials and services. For more about Lauren see her LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-reder

Welcome, Lauren!