On June 21st, the Archives & Rare Books Library lost a friend. Edgar Slotkin, professor emeritus of English, died at the age of 72. Edgar was a remarkable folklorist and Celtic scholar, but most of all he was a man generous of his time and knowledge. At his retirement in 2011, he donated his local folklore collection to us and it became the Southwest Ohio Folklore Archive. Additionally, several years ago Edgar worked with Jerry Newman, our Associate Dean for Collections at the time, to acquire and catalog two wonderful rare book collections of Irish and Welsh literature. Of the former, much of it is from the early 20th c. Celtic Revival period in Ireland and represents a physically fragile gathering of books that might otherwise have been lost. Edgar Slotkin was a kind and learned man, and someone who is greatly missed.
Tag Archives: Urban Studies
Archives and Rare Books Library Will Be Closed Friday May 15
The Archives and Rare Books Library will be closed on Friday May 15. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please plan your visit accordingly. If you have any questions please call the Archives and Rare Books Library at 513-556-1959 or email us at archives@ucmail.uc.edu.
Adventures in Tutus
By: Sydney Vollmer, ARB Student Worker
I have never been to a ballet in my life. Why? Simply put: everyone in my family (excluding one aunt) has told me it’s boring and weird. Indeed, I have let the opinions of others shape my own experiences (or lack thereof). I was perfectly happy never thinking to attend a ballet…until I started working at the Archives and Rare Books Library.
As the student worker here, part of my role includes sorting, inventorying, and processing collections so they can be properly stored in the archives for future research. The project I am currently working on is sorting everything that was recently given to us by Cincinnati Ballet Company (CBC).
We hold the collections of CBC that were acquired before I was hired, so the material I’m working on is a recent addition to the archive. From what I hear, the last round was much more manageable. Below, you can see some pictures of the room where I am working. This is the collection AFTER a preliminary sorting. I’ve probably spent about 12 hours in there over the past few weeks and I’ve even had help and supervision. Even if it doesn’t look like it, this is progress!
Cincinnati’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
By: Kevin Grace
On Tuesday, March 17, the world will recognize St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish and Irish descendants with various celebrations and events, but this weekend will feature the many parades devoted to the day. Dublin, New York, Savannah, Chicago, Sydney, Butte, New Orleans, and, Cincinnati all have community parades, and studying how these parades are historically manifested reveals a great deal about urban culture – the elements of religion, ethnicity, enfranchisement, inclusion, social mores, and political influence. The day was first celebrated in America in Boston in 1737. Continue reading
40 Years of The Nutcracker in Cincinnati
The holidays in Cincinnati bring many traditions to mind. You can go see the Duke Energy train display at the Cincinnati Museum Center (formerly the CG&E train display and previously located downtown), and you surely do not want to miss the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. One tradition in particular, though, is celebrating a big anniversary. 2014 marks the 40th year for Cincinnati Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. For many Cincinnatians, a trip to see The Nutcracker at Music Hall is their first experience with the ballet, and for others it might be their only experience.
CHRC Collections at ARB Recall Cincinnati’s Own Civil Unrest
By: Nate McGee, CHRC Intern and UC PhD candidate
A thank you card from a student at Aiken High School following a CHRC outreach visit to the school.
Amid a renewed discussion regarding the relationship between minority urban residents and local police, it’s important to think about how our own community dealt with similar issues in the not too distant past. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC) Collection currently being processed in the Archives and Rare Books Library shows the myriad ways the city and various organizations affiliated with city hall attempted to deal with issues not unlike those currently experienced in Ferguson, Missouri, Staten Island, New York, and in the national news discussion.
October is National Archives Month
By: Kevin Grace
Every year the nation’s archivists celebrate October as National Archives Month as a way of promoting the use of original source material by students, scholars, and the general public. The month is also dedicated to promoting the importance of historical documents and their archival preservation. For many years now, the Society of Ohio Archivists has selected a theme to be explored and to produce a poster for distribution around the state. This year for Ohio, we have chosen the Great Depression as our theme, with programs and exhibits having that event as a focus. To see the photos the committee considered for the 2014 poster, please use this link: http://www.ohioarchivists.org/archives-month-in-ohio-2014-ohio-in-the-depression/.
George Bain, the chair of SOA’s Archives Month Committee, has shared this flickr exhibit of Archives Month posters, including Ohio’s: https://www.flickr.com/photos/councilofstatearchivists/page1/.
To learn more about the holdings of the Archives & Rare Books Library, including our work with the Society of Ohio Archivists, please contact us at 513.55.1959 or by email at archives@ucmail.uc.edu. To learn more about our collections, please visit our website at: http://www.libraries.uc.edu/arb.html.
UC Libraries Launch Source Online
Newsletter, first published in 2002, contains the latest news and happenings from UC Libraries.
UC Libraries is transforming technology, people, space and information resources to “become the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus.”
It is in this spirit of transformation that we are changing the way in which we deliver Source to our readers. The online newsletter will still contain the latest information about the organization, people, places and happenings in UC Libraries, but will no longer be produced in print. By moving Source online, we are able to reach a greater number of readers on various devices – computers, phones, tablets and more.
New Material in ARB's Urban Studies Collection Highlights Cincinnati's Culture and History
By: Suzanne Maggard
Kennedy Heights Community Council 15th Anniversary Celebration booklet
What do the papers of a local choral director and composer and the records of the Kennedy Heights Community Council have in common? All these records were added to the Urban Studies collection in the Archives and Rare Books Library in 2014. Finding aids are now available for both of the collections and they are open to the public for research.
The Urban Studies collection in the Archives and Rare Books Library holds a vast amount of material related to the history of the city of Cincinnati, the city’s neighborhoods, and the people and culture of the city of Cincinnati. The newest items in this collection help to expand on the history already available within the collection. Continue reading
Culture of Books and Reading Students Deposit A Ghost Story in the Archives
By: Kevin Grace
Recently returned from a study tour to Edinburgh, Scotland over spring break, the students in the University Honors Program seminar “The Culture of Books and Reading” added one of their assignments to the ARB website – a story entitled “The Sin-Eaters Ghost.” A group project written by each student contributing a page, the story is just one of the assignments for this course in which the traditional and emerging reading habits and the heritage of books are explored in cultures around the world.
