Volume 14, Issue 2

  • the desk@langsam
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Making a Good First Impression: Recent Entrance Renovations

    Recent renovations involving the entrances of two UC Libraries locations are providing improved visibility and ease of service to users. February 12 saw the completion of the renovation to The Desk@Langsam, a project to combine two service desks into one, thus simplifying point-of-service for users. The renovation is part of other Langsam 400 level projects currently underway, which include the updated Learning Commons, a central space for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s Popular Reading Collection, dual-boot public computers, more BYOD space, wrapping of the concrete columns to provide additional way finding and a Starbucks café. It was a joint initiative of the Office of the Senior Vice…

  • Xuemao Wang
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    A Note From the Dean: Finding the Talent

    Finding the Talent: Building Capacity through Organizational Strategy and Partnerships with the Broader University Community One of the objectives of our Strategic Plan is to “develop a diverse workforce that…possesses broad and varied knowledge and skill sets, job categories, backgrounds, ideas and perspectives that create opportunities to engage colleagues and institutions within and beyond UC Libraries and the university in support of our mission and vision.” In 2014-15, UC Libraries welcomed 11 new staff members. Some of these positions were created to drive our Libraries’ strategic directions forward, while others support the core functions and responsibilities that keep our libraries running. Finding and recruiting this new talent to UC Libraries…

  • Bob Freeman
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Finding the Talent: Q&A with Hong Cheng and Bob Freeman

    Over the past several years the University of Cincinnati, with the support of the Office of the Provost, has made a concerted effort to diversify their faculty positions and hiring practices. This is most evident in the Cluster Hiring Initiative launched in 2014, and the Strategic Hiring Opportunity and Dual Career Assistance programs, which have assisted in the recruiting and funding of faculty across campus since 2013. UC Libraries, in the execution of our Strategic Plan, has embraced these programs and allowed the spirit that drives them – a desire to recruit the best and brightest while cultivating collaborative partnerships with other colleges and departments – to inspire the way…

  • Scholar@UC
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Scholar@UC is Open for Self-Submissions

    UC faculty and researchers are invited to self-submit their research, creative and scholarly works to Scholar@UC, the university’s enterprise-wide, cutting-edge digital repository. A digital repository makes accessible, enables re-use, stores, organizes and preserves the full range of an institution’s intellectual output, including all formats of scholarly, historical and research materials. Faculty and researchers can use Scholar@UC to collect their work in one location and create an Internet-enabled, durable and citable record of their papers, presentations, publications, data sets or other scholarly creations. The global influence, impact and recognition of the faculty and researchers’ scholarly work and research are both enhanced and preserved securely. With sponsorship from a faculty member, undergraduate…

  • sparc
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Dean Wang Joins SPARC Steering Committee

    Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, has been selected to serve on the Steering Committee of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), a group that advocates for open access, open education and open data. SPARC is a global coalition of 200+ academic and research libraries that works to enable open sharing of research output and educational materials in order to “democratize access to knowledge, accelerate discovery and increase the return on investment in research and education.” To achieve this mission, SPARC collaborates with authors, publishers, libraries, students, policymakers and the public to build opportunities and promote changes to make open access the default for research and education. “SPARC’s…

  • Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    African-American History Month and the Archives and Rare Books Library

    It is February again, a month notable for honoring presidents and for looking forward to spring. February is also a time when we reflect on the heritage of African Americans in the United States and take time to acknowledge that part of our nation’s history. Depending on the media, we also term February as Black History Month, and it had its beginnings in 1926 when “Negro History Week” was created by historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson’s intent was to celebrate it in February because both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had their birthdays in this month, and as he stated, “If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile…

  • heidi l. maibom
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    March “Life of the Mind” Lecture to Feature Heidi L. Maibom

    Life of the Mind, interdisciplinary conversations with UC faculty, will return Tuesday, March 29, 3:30-5pm in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center with a lecture by Heidi L. Maibom, professor of philosophy in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, who will speak on “Know Others to Know Thyself: Uses and Misuses of Taking Another’s Perspective.” Life of the Mind is a semi-annual lecture series that features a distinguished University of Cincinnati faculty member presenting his or her work and expertise. A panel of three responds to and discusses the lecture from diverse perspectives. The series includes intriguing insights from diverse perspectives and encourages faculty and students from across UC…

  • orientation
    Volume 14,  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Spring Events in UC Libraries

    From UC DATA Day to Edible Books to a digital humanities speaker there is something for everyone in UC Libraries this spring. All events are free and open to the public. Check the UC Libraries website at www.libraries.uc.edu for event details and directions to individual libraries. “Celebration of Excellence in Black History,” February 24, 2:30-4:30 pm, Langsam Library 462 – Speakers, performances and cultural food favorites will be center stage. Included in the program will be a talk by Karen Cudjoe on the history of Black History Month, poetry by Nick Wantsala and Black Budda’ Fly, Inventor’s Skit from Soul Consciousness Theatre Troop. “Celebration of Excellence in Black History” is…