Langsam Living Room opening Wednesday, Oct 13

Stop by the 4th floor of the Walter C. Langsam Library beginning at 10am on Wednesday, Oct 13 to check out the new Langsam Living Room space. The first 100 visitors will receive a water bottle.
 
The updated space features a variety of seating and work options ideal for studying or taking a break between classes.
langsam living room graphic

Dean Xuemao Wang elected to HathiTrust’s Board of Governors

xuemao wangThe 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.

Call for nominations for the 2022 featured UC faculty member Life of the Mind presenter

life of the mind logoThe 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 to submit creative and scholarly works for inclusion in Life of the Mind

display of booksCalling 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.

UC Libraries closed Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6

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.

working graphic

SERVICE NOTE: Interlibrary Loan service unavailable to users September 7 and 8

The Interlibrary Loan service (ILLiad) will be down for maintenance and unavailable to users Tuesday and Wednesday, September 7 and 8.

Once updated, users may access ILLiad from the Libraries website at https://libraries.uc.edu/login/Illiad-login.html where you will login and authenticate before being directed to ILLiad, which will have a new look, but the same functionality.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The Desk@Langsam to cease lending of multimedia equipment

After thoughtful consideration, review of usage statistics and consultation, as of Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, the Desk@Langsam will cease lending of equipment, which includes laptops, cameras, projectors, microphones and speakers, etc.

This change is largely the result of decreased usage of the equipment and the service no longer meeting the current and changing technology needs and behaviors of students. All currently checked out laptops and other equipment are due Aug. 31, 2021.

This service change has been added to the Borrow Equipment web page, which includes a list of referrals should users seek another source for technology equipment.

Questions about this change or equipment items currently checked out, should be directed to Ben Kline.

laptop and camera

Curious about the library/information studies profession? UC Libraries seeks racially/ethnically under-represented candidates for paid internship.

library student workersUniversity of Cincinnati Libraries, in cooperation with OhioLINK, is seeking racially/ethnically under-represented candidates interested in an internship with UC Libraries. This position requires a full academic-year commitment (fall, spring and possibly summer semesters) and the ability to work 10-15 hours per week. The internship includes orientation, departmental rotations and working with a mentor. Interns will participate in professional development sessions coordinated throughout the internship.

These paid, resume-building positions offer student interns hands-on experience and a broad introduction to the information studies profession—its purpose, reach and expertise. Students are paired with a mentor to explore and gain valuable knowledge in the field and to develop marketable skills that are extendable to a variety of career disciplines. This program provides experiential learning, valuable training and professional support within a structured work environment. OhioLINK interns around the state will be given the opportunity to network and collaborate via an agreed-upon capstone project, if desired.

To apply for a library internship, complete the online application.

Continue reading

Aug. 26th Cecil Striker Lecture to focus on “What Nineteenth Century Hospital Designers Knew about Minimizing Airborne Transmission and Why It’s Been Forgotten.”

cecil striker event graphicThe Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions’ ongoing Cecil Striker Webinar Lecture Series continues on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 7:00 p.m. when Jeanne Kisacky presents “What Nineteenth Century Hospital Designers Knew about Minimizing Airborne Transmission and Why It’s Been Forgotten.”

Jeanne Kisacky uses her background in architectural design to inform her historical research into hospital design and how the built environment has influenced health and illness. A grant from the National Library of Medicine supported the writing and publication of her award-winning book, Rise of the Modern Hospital: An Architectural History of Health and Healing. She is currently working on extending her history of US hospitals to the 1960s, through the Hill-Burton era, the Cold War, and Civil Rights.

For Zoom login credentials and more information please visit the Winkler Center’s website.

Finale of 19-Day Self-Education Challenge Against Systemic Racism scheduled for August 10

respect's 19-day self-education challenge against systemic racismJoin us Tuesday, August 10, 12:30-2pm via WebEx, for a finale of the 19-Day Self-Education Challenge Against Systemic Racism. Whether you took the challenge or not, all are welcome!

The University of Cincinnati Libraries’ R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Racial Equity Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team organized the 19-day Challenge (July 6-30) with the mission to bring knowledge and consciousness from the disparities of systemic racism in our society. Articles, podcasts and videos were supplied to participants each week with an option to attend a Friday WebEx discussion and/or fill out a questionnaire concerning the week’s subject. Although this enlightening undertaking has ended, our endeavor for racial equity has only begun. The finale event will include a discussion of the various lessons, as well as prizes.