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Father Dennis Gallagher Celebrates 45th Anniversary of Priesthood

fr-gallagher200Rev. Dennis J. Gallagher, O.S.A., Ph.D., University archivist, celebrated his 45th anniversary of priesthood on January 30. He was ordained in the St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the University campus.

An anniversary mass will be celebrated on this occasion at St. Catharine’s Church, Spring Lake, New Jersey.

Father Gallagher also serves as a librarian liaison to philosophy, theology and humanities. For Father Gallagher, who has been associated with Villanova University since 1975,  “life is a journey – ever ancient, ever new.”


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Contemporary Japan: New Collection Supports Better Understanding

The Library recently received a generous donation of the collection, “100 Books for Understanding Contemporary Japan,” from the Nippon Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization that supports projects both in Japan and overseas. Of the list of English language books selected by ten experts with extensive knowledge of Japan, Falvey added about one-third of the titles which were not already part of our holdings.

The Foundation donated these titles promoting a greater understanding of the true face of contemporary Japan to selected university, special and public libraries that have an interest in Japan.

The titles can be located in the library catalog by searching the key word phrase “Nippon Foundation.” Subjects included range from religion, history, economics, commerce, education, political science, literature and the art and science of Japanese robots.  A catalog of the “100 books” is also held by the library.

Falvey was alerted to the program by A. Maria Toyoda, Ph.D., chair, political science department, and Yukie Yoshikawa, a fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

The Nippon Foundation funds activities in three areas: domestic social welfare and volunteer support; maritime research and development; and overseas cooperative assistance.

By Merrill Stein


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Growing Up in War Torn Italy: Mannella Distinguished Speaker Series Highlights Donato De Simone

Donato De Simone, a WWII survivor, educator and author of a compelling memoir, Suffer the Children: Growing up in Italy during WWII, will share vivid stories about events that occurred while he was growing up during the war. De Simone’s appearance is part of the Alfred F. Mannella and Rose T. Lauria-Mannella Distinguished Speakers Series.

This featured talk will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 1:30 p.m. in Falvey Memorial Library’s first floor lounge.

De Simone was born in 1932 in Fossacesia, a small town on the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo, Italy. In writing his memoirs, he established a number of fundamental themes, such as how children, the elderly and the handicapped are the real victims of war and that there are no victors in war– only losers.

The author recollects the events he experienced as a child and evaluates them from an adult perspective. Though his memoir speaks of disturbing events, it makes the readers realize that the one element that is never present in a war situation is justice, because, in his opinion, if justice were present there would be no war.

De Simone also discussed how the Italians secretly harbored thousands of Jews without being recognized for their bravery.

At 28 he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English from Villanova University and a master’s in Italian from Rutgers University. He is fluent in English and Italian, and has taught French and Classical Greek. After learning English, De Simone taught the subject to American students in both high school and college.

De Simone has been married to his childhood sweetheart, the former Anna Maria Fantini for over 50 years. They have four children and three grandchildren.

The event is open to the public. Copies of Donato De Simone’s book, Suffer the Children: Growing up in Italy during WWII will be available for purchase.

By Akua K. Adoo, Publications & Communication intern, and Natalie Tomasco


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IMF Statistics Off Campus Access Problem

Off campus access to the BOP, GFS and DOT statistics is not working smoothly. You will get prompted for a user name and password. Call or email me and I can provide Villanova community members with the user name and password (for security reasons I can’t post this.) I hope to have this resolved shortly. On campus access is uneffected.
linda.hauck@villanova.edu


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Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Now Available Online!

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2007) edited by G. Ritzer, one of the standards reference works in sociology, is now available online. This new edition replaces the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Sociology (2000), a set of five volumes with 397 entries edited by E. F. Borgatta and R. J. V. Montgomery. The new edition is over twice the size with 11 volumes and 1,786 entries. It covers a number of new and expanding fields such as the “sociology of consumption and sport” and “body and cultural sociology.” Starbucks and Whole Foods Market are represented as well. Updates are added at least twice a year. Among recent updates were entries on macrosociology, consumer society, gun control and online social networking.

The online Encyclopedia includes a time-line that lists “over 700 of the most influential events, figures, and publications to have made an impact on the field.”  Essays on Theory and Methods are helpful overviews for new students in the field. All key thinkers and concepts are included. More detailed essays can be found in the Blackwell Companions to Sociology, which are also available online.

Bookmark the Encyclopedia for daily use or access it via the Library’s web site. Links can be found in the online catalog as well as on the sociology subject guide.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments that you may have.


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New Online Exhibit: Jack B. Yeats Drawings and Illustrations

Posted for: Róisín Corry Roche (Digital Library Intern, Fall 2009).

Jack B. Yeats: Drawings and Illustrations, the latest exhibit of Falvey Memorial Library Special Collections is now on display on the second floor of Falvey or online at http://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/yeats

Jack B. Yeats, in his twenties.
Jack B. Yeats in his twenties, frontispiece, in Arnold, B. (1998). Jack Yeats. New Haven: Yale University Press. Falvey Memorial Library General Collection.

This exhibit focuses on the drawings and illustrations of Jack B. Yeats found in Special Collections materials. It also highlights the historical backdrop of Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century, as well as Jack’s involvement with his sister’s publishing company, Cuala Press.

In Falvey’s Special Collections, Jack’s drawings are found in children’s book, novels, plays, and broadsides. One of the highlights of the collection is A Broadside. Jack was the editor of the first series and provided over 250 drawings. While a handful of issues are discussed here, the complete first series is available online through the Digital Library.

Lament For The Death of Owen Roe O'Neil
Lament For The Death of Owen Roe O’Neil, February 1910 in Yeats, J. B. A Broadside for… Dublin: The Cuala Press, 1908-1915. Special Collections: McGarrity Collection.

As curator of this exhibit I had the rewarding experience of delving into the life of Jack B. Yeats. Prior to my research, my knowledge of the Yeats family was limited to his poet brother, William Butler Yeats, and his artist father John Butler Yeats. I had thought the artist Jack Yeats was the same person as his father. It was a mistake that I came to realize is often made when it comes to the art of Jack Yeats, both during his lifetime and today.

Preparing and researching the exhibit was a wonderful experience. Having an undergraduate background in history and graduate degrees in Irish Studies and Library and Information Science, the internship provided me with the unique opportunity of combining skills learned from all fields. The ability to handle rare and old materials on a daily basis was an adventure that can best be likened to being a kid in a candy store.

One of the most surprising aspects uncovered during the research phase was the large number of rare materials available in Special Collections. Among the items I was able to use were books signed by well-known Irish authors and rare volumes that are only held by a handful of libraries in the United States.

The most exciting moment was uncovering a letter written by a former president of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, taped inside one of his books, The Religious Songs of Connacht. The letter was written to a critic I could only determine to be named Bernard. The review this person wrote is taped inside the back cover of the same book.

Hyde letter from Diadha Chúige Connacht (The Religious Songs of Connacht
Hyde, D. (1906). Abhráin Diadha Chúige Connacht (The Religious Songs of Connacht). London: T.F. Unwin. Special Collections: McGarrity Collection.

Finding such unique materials on the shelves of Special Collections often made it difficult to stay on task. Despite the temptations, I managed to complete the exhibit in time for the start of the spring semester. I would like to thank Michael Foight, Bente Polites, Joanne Quinn, and David Lacy without whom this project would not have been possible.

Visit the exhibit on Falvey Library’s Second Floor or online at http://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/yeats


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Catholic Research Resources Alliance Portal: Scholars Preview

Posted for Darren Poley:

In 2009 Falvey Memorial Library joined with other Catholic University libraries in the Catholic Research Resources Alliance which has developed a free online research portal for scholars interested in the Catholic Church, particularly Catholic-related items held in the United States. Unlike some other fields of research that are cross-disciplinary in nature there has never been an effort, until now, to collectively identify what may be called Catholica. Catholic Studies in America has certainly grown a great deal as a locus for scholarly research in the last couple of decades and now libraries, rather than creating a single repository, are working together to use current tools and technology to enhance methods for discovering the primary source material. The intent is to aid researchers and students to do the kind of ferreting out of lesser known or little used publications and manuscripts related to the Catholicism.

Its participation started last year when the Catholic Research Resources Alliance invited Villanova University librarians to actively get involved in a strategy last summer. Since then the Digital Library has begun to contribute data to the Catholic Portal project about our holdings in a number of “collecting themes” identified by the CRRA member libraries. Additionally the VuFind search and browse open source software developed by Falvey Library staff was adopted and now provides the infrastructure for the Catholic Portal’s functionality. In November of 2009, as new member of the CRRA, Falvey Memorial Library was asked to conduct a focus group of scholars to test and discuss the feasibility and user-friendliness of the project.

The Collection Policy Statement for the Catholic Portal says, “The purpose of the Catholic Research Portal is to provide global access to the wealth of research resources relating to the Catholic experience. Of primary interest are rare, unique and uncommon Catholic research materials. Because these resources are often uncataloged and little known outside their institutional repositories, the Portal seeks to encourage broad participation and to provide support to libraries, archives, and other institutions that wish to participate in this project but lack the resources to do so. The Portal will ultimately facilitate and assist researchers and students in identifying Catholic research resources and make Catholic scholarship more productive. In doing so, the Catholic Research Portal will contribute substantially to the generation of new knowledge.”

To this purpose volunteers from Villanova’s department of history, as well as that of theology and religious studies including some administrators and even a nationally recognized scholar in the field of Catholic Studies from another local university shared their views saying the purpose, audience and content of the project makes sense tinted with a little optimism at the prospect of the Library’s involvement. “I’m hoping for real energy and support to fulfill its clear possibility.” There was little agreement as to what to call the body of literature that would be useful to American Catholic Studies as a field of study, but the reason for Portal’s development does seem to be clear. As one focus group member said, “In a decentralized community like Catholic higher education, being able to discover the treasures hidden away in libraries and archives is very desirable.” The usefulness of the Catholic Portal and the positive reaction to Falvey Memorial Library’s digital library involvement seems clear to our patrons, and the Portal’s potential users.

It should be noted that the Collection Policy Statement for the Catholic Portal also makes it clear that, “As the Portal develops and expands, all Catholic colleges, universities, seminaries and archives in North America will be welcome to participate in this effort. Non-Catholic institutions with holdings of Catholic interest will also be welcome to contribute records.”


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Intermittent Economist Intelligence Unit Access Problems

We have been experiencing intermittent problems with access to the Economist Intelligence Unit Reports. If you have difficulty getting Reports or data from EIU please let me know (linda.hauck@villanova.edu). The problems have been inconsistent making it very difficult to resolve.


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"One Book" Author Will Sign Books in Falvey

Falvey Memorial Library welcomes author Mahbod Seraji to campus to discuss Rooftops of Tehran, this year’s selection for the University’s One Book program. Seraji’s visit on January 26 will begin at 1 p.m. with a one-hour community book signing in the Falvey first floor lounge.

Seraji will appear in the Villanova Room, Connelly Center, at 7:30 p.m.


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Selected Blackwell Companions now available online!

Falvey recently acquired a number of online Blackwell Companions to Sociology. The essays published in this series are suitable introductory reading for students. Each chapter includes a detailed list of references. The e-format (pdf)  facilitates the integration of specific chapters into online syllabi and/or WebCT course modules. All links to individual chapters are routed through a library server, which will prompt students and faculty alike to authenticate themselves, thus avoiding any potential copyright issues. Multiple students can consult each companion simultaneously.

For a complete lists of all Blackwell Companions to Sociology available at Falvey, print as well as online, click here.
Links to the online Blackwell Companions to Sociology can be found in the catalog, on the Library’s subject guides for sociology and criminal justice as well as under E-reference – Sociology.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments that you may have.


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Last Modified: January 14, 2010

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