Marcia Johnson joins UC Libraries as Library Services Supervisor in the Geology-Mathematics-Physics Library

On August 7, Marcia Johnson began work for the University of Cincinnati Libraries in the role of library services supervisor for the Geology-Mathematics-Physics (GMP) Library.

marcia johnson

Marcia will be responsible for overseeing core library operations for the GMP Library. This work includes managing the service desk, responding to user questions and requests for library materials and overseeing the routine maintenance of library collection and spaces. She will supervise student assistants at the GMP Library and assist with the overall supervision of students at the other Science & Engineering Library locations.

Ms. Johnson graduated from Northern Kentucky University (NKU) with a degree in communications and minored in biology and sociology. Prior to accepting this position, she served the past seven years as the library specialist III/ FDLP & ASERL coordinator – government documents/intellectual property & copyright (USPTRC – United States Patent & Trade Resource Center) at the W. Frank Steely Library at NKU. For 16 years, she was also the coordinating manager of the Steely Library Media Collections and SWON Media Specialist, managing the daily operations, access and circulation of Steely’s media library and SWON’s media collection. Marcia brings extensive experience in library operations and student supervision, as well as several library related certifications.

Welcome, Marcia, to the Science & Engineering Library, UC Libraries and all of UC!

Open show-and-tell sessions: What’s in your VR closet?

There is growing interest and development in Virtual Reality (VR) for use in immersive education and training, collaboration and communication, as well as for enhancing teaching and learning. Within the University of Cincinnati there are VR activities found throughout campus, including in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), the College of Medicine and in Game Design, as well as in UC’s Digital Futures facility.

woman experimenting with virtual reality

To showcase some of these VR activities, UC Libraries is holding a series of open sessions with distinguished speakers from UC’s Digital Futures who will share their work, research and innovations in VR. There are three sessions open to all.

Tuesday, September 19, 3pm

Chris Collins, Director, Center for Simulations & Virtual Environments Research

Thursday, October 12, 3pm

Professor Ming Tang, Director, XR-Lab

Thursday, November 16, 3pm

Professor Alejandro Lozano Robledo, Future Mobility Design (FMD) Lab

Venue: All three sessions will be held in the Walter C. Langsam Library, Room 475

All are welcome and light snacks will be provided.

Be inspired, entertained and informed by Graphic Novels – an exhibit on display in Langsam Library

On display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library, the Graphic Novels exhibit celebrates and promotes the variety of graphic novels available in the library. From traditional novel adaptations, biographies and autobiographies to Manga and comic books, graphic novels take on different forms and subjects and are enjoyed by people of all ages.

graphic novels exhibit image

The books on display in the exhibit include:

  • Byrne, Eugene, and Simon Gurr. Darwin: A Graphic Biography. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2013.
  • Garcia, Kami, et al. Teen Titans: Raven. Burbank, CA: DC Ink, 2019.
  • Hamilton, Tim. and Ray Bradbury. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation. First edition. New York: Hill and Wang, 2009.
  • Isayama, Hajime and Sheldon Drzka. Attack On Titan. New York, N.Y., Kodansha Comics, 2012.
  • Kishimoto, Masashi, et al. Naruto #1. Viz, 2003.
  • Macellari, Elisa. Kusama: The Graphic Novel. Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2020.
  • Moore, Alan. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 2005.
  • Stevenson, ND, and N. D. Stevenson. Nimona. HarperCollins Publishers, 2015.
graphic novels display

A table-top display is located on the 4th floor of the library with graphic novels that can be taken to the Desk@Langsam for check out:

  • Carré, Lilli. Heads or Tails. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2015.
  • Doran, Fionnuala. The Trial of Roger Casement. SelfMadeHero, 2016.
  • Duffy, Damian, et al. Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation. New York, Abrams Comicarts, 2017.
  • Gravett, Paul. Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life. Aurum, 2005.
  • Hickman, Jonathan, et al. The Manhattan Projects. Berkeley, CA: Image Comics, Inc., 2016.
  • Jesse Reklaw. LOVF: An Illustrated Diary of a Man Literally Losing His Mind. Fantagraphics Books, 2016.
  • Moore, Alan, et al. V for Vendetta. New York, DC Comics, 1990.
  • Moore, Alan. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 2005.
  • Moore, Leah, et al. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. SelfMadeHero, 2016.
  • Otomo, Katsuhiro, et al. Akira. Dark Horse Manga, 2000.
  • Radtke, Kristen. Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness. First edition. New York, Pantheon Books, 2021.
  • Samura, Hiroaki, et al. Blade of the Immortal. Dark Horse Manga, 2017.

The Graphic Novels exhibit was designed and produced by Norah Jenkins, library communications co-op student.

The University of Cincinnati Press recognized for social justice publishing

The University of Cincinnati Press has been named a 2023 finalist in social justice publishing from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for their book Surviving the Americas: Garifuna Persistence from Nicaragua to New York City by Serena Cosgrove, Jose Idiaquez, Leonard Joseph Bent and Andrew Gorvetzian.

“Since UC’s faculty senate and university administration chose social justice to be our core area of publishing, the press is thrilled to have elevated the university’s publishing efforts to an internationally recognized stage as a publisher of social justice scholarship,” said Elizabeth Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press. “These awards signal to scholars, students and experts that UC is a global leader in peer-reviewed social justice scholarship, open access publications and regional books. This recognition will help bring more award-winning, globally impactful scholarly and regional authors to UC as part of the #Next phase – Acceleration.”

About the book

In Surviving the Americas, Serena Cosgrove, José Idiáquez, Leonard Joseph Bent and Andrew Gorvetzian shed light on what it means to be Garifuna today, particularly in Nicaragua. Their research includes over nine months of fieldwork in Garifuna communities in the Pearl Lagoon on the southern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and in New York City. The resulting ethnography illustrates the unique social issues of the Nicaraguan Garifuna and how their culture, traditions and reverence for their ancestors continues to persist.

About the Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest International awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. In its seventeenth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in 80+ different categories, for the year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O’Shea Literary Agency).

UC Clermont Library’s New Books Blog

UC Clermont Library shares our newest purchases each month on our New Books Blog. You can browse this month’s newest titles or take a look at previous months. By clicking on the titles, you can see them in the catalog and put a hold request on any you are interested in. There is also the option to subscribe to the new books blog so you never miss a month!

Read Source for the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries

source cover

Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

In this issue of Source, Lori Harris writes about some of the changes that have occurred this past year as she has served as interim dean and university librarian. We announce Elizabeth Kiscaden as the next dean and university librarian, as well as a new digital collection in honor of Dr. Lucy Orinthia Oxley, the first African American to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Student workers are a key component to UC Libraries success, which is why the UC Libraries Student Worker Scholarship Fund was established. We announce the most recent winners of this scholarship. We spotlight the College of Engineering Library and look back at the successful inaugural year of Poetry Stacked. We interview ChatGPT to get its opinions about its potential role in libraries and academia and hype the new, and very popular, library stickers.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the website. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

Honoring Pride Month with UC Libraries Collections

By Nimisha Bhat, Assistant Librarian for History, Anthropology, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
With the start of summer and Pride month, it’s a great time to check out some highlights from UC’s library & consortium collections to celebrate trans history, queer culture and LGBTQIA liberation! Here are a few titles to learn from and enjoy:  Continue reading

Join us for UC ORCID Awareness Day Thursday, June 8

orcid id logoOn Thursday, June 8, the University of Cincinnati Libraries Research & Data Services (R&DS) team will host a UC ORCID AWARENESS Day as part of the Data and Computational Science Series. We invite you to come to Rm 540B in the Faculty Enrichment Center, 5th floor of the Walter C. Langsam Library, to activate or enrich your ORCID profile.

What is an ORCID

ORCID stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID. It is a 16-number identifier unique to you as an author and researcher.

Why should I have an ORCID?

  • To distinguish you as a unique author
  • To build an online profile about your scholarship and research contributions
  • To help you easily access research infrastructure
  • To get ahead of possible coming requirements for having an ORCID

Does it take a lot of time to activate and maintain an ORCID?

To set it up will take about 5-10 mins, and you can use automated tools to maintain it.

Does it cost something?

To register for an ORCID is free.

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Details about UC ORCID AWARENESS Day

When:                  Thursday, June 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a free and open event.

Where:                 Faculty Enrichment Center (RM 540B, Walter C. Langsam Library)

What:                   Work with UC Libraries R&DS team members to active or enrich your ORCID profile using automated tools.

Who:                     Any researcher who publishes or applies for grants

Grab an ORCID Cookie and get started increasing your research impact.

Register to attend, although drop-ins are welcome.

RESPECT Presents a 20-Day Self-Education Against Systemic Racism

20-day challenge graphicSystemic racism is defined as “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization, and that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race (Cambridge Dictionary).” How does systemic racism bleed into education? The University of Cincinnati Libraries’ R.E.S.P.E.C.T. developed a 20-Day Self-Education Challenge to explore examples of systemic racism – both past and present – that exist in various areas of education, along with ways in which we can help dismantle those practices.

Scheduled to take place May 22-June 16, the challenge is divided into four weeks, each with a different theme.

  • Week 1: Critical Race Theory – what is it?
  • Week 2: Systemic Racism in Education – a history
  • Week 3: Systemic Racism in Academia
  • Week 4: Systemic Racism in Academic Libraries

Learn on your own and then gather online each Friday at 11am via Zoom for a moderated discussion of each week’s module. Register now to watch, read and listen to informative pieces. The challenge is free and open to all. Each week’s module will be sent to those who register along with the Zoom link for the weekly conversation

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Racial Equity Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team) is a UC Libraries committee charged with developing external programming that explicitly addresses the negative role that systemic racism plays in our society.

Data Center Planned Outage – Library Services Impacted

There is a power outage scheduled for the University of Cincinnati’s primary Data Center beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 12, and lasting as late as 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 14. Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) will be performing maintenance in the Data Center during this time. Many commonly used cloud-hosted services will remain available.

The UC Libraries website will remain up during the outage; however, some parts of the website will be unavailable, including:

  • Browzine integration with Summon
  • The staff directory
  • The student employment application
  • Some Contact Us forms
  • The “Journals” and “Books” search tabs on homepage
  • My Library Record

In addition, the following library sites/services will be down during the outage:

  • uclid.uc.edu (Library Catalog)
  • scholar.uc.edu
  • journals.uc.edu
  • digital.libraries.uc.edu (including Luna)
  • data.libraries.uc.edu
  • libapps.libraries.uc.edu (including the Source blog, LiBlog, Omeka S and Exhibits

More information, and a list of UC services that will be affected during the outage, can be found on DTS’s internal website (UC access only).