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UC Libraries and the Learning Commons partner to Support Our Students
This fall, UC Libraries partnered with the Learning Commons to provide opportunities for tutoring and focused study sessions in the Walter C. Langsam Library. UC Libraries naturally attracts students who come to study and collaborate, making it a perfect location to integrate Learning Commons services. The After Hours program offers academic coaching, tutoring and writing support from 5-8pm conveniently in Langsam Library. Interested students can schedule to meet with a tutor who will meet them in the library. The Learning Commons put stickers on certain tables and pillars throughout the 4th floor of the library with information and a QR code for scheduling and to indicate where they are located.…
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Introducing the updated Accessible Technology Space in Langsam Library
Debbie Tenofsky, accessibility librarian, collaborated with UC’s Digital Technology Solutions and Accessibility Resources Office, along with colleagues in UC Libraries to update and rebrand the Accessible Technology Space. Located in the Walter C. Langsam Library room 408, the space provides access to accessibility hardware and software, along with other amenities, for use by all library patrons with disabilities. All University of Cincinnati students, employees and community members are welcome to use the devices and facilities offered in this space. The Accessible Technology Space is available any time Langsam Library is open. The space includes adjustable height tables, lighting options, a Dell computer all-in-one with a large screen, an iMac computer…
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Poetry Stacked – beyond the bookshelves
Tasked to enrich and engage the University of Cincinnati campus and community, UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room partnered to create Poetry Stacked, a interdisciplinary reading series staged in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library and curated with 21st-century values. Poetry Stacked brings faculty, staff, student and community poets together in-person and live streamed. After only a year and a half of programming, Poetry Stacked has enjoyed many successes, addressed challenges and expanded past just the poetry readings with exciting plans for the future. Poetry Stacked coordinators Melissa Cox Norris, director of library communications, Ben Kline, assistant department head of research, teaching and services,…
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Note from the Dean
How does that saying go about change? “The only constant in life is change.” We who work in academia know this to be very true – change, both enacted and exacted, is constant. Each year we see students graduate in the summer and then a whole new cohort of students begin at the university in the fall. We welcome new faculty and researchers to the library. We bring in new collections and update and create services and spaces to meet the changing needs of our diverse user group. This past year, serving as your interim dean, I’ve been both an active agent of and a witness to great changes in…
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Annual Progress Report
A Year of New Beginnings… Welcome to the 2021-22 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report – a year that saw the broad return of students, faculty and staff to campus for fall semester. The transition from virtual to in-person was an extensive process as library spaces were re-evaluated to allow for a safe return to working and studying on campus. We welcomed students, faculty and staff back to campus with refreshed spaces, enhanced safety protocols for social distancing and a revived appreciation for working together in person. The year also saw the announcement of our renewed Strategic Framework: NEXT Directions. The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions focus…
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Students in the library…the Walter C. Langsam Library is proving very popular this fall semester
Enter the Walter C. Langsam Library on any given school day and you will find it teeming with students studying, working in groups, searching library collections, printing a paper or grabbing a coffee. While always a popular destination on campus, this academic year has seen a resurgence of students in Langsam Library. In August, the University of Cincinnati welcomed a record 48,300 students — a 3% increase over last year — to begin fall semester. This growth in the number of students on campus, a trend the last 10 years, can be seen in the libraries as well. Since August 22, 155,194 people have entered Langsam Library. On September 13…
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Working with Library Student Workers in a Remote Environment
When UC Libraries closed its physical locations in mid-March in response to COVID-19, student supervisors transitioned quickly not just their own work online, but that of their library student workers. All interested and available library student workers were given the opportunity to finish spring semester working remotely. This provided them the opportunity to continue to earn an income, remain engaged with coworkers and to provide essential library services while they and learned new skills. The tasks the library student workers performed varied across departments depending on unit needs, priorities and opportunities. From shelving books to repairing books to helping users find the right books in the collection, library student work…
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Supporting Students and Faculty in a Time of Crisis
Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and organizations worldwide have sought new and innovative ways to continue to cater to their users and provide the best possible services in a truly unprecedented situation. The University of Cincinnati Libraries is no exception. Over the last three months library faculty and staff, in collaboration with university partners such as Student Government and IT@UC, and in conversation with faculty from across campus, have made a swift transition to remote online services. All the while, the Libraries has stayed committed to their mission to empower discovery, stimulate learning and inspire the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to…