History & Political Science

Last 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.

The 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.”

All 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.

The history/sociology liaison team lost one of its original members – David Burke, who will devote more time to resource management and the creation and organization of metadata in Falvey’s growing digital library.

Laura Bang, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland’s library science school, replaces David on the liaison team. Laura joined Falvey this past spring as a curatorial assistant in Special and Digital Collections. Originally from Santa Barbara (Ca.),  Laura received her bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Bryn Mawr College. Last summer, while in graduate school, Laura worked at the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. Laura noted that the IYL is located in a fifteenth-century castle and that her work there was her “favorite experience in library school.”

Jutta Seibert, coordinator of Academic Integration, continues as team coordinator and Alice Bampton, Visual Resources librarian, remains on the team.

Are you interested in U.S. history and politics? Have you worked with the Serial Set before or did you always shy away from using it because of the time and effort involved in tracking down documents included in this series?

Villanova faculty and students will have access to the full text of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set and the American States Papers on a trial basis until October 11. The Library is evaluating the purchase of this valuable resource and we would like to include your opinions into the evaluation process.

The Serial Set goes back to the 15th Congress (1817). The online version currently on trial includes the years 1817 to 1994. It contains House and Senate documents as well as House and Senate reports. The documents cover a wide variety of topics and include reports of independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations.
The American State Papers, 1789-1838 are part of the trial access.
Take a look, evaluate its value for faculty and student research projects and email your feedback to Jutta Seibert.

RefWorks Library Workshop
Date: Sunday, September 12
Time: 12:30-2:00 p.m.
Location: Griffin Room, 1st floor, Falvey

Please set up a RefWorks account by clicking on the “Sign up for an Individual Account” link before you come to the workshop and download Write-N-Cite if you bring your personal laptop.

You will learn how to

• – export references from catalogs, indexes, and digital collections,
• – edit references,
• – create folders for different projects,
• – create references from scratch in RefWorks,
• – cite in Microsoft Word with Write-N-Cite (Chicago style).

Please e-mail me at jutta.seibert@villanova.edu if you would like to attend, but have not yet signed up.

Medical research has come a long way since the 1918 influenza epidemic, but last year’s H1-N1 scare demonstrated how vulnerable we still are when faced with a new and highly contagious virus. Today’s population density and global travel habits increase the speed with which epidemics can turn into pandemics.

Are you interested in learning more about the history of the “French disease” or the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in the 18th century? Would you like to learn more about the field of public health as it emerged in response to epidemic diseases.
Falvey’s large collection comprises encyclopedic essays, books, primary sources in digital collections and peer-reviewed journal articles about the history of epidemics, public health, and hygiene.

The Epidemics in History Research Guide identifies numerous library resources and lists relevant Library of Congress subject headings that will improve search results in the online catalog. It includes links to sample essays, articles and primary sources in Falvey’s digital collections.
The online research guide can be found on the Course & Topic Guides page under the Guides tab on the library home page. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments that you may have.

Falvey patrons now have access to the online Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome which contains contributions from 500 authors. Entries cover the Bronze Age (3000 BCE) through the era of Emperor Justinian (600 CE). The Encyclopedia contains topical outlines on Rome and Greece, numerous illustrations, maps, and genealogical tables. Primary sources and annotated bibliographies of mostly English secondary titles are provided with the articles; most articles also include helpful cross-references. While the writers are usually authorities in their fields, their intended audiences are college students and educated laypersons.

Additional online resources in the field of ancient history:

• Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World
  Over 2,500 entries beginning with the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE and ending with the death of Marcus Aurelius (180 CE). The Dictionary “covers key aspects of ancient Greek and Roman life and literature…”
• Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
  Authoritative survey of ancient Greek and Roman history.
• Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
  The Encyclopedia focuses on dynastic Egypt, but also includes some earlier material. More than 250 scholars contributed over 600 articles accompanied by bibliographies.
• Cambridge Ancient History
  Covers ancient history from prehistory to late antiquity (3000 B.C.-600 A.D.). All 14 volumes can be searched simultaneously, individual chapters can be bookmarked or downloaded and cited references can be tracked via OpenURL, which will link to the full text in Falvey’s holdings or pre-fill an interlibrary loan form.
• Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500 – 1492
  Written by a group of expert international Byzantine scholars, it “follow[s] the fortunes of the empire” chronologically from “The Earlier Empire c. 500 – c. 700” to “The Middle Empire c. 700 – 1204” and ends with “The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204 – 1492.” These three parts are subdivided into chapters. Also included are a glossary, genealogical tables, lists of rulers, alternative place names, 52 maps and a bibliography.

Did you know that Oxford Reference Online includes time lines of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome? Each date and event listed on these time lines is linked to entries in relevant online Oxford reference titles.

• Ancient World
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome

All titles are all available through the Library catalog. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments that you may have.
Contributed by Alice Bampton.

A recent publication from the Oxford University Press is the Encyclopedia of African American History: 1896 to the Present (2009), edited by Paul Finkelman. This five-volume set follows the 3-volume Encyclopedia of African American History: 1619 to 1895 (published in 2006) and covers the “Age of Segregation to the Twenty-First Century,” including the 2008 presidential election. This set contains over 1,250 signed entries, with nearly equal division between biographies and topical entries.

The Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (2008, Macmillan/Gale), edited by John Hartwell Moore, contains nearly 400 articles in three volumes, with content contributed by experts on race, ethnicity, sociology, and other social sciences. The articles focus mainly on biographies and historical events. U.S. topics dominate the set, but there is also a good variety of global topics covered. Additional materials include an annotated filmography, excerpts from significant court cases, and the full text of influential civil rights speeches and other relevant material.

Other noteworthy reference titles in Falvey’s collection include:
African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience (2003, Scribner, print and online)
Encyclopedia of African American Culture & History, 2nd edition (2006, Macmillan, 5 vols., online)
Encyclopedia of African American History (2010, ABC-Clio, 3 vols., print)
Encyclopedia of African American Society (2007, Sage, online)
Encyclopedia of Black Studies (2005, Sage, online)
Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture (2008, ABC-Clio, 3 vols., online)
Oxford African American Studies Center: Falvey’s gateway to the African American National Biography

All titles are all available through the Library catalog. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments that you may have.
Contributed by Laura Bang.

Falvey recently acquired the online edition of the Encyclopedia of U.S. Indian Policy and Law. Edited by Paul Finkelman and Tim Garrison and published in 2009 by CQ Press, this encyclopedia examines the history and impact of U.S. relations with Native Americans. Entries cover many topics relating to U.S./Native American relations, from history, politics, and sociology to civil rights and culture. The first volume includes eight overview chapters over U.S. Indian policy starting with the Indian policy of the Continental Congress. Entries cover a wide variety of topics from The Census to Environment and Environmental Protection. All entries are signed and include recommended readings and cross-references. Maps, statistics and documents such as the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act from 1990 can be found in the appendices. The Quick Search feature can be used to locate keywords anywhere in the full text of the online encyclopedia.

Related online reference materials in the Falvey collection:
American Indian Culture: A survey Native American history from ancient times to the twentieth century edited by Carole Barrett and published by Salem Press in 2003. (2 vols.)
American Indian History: Edited by Carole Barrett and Harvey Markovitz and published in 2004 by Salem Press. (3 vols.)
American Indian Tribes: Edited by R. Rasmussen and published by Salem Press in 1995. (2 vols.)

Related print titles:
Chronology of Native North American History
Tiller’s Guide to Indian Country
Atlas of the North American Indian
Native America in the Twentieth Century
Biographical Dictionary of American Indian History to 1900

All of these titles can be found with the help of the Library’s catalog. Online titles are also listed on the e-reference history page and on the history subject guide.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments that you may have.

Faculty and students in modern languages, history, and global studies occasionally need to watch DVDs coded for different regions and systems. While the Library has always endeavored to buy the requested films in a format that can be played on its public viewing stations, many of the titles are not produced for the mass market and not available for Region 1, the U.S.A. and Canada only. (Please click here for more information on DVD formats and region codes.)

Since faculty requested multi-region, multi-system DVD players for use in the Library in the recent faculty library survey, the Library recently outfitted one of its public viewing stations with such a DVD player.

Drop in and enjoy your movies. Headsets will be provided but popcorn is strictly B.Y.O.P. The viewing stations are located on the first floor.

The Library’s liaison librarians are ready to assist you with the purchase of foreign films for your classroom needs.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments that you may have.

Among the many DVD’s acquired by the Library this year is one stand-out, Eastern State: Living behind the Walls. This documentary, written and directed by Tony Alosi, gives a brief history of Eastern State Penitentiary, followed by a description of life in the prison during its final decades.
When it opened in 1829, Eastern State was viewed throughout the western world as a major innovation in penology, bringing visitors from around the world (including Charles Dickens in 1842). Through the nineteenth century, it emphasized personal reflection within solitary confinement as a key component of rehabilitation, a philosophy finally dropped when too many prisoners developed insanity. The video also gives some details to Al Capone’s incarceration (who continued to run the Chicago mob from his cell) and the prison’s one successful jailbreak carried out by Clarence Klinedinst and Willie Sutton. The penitentiary closed in 1972.
The film gives an honest look at life within Eastern State as detailed through interviews with former staff and inmates. They provide some frank descriptions of the violence and rape the prisoners regularly endured, both from each other and from the guards. Former inmates describe how they turned their individual lives around. The film ends with scenes from a reunion of inmates and staff thirty years after the prison closed. Interspersed throughout the film are shots of the decayed prison as it appears today.
Of course, if you find the film interesting you can visit the prison itself in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. The program director is a Villanova Alumnus—Sean Kelley (class of 1991).
David Burke

Watch the film trailer on YouTube or read B. Belbot’s short article on Eastern State Penitentiary from the Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities.
Film website

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