Attendees to the Open House can enjoy refreshments and door prizes as they view collection highlights, recent acquisitions and “spooky” books. Library staff will be on hand to meet and greet and ARB’s growing digitization space will be available for viewing.
The Archives and Rare Books Library acquires, processes, preserves and provides access to the University’s Rare Books collection, University Archives, Local Government records, Urban Studies collection and German-Americana collection.
The Health Sciences Library is accepting applications for its second Systematic Review Cohort. Those interested in working through the advanced review process with help from our librarians can learn about the cohort at one of our informational sessions taking place October 14 at 11:30am and October 22 at 10:30am. There is no need to attend both informational sessions – the same details will be shared at each. More details can be found at: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/ReviewAssistance/cohort.
The application period will close November 1 at 5pm. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a graphic novel, documentary and historical fiction can all be found in the Staff Picks exhibit on display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library. Highlighting the collections of UC Libraries, the exhibit gives recommendations and blurbs from library staff and includes such titles as: “The Feather Thief,” “Being Human,” “Lincoln in the Bardo,” “Monarch,” “The Glass Hotel” and so much more.
A bibliography is available for pickup at the exhibit and displayed below.
Staff Picks was curated by Melissa Cox Norris, director of library communication, and designed by communications design co-op student Lexi Davis.
The Walter C. Langsam Library now offers a Teams Room that can be scheduled for online meetings. Located in Langsam 410, the room is outfitted with Teams Room technology designed to facilitate collaboration and video conferencing using Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Webex.
Outside of the room, the Room Scheduling Panel shows the room’s availability and allows users to use a QR code to book the room for upcoming meetings. The resource name LANG410 can also be used when scheduling Teams, Zoom or Webex meetings via Outlook.
A Touchscreen Control Panel is placed on the meeting table for easy management of the room’s Teams meetings. It allows users to:
Start or join a meeting with one tap.
Adjust audio/video settings.
Share content or switch between cameras.
A high-quality wide-angle camera is positioned to capture the entire room.
The Rally Bar soundbar has a built-in microphone, speakers and a high-quality wide-angle camera positioned to capture the entire room. When more than one person is in the room, tracking cameras automatically focus on the person speaking.
The Langsam Teams Room is available for use by all UC faculty, staff and students. It is a collaboration between UC’s Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) and UC Libraries and is part of a university-wide initiative to increase collaboration spaces and provide consistent experiences.
More information can be obtained from the DTS knowledge base article on Microsoft Teams Rooms.
At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:
Brett Price is the author of “Ordinary Dissonance” (Midwestern Press, 2019). He lives and writes in Cincinnati, OH, where he does various kinds of home renovation and handy-work, teaches at The Art Academy of Cincinnati, hosts readings occasionally at his house and plays in the band, The Actual Fuck.
Mauricio Espinoza, poet, translator and researcher. He is associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Literatures and Cultures from The Ohio State University. He has published the poetry books “Nada más que silencio,” “Respiración de piedras,” which won the 2015 University of Costa Rica Press Poetry Prize; and “Pez de fieltro.” His poetry also appears in “The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States” and in journals such as barzakh and Rio Grande Review.
Lili Alimohammadi studies psychology and creative writing at UC, where they’re curatorial intern for the Elliston Poetry Collection and president of the undergraduate poetry club, Cincinnati Poetry Collective. They’ve received awards for their poetry, fiction, essays, paintings and textiles, and they edit the quarterly zine Braids.
This session of Poetry Stacked will also feature three composers who have created and will perform original musical pieces to accompany one of the poet’s readings:
John Stork has been a staff member of UC Libraries since 2000 and currently works primarily with interlibrary loan. After taking years of piano lessons in grade school, he picked up the guitar in high school, eventually attending CCM as a classical guitar performance major for three years. While he moved to other interests academically (graduating from UC with a degree in classics), he has kept playing for enjoyment and can be seen playing ‘non-classical’ guitar in the band Jack Burton Overdrive.
Siyuan Kang composes music inspired by folk songs and arts. Her work was performed in Toronto by Untitled Ensemble; piano solo work performed by Mingfei Li in Chicago in May. She holds a diploma from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is now pursuing a DMA degree.
Andrew Strawn is an established young composer whose talent and dedication has already gained attention and respect within the musical community. His music is known for its romantic expression and highly polished orchestration, with topics often drawn from visual art and literature. He currently studies music composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Douglas Knehans, Michael Fiday, and Ellen Harrison; and saxophone performance with James Bunte and Carly Hood.
“I use letterpress printing, but I use it to disrupt the segregated realms of fine printing and artists’ books.” –excerpt from “My Manifesto” in the new book Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer
To read Amos Kennedy’s manifesto is to glimpse into the passion and love that Kennedy holds for letterpress printing and his sincere believe in the power of the printing press. Kennedy is one of the leading practitioners of letterpress printing today, known mainly for his bold stylistic technique that foregrounds powerful messages against a colorful backdrop. He prides himself on being a “disturber of the peace” and a member of the “School of Bad Printing,” both of which point to the strong social activism presented in his work as well as the humor.
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Kennedy grew to study mathematics and began a career as a computer programmer, but his love of calligraphy and books led him to eventually leave the corporate world for the life of a printer and designer. He studied book arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but before that a visit to a printing demonstration at Colonial Williamsburg led Kennedy to purchase a Vandercook printing press and four cabinets of type, which he installed in his basement. Thus, a printer was born and, today, Kennedy operates a letterpress shop called Kennedy Prints! in Detroit, Michigan.
Selections from the “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks” series by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy’s work is preserved in numerous libraries, archives, and museums, and the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library is pleased to join that community. ARB recently acquired two sets of Kennedy’s work. The first is the poster series “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks,” which includes twelve posters that feature quotations from the civil rights activist over various typographic layers. In a 2023 interview, Kennedy described his technique this way:
“When you look at something like the Rosa Parks portfolio, you’ll see that there’s one layer that has dates that are significant to her life. Then there’s another layer that has places that are significant to her life. This continues for about four layers, because one of the things I like to do is envision people having that aha moment—when that poster has been on the wall for a considerable amount of time, and they see it every day, but suddenly, they turn their head a certain way, and they say, “Oh, the word Montgomery’s behind there. I never noticed that before.” And that will draw them in to look and study it more.” (– as printed in Citizen Printer, p. 69)
The second set of Kennedy’s works is comprised of 134 church fans bearing the names of individuals killed will working for civil rights in the United States from 1946 to 1968. The fans are accompanied by a series of standard road maps on which Kennedy has printed the number of individuals murdered in various states. The portfolio takes a simple object with strong ties to the Black church and creates a haunting, repetitive visual narrative. As Kelly Walters has written in Citizen Printer, Kennedy’s “use of the fan asks us to contemplate how the rites of funeral memorialization can serve as a tool for historical remembrance as well.”
Examples of Kennedy’s church fans and road maps.
As part of his manifesto, Kenney states: “Throughout history, the printer has had to choose to either resist or assist in the marginalization of knowledge. I made the choice: I resist.” There is no better summary of the work that Amos Kennedy has produced over the years, and ARB is proud to now help preserve his work as we look to diversify examples of printing and the book arts in our collections. We are working to create an online finding aid for the Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Collection at ARB and hope to add to the collection in the future. Those who are interested in viewing materials from this collection can email ARB at archives@ucmail.uc.edu to schedule a research appointment. To learn more about Kennedy’s life and career, we recommend the excellent documentary Proceed and Be Bold!
By Meshia Anderson, interlibrary loan specialist, UC Libraries
Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging are often terms associated with those in marginalized communities. Finding a space that allows one to be authentic, feel a sense of belonging and add value to the lives of others is what I set out to do. Just over a year ago, I sought to find unique professional development opportunities that would allow me to serve as a key contributor to Equity and Inclusion practices, enhance current skills and adapt new ones and contribute to the support of marginalized communities.
IDEAL Conference 2024, Association of Research Libraries, ARL, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives (IDEAL) Conference. Photo by Harry Choi.
As a result of my pursuit, I was selected to serve as member of the ARL/IDEAL Conference Planning Task Force and to additionally serve as Production Committee Co-chair. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) offered a great opportunity for me to connect with those exhibiting my same passion for Equity and Inclusion practices. The task force consisted of 10 members outside of ARL, primarily deans and department heads, in addition to multiple ARL directors, which presented a significantly inclusive experience for me. More than 70 volunteers across the United States and Canadian Universities, along with additional ARL staff, contributed to the conference success serving well over 500 attendees.
My role as a task force member allowed me the opportunity to provide suggestions and/or feedback for the conference working groups as conference plans progressed. The Production Team in particular was responsible for overall onsite conference support. As co-chair, I oversaw all aspects of onsite conference check-in and information support locations throughout the conference, providing training for multiple shifts in those work spaces and providing support for my co-chair who oversaw most other volunteer spaces. Initial training lead by ARL leadership for task force members and volunteers helped to establish conference standards and safety expectations.
Jéanne Brooks will join the University of Cincinnati Libraries on September 30, 2024, as the new associate dean for operations and user services. In this role, she will have managerial responsibility for circulation, reserves, interlibrary loan, facilities and the user experience.
Brooks has an MBA in marketing from the University of Tennessee and an EdD in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne. She comes to UC from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she served as the senior director of library operations and development. In this role, she led staff and student assistants across five library units as well as communication, fundraising and facilities projects.
While at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Brooks implemented operational excellence principles, leading to improved efficiency and service quality, equitable library policies and higher employee morale. She also oversaw student-centered facility projects, including a new Graduate Resource Center, pop-up instruction space, tech lending storage and the Maker Studio expansion.
“I look forward to working with Jéanne and welcome her to the UC community,” said Liz Kiscaden, dean and university librarian. “As we embark on a new strategic plan, her expertise and background will be a true asset as we work collaboratively to advance the mission of UC Libraries.”
Earlier this year, “eclipse fever” struck the Cincinnati area when a total solar eclipse was visible across portions of North America. The timing of the 2024 celestial event coincided with recent research on a group of photographs documenting an 1869 total solar eclipse housed in the records of the Cincinnati Observatory, which are preserved at the Archives and Rare Books Library. Those photographs will be featured in the upcoming public television documentary “Capturing Life” (1839-1869), the first episode in the series, The Big Picture: A History of Photography in Greater Cincinnati, produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Photographs from an 1869 total solar eclipse and a handwritten letter on their origins are housed within the records of the Cincinnati Observatory at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library.
Voyageur’s production team conducted research on two subjects at the Archives and Rare Books Library for the series. Project Director, Tom Law, says the ARB staff helped him research documents about Dr. John Locke, a professor of Chemistry at the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Locke was the first American to display an early form of photography, “photogenic drawings,” at a bookstore in Cincinnati in 1839.
The September 1869 issue of The Philadelphia Photographer featured some of the photographs taken during the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition.
Voyageur will also show twenty-four rare photographs of a total solar eclipse from the Cincinnati Observatory’s scientific expedition to study and photograph the eclipse along its path of totality in the Dakota Territories in 1869. Voyageur learned about the 1869 expedition when visiting an exhibit created by Mandy Askins, Assistant Collections Manager at the Cincinnati Observatory Center.
In the documentary, Askins describes how Cleveland Abbe, Director of the Observatory, led a team of scientists and photographer W.C. Taylor to Fort Dakota (near present-day Sioux Falls, South Dakota), to study and photograph the solar eclipse on its path of totality. Taylor took twenty-four photographs of the event, which were later printed by John Wildman Winder for the Cincinnati Observatory. It is Winder’s photographs that are preserved in the Archives and Rare Books Library at the University of Cincinnati.
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) closes with examples of how archival photographs are being used today in books, classrooms and exhibits seen throughout the world. Tom Law says, “The documentary is dedicated to the scholars, curators, archivists, and librarians who are preserving the region’s rich photographic heritage for future generations.” More information about this project, including three, free public screenings in October, is available on Voyageur’s website: https://voyageurmedia.org/
“Capturing Life” (1839-1869) is a collaborative project among dozens of scholars and institutions throughout Greater Cincinnati. Two project scholars have ties to the University of Cincinnati. Author, professor emeritus, and former head of the Archives and Rare Books Library Kevin Grace is serving as a project advisor. Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, a professor in art history in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, is featured in the segment on African America photographer James Presley Ball. Dr. Leininger-Miller is also serving as a project advisor.
The UC DATA Day keynote speaker is Kira Bradford, co-lead of the Data Management and Consultancy Group for the NIH HEAL Data Stewardship Group. The HEAL project, or Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, is a large-scale project focused on ending opioid addiction through basic science research and data sharing. The project brings together scientists, community members, the private sector and multiple levels of government and is a model for researchers navigating the new NIH data management and sharing policy.
In addition to the keynote speaker, the DATA Day schedule will include student lightning talks, workshops and a resource fair. A more detailed schedule is available on the DATA Day website. DATA Day is free and open for all to attend and is sponsored by the Office of the Provost through a universal provider grant. Lunch will be provided for registrants. Register today!
