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Public Library

The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library opened the new Mt. Healthy Branch after renovating a 10,000-square-foot CVS building. The opening celebration on Nov. 2 provided guests with activities, CHPL Swag giveaways, and refreshments to celebrate the $6.3 million building as part of the Library’s Facility Master Plan. 

Saturday began with an opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting, where Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director Paula Brehm-Heeger, Vice President of the Library’s Board of Trustees Christopher Harding, Mayor Jennifer Moody of Mt. Healthy, Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece, and Mt. Healthy Branch Manager Lacey Wehrle gave remarks about the Mt. Healthy Branch’s opening.  

“The current branch has been serving the Mt. Healthy community for 73 years. That’s many years of special memories. Now, with the beautiful new Mt. Healthy Branch, we’re excited to continue this history and reaffirm our commitment to this community,” said Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director Paula Brehm-Heeger. “Built as part of our Facility Master Plan implementation, this new Mt. Healthy Branch was designed to be a place where the entire Mt. Healthy community can gather, learn, explore, and more.” 

More than 1,000 guests took part in Saturday’s festivities exploring the library branch. The new building features more interior space, improved accessibility, expanded parking, a drive-thru, a meeting room, and study pods. The building also includes a family-friendly kids space with play equipment, a communal space for teens, and comfortable spaces for reading and gathering. 

The new library is one block from the previous storefront location. Learn more about the project at: https://chpl.org/next-generation/mt-healthy/.

The Facility Master Plan is guiding our multiyear improvement project called Building the Next Generation Library and was made possible through the generous support of Hamilton County as a result of the 1 mill levy that passed in May 2018. 

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Contributed

The reopening of the Cincinnati/Hamilton County Public Library’s Main Library’s $43.4 million refresh on July 12-14 was a celebration weekend that provided guests with events, programs, and musical guests, as the Main Library hosted a party. The renovations are part of the Library’s Facility Master Plan.   

Friday, Saturday and Sunday included events, programs, and performances throughout the South Building including the redesigned meeting rooms and interactive areas for kids and teens. Multiple new features including the Social Stairs and Phronesis light sculpture was also a large part of the event that provided free guided tours to visitors.

Library officials reported the festivities resulted in more than 12,000 attended throughout the weekend, over 5,000 item check-out transactions and, 898 new library cards created on Saturday alone, beating the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s previous record of 584 library card sign ups in one day (August 20, 2023).  

At 540,000 square feet in downtown Cincinnati, the Main Library is the Library’s flagship location, accounting for about half of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library’s public space. In December 2017, the Library Board of Trustees confirmed the desire to retain the Main Library’s North Building, and to have both buildings of the Downtown Main Library re-envisioned to better meet customer needs.

The project included the Main Library Plaza redesign and interior refresh designed by Group 4 Architecture + Champlin Architecture. The Main Library renovation injects the cultural and geographic landscapes of Cincinnati and Hamilton County into the existing mid-century modern buildings.

The project included:

• The plaza walls in both the South and North Plazas were removed and the South Plaza was lowered to street level to create a safer and more welcoming Vine St. entrance.
• Portions of the interior of the library received a light renovation.
• The new, at-grade South Plaza and large glass curtain wall now welcomes library users to the revitalized atrium. The design expresses the wonderful range of library spaces within. Upon entering the atrium, an inviting and warm social stair knits together the Walnut Street and Vine Street entrances while providing a range of seating opportunities for individuals, small groups and large events. Inspired by the hills of Cincinnati, this welcoming design provides new amenities and gathering spaces, as well as an intuitive connection to the upper floors of the library, accessed through a new stair extending from the second floor upwards.

Journey through three floors and 540,000 square feet of books, movies, music and more at the Main Library with new spaces and services for you to enjoy, including:

• Redesigned spaces like meeting rooms and interactive areas for kids and teens
• The new Catherine C. and Thomas E. Huenefeld Story Center to record and share history with future generations
• Outdoor plazas with new public art and spaces to gather
• Return of the beloved book sculpture 
• Phronesis, a new large-scale light sculpture
• Skylight and elevator replacement

The heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) and electrical systems in the South Building – built in the 1950s – were updated in 2020.  The South Building roof was replaced recently, providing a completely updated roofing system for the entire 540,000 square foot building.

The Social Stairs begins in the atrium of the Downtown Main Library and starts off with the Country Boogie and Jump Blues hits of the late 1940’s that made King Records the sixth largest record company in America by 1949.

Lots of new music was emerging in 1945 – like Bluegrass, Jump Blues, and Country Boogie – much of which was recorded right here in Cincinnati. These genres are shown with yellow and orange tints on the staircase.

The Library also began its musical history at this time, with CHPL’s collection expanding to sound recordings. The Library’s first record in its collection was a Cincinnati Opera album, acquired in 1946, through a donation by the Cincinnati Opera. That record has a place on the staircase as a tribute to that occasion.

As you climb the stairs into the 1950’s, you’ll reach the second floor of the Downtown Main Library and see the emergence of then-new genres like Doo Wop and Rockabilly – shown on the staircase in darker green colors.

All 40 branches and the downtown Main Library will receive improvements over the next 10 years. This is a generational moment for our Library and our county. We have a rich tradition of truly outstanding public library service and a community that supports and appreciates the many benefits a strong and healthy public library offers the community. 

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By Selean Holmes

Avondale History

Project Planning Team

Avondale today is Cincinnati’s largest African American neighborhood with a population of 12,093, 85% of whom are African American. Bordered by North Avondale, Evanston, Walnut Hills, Corryville and Clifton, its rich and vital history is experiencing significant physical change risking the loss of long-term residents’ sense of place, memory and history. With your help, The Avondale History Project is ready to preserve the neighborhood’s history. To spearhead an initiative to help preserve the culture of the community, a $74K grant was received from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH).

At the helm of the Avondale History Project is Anne Delano Steinert, University of Cincinnati Research Assistant Professor in History and Director of the Center for the City, in partnership with the Avondale Branch of the Cincinnati Public Library and the Avondale Development Corporation. The development grant is also intended to lay the groundwork for a future grant to fund a multi-location history exhibition, Black history walking trail, oral history project and school programs throughout the neighborhood.

“Avondale has a rich heritage of both Black and Jewish,” Steinert says. “Both those groups are underrepresented in Cincinnati history, so this project is a huge opportunity to discover and celebrate the diverse history of the city.”

The Avondale History Project is seeking past and present residents of Avondale to help research and explore Avondale’s rich history that includes the people, buildings, and organizations. Do you have Avondale history you’d like to share? Project Community Researchers are being hired and will be trained and compensated at $15 an hour for part-time work on this project over the next 18 months. Family stories, photographs, and documents will be collected to help build an archival collection. There will be project orientation meetings on December 16 and January 13 at noon at the Avondale Public Library, 3566 Reading Road. For more information contact Dr. Steinert, Project Manager by email at steineao@ucmail.uc.edu.

The post The Avondale History Project needs you appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Written by Joe Armstrong,

Content Specialist,

Downtown Main Library

One of CHPL’s most visited branches is now open after its first major renovation since its opening in 1961!

The West End Branch Library features a completely reimagined interior space, designed to maximize the space inside the building for customers while prioritizing accessibility improvements to the entrance.

This $3 million project was made possible through the generous support of Hamilton County as a result of the 1 mill levy that was passed in May 2018.

Check out all the new features we’re most excited about – and hear first impressions from our customers who are already enjoying this one-of-a-kind library.

A New Welcome to Your New Branch

You’ll find new improvements to the West End Branch as soon as you enter the building, with a relocated, welcoming entry. From the moment you step through the accessible entrance, a convenient service station is ready to help you find materials, reserve study spaces, and answer any questions.

Rachel lives right across the street from the West End Branch and loves how convenient it is for her. “This space is wonderful! I love how helpful the library staff are in helping me use technology,” she says.

Reservable Quiet Study Space

The renovated branch has spaces perfect for everything under the sun: music, storytimes, events, and more! And now customers can also find quiet, soundproof spaces to study, work, and read. Two reservable study pods are available for free and will also host our Homework Help and Job Prep services.

A Tech Transformation

The building is bursting with new technology for customers of all ages to use. All of the public computers have been upgraded and are brand new – perfect for browsing the internet, using one of CHPL’s free databases, printing and faxing documents for free, and more!

Included in all this new tech is a laptop kiosk, allowing customers to check out one of twelve available laptops for in-branch use. 

“The new laptops are awesome,” says Serenity, who’s been visiting the West End Branch since she was two years old, “I also love all the new mystery books!”

Even More to Explore

We’re just scratching the surface of what’s waiting for you to discover at your West End Branch Library. Come visit the branch and check out the upcoming events for kids, teens, and adults. 

The post West End Branch library reopens after $3 million renovation appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Clarity Amrein

Genealogy and local history

Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

Cincinnati’s forgotten opera singer’s story is being told in a new documentary premiering this week.

The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s Genealogy and Local History Department’s oral history video series, Exceptional Cincinnatians, explores the lives of Cincinnati’s professionals, artists, activists, journalists, and everyday citizens, both past and present who have made a difference in our community. These “mini-documentaries” feature face-to-face interviews, scanned images and artifacts from our collection, and present-day footage.

Cincinnati’s Forgotten Opera Singer

In the next installment of Exceptional Cincinnatians, the Library details the life of Cincinnati’s “forgotten” soprano vocal artist, concert soloist, and recitalist Nadine Roberts Waters.

Waters was an African American woman and a native of the Cincinnati neighborhood of Wyoming. In the 1920s, Nadine studied at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, performed around Paris in the 1930s, and sang at some of the biggest venues in Cincinnati such as Memorial Hall, Music Hall, and Emery Auditorium.

Though Nadine Waters achieved great successes in the United States and abroad, she never quite received the recognition for her talents in Cincinnati she deserved. This was true despite Waters winning many contests singing in multiple languages, performing with the Pasdeloup Symphony Orchestra in Paris, before British and French dignitaries and royalty, and having support from the influential Schmidlapp and Longworth families.

Digital Preservation by the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

Jennifer Sauers and Sherry Sheffield of the Wyoming Historical Society contacted CHPL’s Digital Services department to have a large scrapbook scanned, and Digital Services sprang into action to preserve it. Using an archival flatbed scanner, Nadine Water’s personal scrapbook full of letters, programs, playbills, photos, and posters was digitized. The images can be accessed anytime on our Digital Library.

After seeing Nadine’s scrapbook, which included programs from her recitals, photos, and letters from notable figures such as Louis B. Meyer, W.C. Handy, Josephine Baker, Nadia Boulanger, presidents, socialites, and more, the Genealogy & Local History Department knew there was a story to tell.

Connecting Cincinnati History to the present

Thanks to the help of Jennifer Sauers, Thea Tjepkema from the Cincinnati Preservation Association and Friends of Music Hall, contemporary Cincinnati vocal artist Noël Walton, and Cincinnati’s Memorial Hall, Nadine’s story is told through not only artifacts from her scrapbook and interviews, but also through song and spirituality.

Documentary Screening Event this March

View the documentary on the Library’s YouTube channel or experience it in person for a live screening event 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 30 at the newly renovated Walnut Hills Branch Library, 2533 Kemper Lane (45206). CHPL will screen the one-hour documentary and a question and answer panel with the interviewees and experts on Nadine Waters and Cincinnati vocal arts history. No registration is required.

Celebrate a new exceptional Cincinnatian every three months Find Nadine Roberts Waters’ oral history episode and future videos on the Library’s YouTube channel.

Do you know an Exceptional Cincinnatian with a story to tell? Email Clarity.Amrein@chpl.org.

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Contributed

The Honorable Melba D. Marsh, a West End native herself, donated the prize money for the Mary Finley Memorial Essay and Speech Contest, conducted by the West End Branch of the Public Library. Marsh credits Mary Finley for her pursuing a career in law. 

The library service in the West End this year reinstated the Mary Finley Memorial Essay and Speech Contest, which had not occurred since 2013.

“It’s great for our new generation. It also allows others to know how important the library is to them,” said Tawanda Johnson, West End staff member and grandmother of a former contest winner.

Started in 2002 by retired librarian George Ferguson, the contest honors Mary Finley, one of the first African American librarians hired by the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library who influenced Ferguson as a young man growing up in the community.

Contestants are asked to reflect upon what the library means to them and compose an essay about the topic. The first-place winner received a $150 Visa gift card.

The post Winners announced in West End Library contest appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Chris Rice

Chris.Rice@CincinnatiLibrary.org

Another Next Generation Library project from the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library is complete. The public is invited to see the new Deer Park Branch during a grand opening at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at 4020 E. Galbraith Road.

The new location is easy to find; it’s just a few hundred feet from the old location in the Dillonvale Shopping Center. The former T.J. Maxx store was revamped into a larger library branch with 25,000 square feet of space. The space is now more easily accessible for wheelchairs, walkers and strollers, and it offers two public meeting rooms and seven study rooms. There is a designated quiet area and flexible areas to meet the future needs of the community.

“I can’t wait to welcome you to this lovely new space where we’ll all be able to do more, together,” said Natalie Fields, Deer Park branch manager. “You’ll find many more books, movies and computers, as well as spaces to interact with your neighbors or work quietly on your own or with a small group. The Deer Park staff and I look forward to showing you around.”

Remarks from officials, including the Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director Paula Brehm-Heeger and Library Board of Trustees President Diane Cunningham Redden, start at 10 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting immediately following. During the grand opening, customers are invited to explore the new spaces, while kids can enjoy a bubble-painting activity. There will be book giveaways, and other goodies being handed out. 

“I’m excited to be opening the brand-new Deer Park Branch, and so pleased we were able to invest approximately $5 million in this community” said Brehm-Heeger. “As a Next Generation Library, there are so many wonderful features and spaces for minds of all kinds. We hope the community enjoys exploring and using them.” 

The Library is committed to contributing to building a brighter future for everyone living in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. As a part of this commitment, the library is undergoing a decade-long process to upgrade all 41 of its facilities. The library’s Facility Master Plan is guiding this multi-year improvement project called Building the Next Generation Library. 

The post New Deer Park Branch opens to public Dec. 10 appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution stating the right of citizens to vote “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” But did you know an actress-singer and a psychic, both from Cincinnati, were two very important women in the Suffrage Movement?

Trixie Friganza, who inspired the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” donated money to the cause and repeatedly went on record as an advocate for women’s rights, equality and independence. And Laura Carter Pruden, mother of the Magic 8 Ball inventor, was a charter member of Harriet Taylor Upton Club, a suffrage organization formed in 1910 in Cincinnati.

It’s fun and informative facts such as these that are featured in the exhibit Genius of Liberty: The Long Struggle for Women’s Equality on display Jan. 31-April 26 at the Downtown Main Library. The exhibit spans events from the first women’s rights Convention in 1848 at Seneca Falls, N.Y., to 72 years later with the adoption of the 19th Amendment in August of 1920 that guaranteed women their right to vote. 

The exhibit casts light on the crucial yet forgotten role played by Ohio from abolition to ratification and is named for The Genius of Liberty, one of the first feminist publications in the United States, published by Cincinnati suffragist Elizabeth Aldrich. 

For more information, call (513) 369-6900 or visit www.CincinnatiLibrary.org. 

The post Local women who marched for the vote included in suffrage exhibit at Library appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

CINCINNATI — The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County invites the public to celebrate the first Mary S. Stern lecture, made possible through an endowment to The Library Foundation of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. The inaugural speaker for the lecture series is Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., and author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.

An Evening with Bryan Stevenson takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Procter & Gamble Hall at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Tickets for the lecture are $5 and will go on sale later this summer.

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CINCINNATI — One in five children in the state of Ohio do not know where their next meal is coming from. Many of these children rely on school meals during the regular school year. But during the summer months, they have nowhere to turn.

That is why the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is teaming up with UMC Food Ministry and Mt. Healthy City Schools to provide meals and snacks for children 18 and younger. People ages 19 through 21 who have been identified as having mental or physical disabilities and are following Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) through their current enrollment in educational programs also are eligible for free summer meals.

The Summer Meals program runs weekdays from June 3–Aug. 16* at the Main Library. Here is a partial list of other Library locations offering summer meals:

• Main Library
• Avondale Branch
• Bond Hill Branch
• College Hill Branch
• Madisonville Branch
• Mt. Healthy Branch
• North Central Branch
• Pleasant Ridge Branch
• Walnut Hills Branch
• West End Branch

For additional summer food service options, please visit CinLib.org/SummerFood.

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