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Rip Tide Results? Dr. Matthew Kerbel on the Election

Matthew KerbelTake an in-depth look at the 2010 election, only days after it happens. Matthew R. Kerbel, Ph.D., will speak about “the rip tide election” on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. in the Falvey Memorial Library first floor lounge.

For the better part of a year, conservatives have been looking forward to the 2010 election with unbridled energy, hoping to regain control of Congress. Their energy and political involvement resulted in the nomination of a number of candidates with immoderate views whose questionable electoral prospects threatened to undermine the Republican wave — like a rip tide cuts against the current.

Did that wave develop? Was it diminished at all by the very activism that promised to make 2010 a banner year for Republicans? Two days after the 2010 election, we’ll assess the fallout by addressing what happened, why it happened, and what it all means for the future of politics and policy.

Dr. Kerbel is a professor in the political science department and the author of several books. His most recent book is Netroots: Online Progressives and the Transformation of American Politics (Paradigm Publishers, 2009).

This event is free and open to the public.


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“Hallowe’en was in the air”

Here is a timely snippet from the Joseph McGarrity personal papers collection. One of McGarrity’s daughters, Catherine Meave, sent her father Hallowe’en greetings on October 22, 1925 from Atlantic City. The letter and poem are transcribed below.

Halloween poem

Dear Papa,
    I made this poem up, and drew and painted this card for you for Hallowe’en.

    “Halloween.”
It was Halloween night
And there was a pretty sight,
For the moon shown bright,
And witches were aflight.
Hallowe’en was in the air,
There were ghost here and there
Always giving you a stare.
And pretty costumes everywhere.
Music was playing happily,
People were rushing hurridly.
And thus came and went,
    “Hallowe’en.”

      Your loving daughter,
        Catherine Meave

Catherine also included a card with drawings of jack-o’-lanterns and fruit.

Halloween greetings

Unfortunately, we have no dates associated with Catherine, so we do not know how old she was when she sent these. We do, however, have McGarrity’s reply to Catherine, in which he praises her “gift of Poetry” and expresses his delight at receiving her card and poem. It is always a pleasure to find such connections among papers.

Halloween reply

Happy Hallowe’en from the Digital Library!


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Take a tour of Ireland in our new online exhibit

I am pleased to announce the debut of our new online exhibit, “Rambles, Sketches, Tours: Travellers & Tourism in Ireland.” The exhibit can also be seen in person on the second floor of Falvey Memorial Library through the end of the semester. The display was featured on the main library news blog last week.

Rambles exhibit poster
Promotional poster by Joanne Quinn.

“Rambles, Sketches, Tours” highlights Irish travel narratives and related materials, primarily from the Joseph McGarrity Collection. The site is broken into sections that highlight the methods of travel to and within Ireland, the motives of some of the most influential and popular writers, and the development of the tourism industry. In addition, there are five sections that look at some of the most popular travel destinations.

Custom House, Dublin
The Custom House in Dublin from A View of
Ancient and Modern Dublin… (1796) by John Ferrar.

Many of the works included in the exhibit are available in full-text versions online, either at our own Digital Library or at the Internet Archive. Links have been provided throughout the exhibit pages and on the exhibit bibliography, which also includes the materials I used in researching Irish travel and tourism.

I had a lot of fun researching this exhibit and selecting items to include—I hope you’ll find some enjoyment, too. I’ll be posting a few behind-the-scenes tidbits over the next couple months, so stay tuned!


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Marathon Community Reading Brings Saint Augustine to Life

Confessions Alive posterJoin the Confessions Alive! marathon reading of St. Augustine’s well-known work, hosted by Falvey Memorial Library, in partnership with the Villanova University Classical Studies Program, the Office for Mission and Ministry, and the Villanova Center for Liberal Education. The day-long public reading will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010, in Falvey Memorial Library’s first floor lounge.

University President Rev. Peter Donohue, O.S.A., will commence the reading at 9 a.m. It will continue until midnight, with refreshments available to participants throughout the day.

“St. Augustine’s Confessions is a milestone in the history of autobiography.  It is a narrative, not just theology. Hearing it aloud is helpful,” explains Outreach librarian and theology professor Darren Poley.  “Events of this kind encourage people to understand great works of literature and truly do make ancient texts more accessible.”

Students and members of the University community may participate by reading a portion of the text aloud or just stopping in to listen. Additionally, a slide show of images and a reading guide created by the Classical Studies Program will be made available to assist participants in contextualizing the reading. (more…)


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eMarketer

Interested in media usage?  Get a new angle through eMarketer.  Learn more about social media and media usage with reports such as Blacks Online: Young, Mobile and Social or The Digital Home: Emerging Trends in TV/PC Viewership.

eMarketer is the best single source for research and statistics on all manner of online marketing.  eMarketer employs a team of analysts that synthesize  data and primary research from over 4000 sources including consulting firms, government agencies and academics.

For more information, see Linda Hauck’s eMarketer post on the Business Reference blog.

____________________________________________________

Kristyna Carroll
Research Support Librarian
kristyna.carroll@villanova.edu
610-519-5391


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Voting and Election Quick Check

Find out about the parties, political movements and their platforms. Check these websites for an overview of information: Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Reform Party, Democratic Socialists of America and the Tea Party Movement.

Some websites and blogs will attempt to help you sort out the issues. For a sampling, check CQ Politics (maps, ratings, columns, blogs, videos), Politico.com (providing news and opinion on the 2010 elections), C-Span.org (cable TV supported live Congressional coverage and information), CNN Election Center Basics (Cable News Network election center information), CNN Politics – politicalticker (CNN latest posts and up-to-date midterm elections news), Smart Voter (unbiased election information from the League of Women Voters), Dave Leip’s election atlas (election information begun in the 1990s), and LegiStorm (blog and website reporting salary, trip, financial disclosure, foreign gifts and earmark information about senators and congressmen).

Campaign finance and election issues can be checked at websites like the Federal Election Commission (FEC) (administering and enforcing federal campaign finance laws), the Campaign finance reports and data (from the FEC) and American National Election Studies (ANES) (producing data about voting, public opinion and political participation for social scientists and students). (more…)


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Bartley Business Info Center Closed Oct 26th

Please contact Falvey for assistance this morning.


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American Founding Era Digital Collections

AdamsLast year, Falvey acquired the digital edition of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson from the University of Virginia Press. These papers are part of the American Founding Era Collection, which contains the papers of other noteworthy figures of the early republic. Falvey has recently acquired access to three more of these collections: the Adams Papers, the Papers of George Washington, and the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.

The Adams Papers Digital Edition brings together all volumes printed in the series to date, including John Adams’s complete diaries, selected legal papers, family correspondence, and state papers.

WashingtonThe Papers of George Washington Digital Edition consists of electronic editions of all 59 volumes that have appeared in print thus far. This collection includes the complete diaries as well as five series representing various stages of Washington’s life.

The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution traces the evolution of the Constitution through each of the thirteen states’ conventions. The collection contains “copies of over 60,000 documents from well over 1,000 libraries” encompassing “convention and legislative records, private papers, and all newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets … when relevant.”

ConstitutionAll editions are annotated and allow users to switch between the hierarchical print volume arrangements and a chronological arrangement. In addition, all collections are cross-searchable. The search page allows users to refine their search in many useful ways. You can search the text within the content or the notes (or both, of course), search for names, set date range limits, and specify which collection or collections to search within. Please note, however, that while you can search all collections in the American Founding Era Collection, the library only has access to Jefferson, Adams, Washington, and the Ratification collections. For more details and tips about searching these collections, see the help page.

The library also owns print editions of these works. Check the catalog for the Adams Papers, the Papers of George Washington (Colonial Series, Revolutionary War Series, Confederation Series, Presidential Series, Retirement Series), and the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to get in touch with us.


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Visit Ireland: "Rambles, Sketches, Tours" in Special and Digital Collections

cork-street-scene

By Alice Bampton

Tour Ireland through the centuries with Laura Bang, Special and Digital Collections curatorial assistant, as your guide. This travel and tourism exhibit includes unique works from Falvey’s Joseph McGarrity Collection and can be viewed throughout the fall semester in Falvey Memorial Library and online through the Digital Library.

Because of her interest in travel writing, Laura “had a lot of fun doing the research” for her inaugural exhibit at Falvey. In fact, the exhibit was suggested as a possible project to Laura during her job interview.

“Rambles, Sketches, Tours” begins in two display cases on the first floor. In the first case we are introduced to the exhibit by the “Curator’s Welcome” and find three books on display: Francis Guy’s Tourists’ Handbook to Cork, Killarney and the Blackwater, 1890, opened to the title page and opposite an advertisement for the Imperial Hotel in Cork; John Gerard O’Leary, Ted Smart, and David Gibbon, Ireland, its Beauty and Splendor, 1979, which shows color illustrations of castles (interiors and exteriors), burial grounds  and a church; and Jane Barlow, Irish Ways, 1911, opened to show a color landscape. (more…)


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Arab Voices: James Zogby Challenges Myths with Data

James Zogby

Falvey Memorial Library, in partnership with Villanova University’s Center for Arab & Islamic Studies and the political science department, announces a timely lecture on the myths and facts about the people of the Middle East. James J. Zogby, Ph.D., will speak at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010, in the Falvey Memorial Library first floor lounge.

Dr. Zogby is the president and co-founder of the Arab American Institute and a senior advisor with the international polling firm Zogby International. In the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010, Zogby International conducted polls across a number of Arab countries. In his book, Arab Voices: What They’re Saying and Why It Matters, Dr. Zogby uses the results of these polls to topple stereotypes about the Middle East and its residents.

Marwan Kreidie, M.A., an adjunct professor in the political science department, comments, “James Zogby is the preeminent Arab-American activist in the United States. Not only is he active in trying to achieve civil rights and political inclusion for the approximately three million Americans of Arab descent, but he also is a keen observer of the Arab world. His book offers pragmatic and genuine insight into the thoughts of the Arab world, much misunderstood by the American public and policy makers.”

The lecture is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. Copies of Arab Voices will be available for purchase and signing by the author.


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Last Modified: October 20, 2010

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