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Collaboration brings increased digital access to rare manuscripts
By Sidney Gao, Interim Head of Digital Initiatives, and Chris Harter, University Archivist and Head of the Archives and Rare Books Library In the late 15th or early 16th century a nun sat at a desk in the Neukloster bei Buxtehude convent in Lower Saxony carefully adding the final decorative touches to a handwritten prayer book complete with rubicated initials and figural illustrations. One of those illustrations portrays a nun gazing at Mary and the infant Jesus in what may be a bit of self-portraiture by the nun. The book, known today as Meditationes et Orationes with the shelfmark Ms. 2, is comprised of 341 leaves written in a clear…
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Expand Our Impact: An interview with frequent library collaborator Christopher Platts
Christopher Platts, assistant professor of art history, is a frequent collaborator with the Libraries. His work with the DAAP Library, Archives and Rare Books Library and the Preservation Lab, is a perfect example of how we’re achieving our Expand Our Impact Strategic Direction through enhanced UC and external partnerships and collaborations. Following is an interview with Christopher about some of his projects and research focus. How long have you been at the university and what is your research/teaching focus? I have been at the University of Cincinnati since autumn 2021, when I moved from the east coast (Connecticut). I teach in the art history and museum studies programs in the…
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Events in the library
With fall comes the beginning of event-season at the university. UC Libraries plans and sponsors events that engage and connect students, researchers and faculty with library services, collections and expertise. From poetry readings to an archives panel to a lecture on the history of pharmacy education at UC, there’s something for everyone:
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Archives and Rare Books Library received national grant to process historic Cincinnati schools desegregation case records
By Christopher Harter, Julianna Witt and Melissa Cox Norris Last September, The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library a $109,349 grant to support a project to complete archival processing of the records of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP related to the 1974 Bronson v. Cincinnati Board of Education, the city’s most significant legal case in the fight for school desegregation. Filed in 1974, the Bronson case was not the first litigation to address segregation and discrimination in the Cincinnati Public Schools, but it was the first to create some accountability for the Cincinnati School Board. Housed in the…
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Social activist with a press
Reprinted from a Sept. 30 LiBlog post by Chris Harter, university archivist and head of the Archives & Rare Books Library “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 belief 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…
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Details of 1929 Ohio murder case in recent media spotlight
By Christopher Harter, University Archivist and Head of the Archives and Rare Books Library “Details of Scandalous Hix-Snook Murder Trial Lives on in UC Library.” This headline appeared atop a May 2024 Cincinnati Enquirer article by crime reporter and podcaster Amber Hunt, which detailed “a small, tattered booklet” preserved at the Archives and Rare Books Library that contained “the transcripts of one of Ohio’s most salacious 20th century trials.” The booklet, entitled “The Murder of Theora Hix. The Uncensored Testimony of Dr. Snook,” details the1929 murder trial of Dr. James Snook of Columbus, Ohio, who was accused of killing Theora Hix, a student at Ohio State University with whom he…
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RESPECT announces first group of awarded mini grants
The UC Libraries RESPECT (Racial Equity Support Programming to Educate the Community Team) announces its first group of awarded mini grants. The committee sought proposals from UC Libraries faculty and staff for programming designed for the University of Cincinnati and its community that explicitly addresses the role that systemic racism plays within society. Four successful mini-grant proposals were awarded $1500 each: RESPECT has as its charge to use library resources to expand programming and resources that provide library users with the tools to understand systemic racism in order to begin dismantling it. The mini-grants program is one way it is working to meet its charge. In addition, the team plans…
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UC Libraries hosts local elementary school students
By Participants Elaine Grigg Dean, Mark Chalmers, Ted Baldwin, Chris Harter, Katie Foran-Mulcahy, Rachel Hoople and Aja Bettencourt-McCarthyn Throughout the Fall 2023 semester, UC Libraries collaborated with College Mentors for Kids to host local elementary school students in library locations across the campus. Students from Oyler School and Evanston Academy visited the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) Library, the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library, and the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library along with the Oesper Museum to learn more about UC Libraries collections and the work of librarianship. What is CMFK? College Mentors for Kids (CMFK) is a non-profit organization that works…
