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What we did over the summer…to prepare for the academic year
Vacations, beach time and cookouts – while most students were away from campus enjoying summer, we were busy working on projects to prepare library spaces, services and collections for the start of the academic year. Highlights of our work this summer: New Spaces CECH 4th floor renovation – Renovation began to the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH) Library’s 4th floor reading room to support students and the academic community by creating a more dynamic, flexible and welcoming environment. Scheduled to reopen in Spring 2026, the renovated 4th floor will offer: In the meantime, the 3rd floor of the CECH Library remains open. Introducing the Science Library…
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Illustrating War: Announcing the Daniel S. Young Archives of Medical Illustrations digital collection
Medical illustrations and drawings reflect the state of medicine at a specific moment in time, providing a visual record of science, technology and anatomical knowledge. A new University of Cincinnati Libraries digital collection, the Daniel S. Young: American Civil War Medical Illustrations, highlights the artistic and medical contributions of a surgeon and illustrator throughout his service on the battlefield. Available online via JSTOR, the collection contains 83 medical illustrations from the Daniel S. Young Archives held by the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions at the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library. The collection was scanned and digitized by the UC Libraries Digital Initiatives Team. Daniel Young…
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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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Pharmacy Education in the Queen City: Cecil Striker Annual Lecture
The Henry R. Winkler Center for the Health Professions and the Cecil Striker Society present the Annual Cecil Striker Lecture. The lecture, “Pharmacy Education in the Queen City: 1850-2025” presented by Dennis B. Worthen, PhD, is in celebration of the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy’s 175th anniversary. Tuesday, Oct. 14, 5-7pmKowalewski Hall Auditorium, room 140 The event is open to all. RSVP by Sept. 30 After the event, visit the University of Cincinnati Pharmacy Education exhibit in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room in the UC Medical Sciences Building. The exhibit will feature images and artifacts held by the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the…
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Dean’s Note: Investments in Strategic Priorities
When rare opportunities for additional funding present themselves, it’s important to be ready with project ideas that are shovel ready. Such an opportunity presented itself this fall and UC Libraries rose to the challenge. The university is transitioning to a new budget model, which necessitated a spend down of under spent funds, largely the result of hiring delays. To take advantage of this opportunity, UC Libraries faculty and staff were invited to submit funding proposals for projects that aligned with our Strategic Directions: Enrich Our Collections, Expand Our Impact, Strengthen Our Organization and Support Our Students. Approximately 20 proposals were received which addressed facilities, staffing, collections and technology. Our leadership…
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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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Introducing the Carl Solway Gallery Archive
For over six decades, the Carl Solway Gallery stood as a cornerstone of Cincinnati’s modern and contemporary art scene. Throughout its history, the gallery promoted and maintained relationships with groundbreaking artists such as John Cage, Buckminster Fuller, Yoko Ono, Harry Bertoia, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Ann Hamilton, Richard Hamilton, Charlotte Moorman, Claes Oldenburg, Nam June Paik, George Rickey, Mark Rothko, Saul Steinberg and Andy Warhol. Now, the gallery’s legacy is preserved in the Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library for Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) Library and will soon be available for viewing and research. The archive includes artists’ letters, handwritten exhibition plans and checklists, gallery announcements…
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Exploring Historical Bindings: A Hands-On Workshop at UC’s Archives and Rare Books Library
By Catarina Figueirinhas In December 2024, the Preservation Lab, in collaboration with the Archives and Rare Books (ARB) Library, hosted Identifying and Describing Historical Binding Structures: A Stacks Appraisal Workshop. This two-day workshop, led by renowned bookbinding scholar and book conservator Julia Miller, provided participants with the opportunity to closely examine historical book structures, refine their descriptive vocabulary, and engage in discussions about historical book structures and cataloging practices. Hands-On Learning in Special Collections The workshop was designed to encourage deeper engagement with ARB’s special collections (manuscripts and incunabula) by fostering a hands-on approach to learning about historical bindings. Participants, including preservation lab staff, special collections librarians, and catalogers—worked directly…
