Library News

by Jacqueline Mirabile

Handbook of Life-Span Development (Wiley, 2010) is now available full text online, covering cognitive, biological, social and emotional aspects of human change across the life span.  The chapters range from the development of mental processing to developing civic engagement within a civic context.

Searching in the full text of this title for the term gestures indicates that there are 13 chapters which contain the word gesture. As expected the chapter “Gesturing Across the Life Span” has the most but there is also information in these chapters: “The Development of Representation and Concepts” and “Neurobiological Bases of Social Behavior across the Life Span.”

Each chapter has an extensive list of references with links which may take you to full text.  Links to this resource can be found in the library’s catalog as well as the Subject Guide pages for Counseling and Psychology.

Also, when searching a topic if you do not limit to this particular title you can pull up references from any of the resources Falvey subscribes to from Wiley Online Library.

Cathleen Lu is this semester’s intern for Falvey Memorial Library’s Digital Library. Cathleen, currently a Drexel University graduate student, plans to complete her master of library and information science degree in December.

She is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, where she majored in biological sciences and Chinese and minored in English, receiving a bachelor’s degree in both arts and sciences.

A native of San Francisco, Cathleen enjoys traveling, biking and trying to master boogie woogie on the piano. Before leaving California she worked in theater. Her last project was a puppet show.

Preetha Rao, a second year graduate student studying for her master’s degree in computer science, is a graduate assistant for Falvey’s Technology Development team. She works most often for David Lacey, a library software development specialist. Preetha says she is very happy with her job in Falvey. After graduating from Villanova University, she would like to work on open source software and other projects.

Before coming to the University, Preetha earned two bachelor’s degrees, one in mathematics and the other in computer science, both from the University of Mumbai, India.

Preetha likes the suburban atmosphere at Villanova University, especially the campus architecture, the foliage and the landscaping.

Article and photograph by Alice Bampton

By Luisa Cywinski

The Rev. Daniel P. Falvey, O.S.A., Ph.D., became library director at Villanova University in 1940, 70 years ago.

The library, originally located in Dougherty Hall, has moved several times since the University was founded.  Parts of the collection were housed in Mendel Hall, St. Mary’s Hall and  Austin Hall. As head librarian from 1940 to 1962, Father Falvey devoted himself to the creation of a unified collection and modern, scholarly spaces for University students and faculty.

He guided the fund raising and construction of a new library at a time when the country was recovering from World War II. It seems fitting that on the 70th anniversary of his appointment as head librarian we honor his dedication to growth and a “scholarly atmosphere,” even while our country faces economic and political challenges. (more…)

by Luisa Cywinski

The next time you visit Falvey Library, look for the entrance exhibit featuring “Superheroes and Scholars.” You can’t miss the colorful renditions of Superman, Batman and Spiderman, all dangling from the ceiling as if in mid-flight. On the shelves below you’ll find their counterparts in the form of graphic novels and related texts. When asked about her inspiration for the theme of this year’s graphic novel event, Alexandra Edwards (library grad assistant by day, English graduate student by night) cited her search for a “meta-textual” approach to the exhibit.

Then, when she least expected it, the idea came to her “in a flash!”: display the words of authors and philosophers as if spoken by superheroes. She, and others who contributed to the exhibit, worked to link those quotations with those who have written nationally recognized graphic novels. The words of Nietzsche (Superman), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Batman) and others are represented in the exhibit.

Laura Hutelmyer, who developed and organized the graphic novel event at Falvey last year, worked with Alexandra on content.  Joanne Quinn, graphic designer, brought the visual and artistic components of the exhibit together (taking superheroic steps to keep Styrofoam display materials from coating her work area).

Check out the graphic novels from our stacks on display at the library entrance. Are there other graphic novels you think Falvey should add to the collection? Join the conversation!

By Alice Bampton

“FindingAugustine.org: A rich & readily accessible bibliographical collection concerning Augustine of Hippo and his legacy” is the latest cultural window exhibit in Falvey Memorial Library. FindingAugustine.org is an international collaboration between the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, and Villanova University. This window, which provides information about FindingAugustine.org, is timely since November is Augustinian Heritage Month.

The exhibit, designed by Joanne Quinn, a graphic artist on the Outreach team, includes the following:

• a collection of books;
• a tribute to Rev. Thomas Martin, O.S.A., Ph.D.;
• a  photograph of Rev. Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A., Ph.D.;
• posters explaining FindingAugustine.org; and
• posters advertising the Confessions Alive! event.

This last item refers to the marathon reading of the Saint Augustine’s Confessions, which took place in Falvey on Nov. 3.

Dark red draperies and bamboo panels with collages featuring images of Saint Augustine of Hippo flank the exhibit, focusing our attention on it. Unlike the images of most saints, no standard image of Saint Augustine exists. The two panels illustrate the range of images Joanne discovered.

Father Martin (1945-2009), served as founding director of the Augustinian Institute at the University and is the author of Our restless heart : the Augustinian tradition . Two posters with photographs present information, provided by the Augustinian Institute at Villanova, about Father Martin.

This display was created at the direction of Darren Poley, Outreach librarian, who notes that the window has three purposes: to honor Father Tom and the Augustinian Institute, to draw attention to FindingAugustine.org, and to commemorate Augustinian Heritage Month. Falvey Memorial Library has worked with the Augustinian Institute to make an extensive bibliography available to scholars worldwide.

The exhibit will remain up until December 1.

Gerald Dierkes, Laura Hutelmyer and Judy Olsen contributed to this article.

There are only two days left until our Second Annual Graphic Novel Event, Superheroes and Scholars!  In anticipation of the event, we asked a few library staff members and students to tell us their favorite graphic novels.

Alexandra Edwards, library publications & outreach intern and Graphic Novel Event co-organizer, on the Scott Pilgrim series:

Imagine if your life were like a video game. Sounds fun, right? But now imagine that the video game was really hard — like Battletoads hard — and it kept you from doing the things you wanted.

Such is the fate of Scott Pilgrim, the hero of the eponymous, six-volume graphic novel series created by Bryan Lee O’Malley. All Scott wants to do is date Ramona Flowers, the literal girl of his dreams (her favorite shortcut is the subspace highway travelling through his head). But in order to date her, he has to defeat her seven evil exes, in increasingly awesome and ridiculous video game-style boss fights that continually interrupt his life and his band.

The Scott Pilgrim series features a feast of in-jokes for gamers, comic book lovers, and Generation Y. But its greatness lies in what else is on every page: a poignant look at life and love in your early 20s. While Ramona and Scott’s exes may try to interrupt their story, the metatextual elements and metaphors never do. What results is the perfect balance between the frivolous, the hilarious, and the touching.

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Join us for a reading by Alan Drew, M.F.A., novelist and Villanova University faculty member. Professor Drew will read excerpts from his first novel, Gardens of Water, and from The Hidden Life, his in-progress second novel. The reading will be held at 12:30 pm on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, in Falvey Memorial Library’s first floor lounge.

Gardens of Water (Random House, 2008) was chosen as Pasadena’s One City/One Story, University of Iowa’s Center for Human Rights One Community/One Book, and ‘one of the best books of 2008’ by School Library Journal. The novel tells the story of love and sacrifice between two families, one Kurdish and one American. Kirkus Reviews called it “a novel about lovers crossed not by the stars but by the clash of cultures.”

Professor Drew, who teaches creative writing in the English department, says he got the idea for the novel shortly after the devastating 1999 Marmara earthquake, which killed over 17,000 people, according to official reports. At the time, he and his wife felt the earthquake where they were living, about 600 miles away in Istanbul, Turkey. (more…)

Are you looking for the latest regional or international news? Access World News includes a wide variety of local, national, and international news sources such as the Main Line Times, Le Monde (France) and the Irish Times. Among the over 2,500 U.S. titles are major newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as well-known regional dailies such as the Philadelphia Inquirer. Access World News includes close to 2,000 newspapers and news wires from all over the world. The Library has access to this resource on a trial basis until the end of the fall semester.

For more information, see Jutta Seibert’s history and sociology blog.

Falvey Memorial Library welcomed two new graduate assistants at the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year: Alexandra Edwards and Jeffrey Eisenberg. The addition of a second GA to the Library’s Programming and Outreach team is the result of a continuing partnership with the graduate communication program. This year Falvey established a new graduate assistant position, partnering with the English department’s graduate program.

Jeffrey Eisenberg, Villanova University class of 2010, earned his bachelor’s degree in communication with a business minor and an honors concentration. His graduate assistantship is shared between the Library and the communication department. Jeffrey is well acquainted with Falvey since he worked here during his four undergraduate years.

Alexandra Edwards and Jeffrey Eisenberg

After he earns his master’s degree, Jeffrey plans to perform public relations work for a non-profit organization or to work in corporate philanthropy. As the Library Programming and Outreach intern, his primary responsibilities are in public relations and event programming. In addition to his graduate assistantship, Jeffrey works as a resident assistant. He is a native of Livingston (N.J.).

Alexandra (Alex) Edwards is a first-year graduate student in the master’s program of Villanova’s English department. Her graduate assistantship is divided between the Programming and Outreach team, for which one of her duties is working on the Community Bibliography project, and the Communication and Publications team, for which she writes and edits articles.

A native of St. Augustine (Fla.), Alex graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English. After receiving her master’s degree, Alex plans to pursue her doctorate and then teach English or work in a library.

Darren G. Poley, Outreach librarian, commented, “Both bring different gifts and have already begun to contribute their talents to the outreach and community development efforts of the Library . . .. We welcome their assistance and see it as an opportunity for high concept/high touch learning about relationship building, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the role of the academic library in higher education of the 21st century.”

Article and photographs by Alice Bampton

In anticipation of our Second Annual Graphic Novel Event, Superheroes and Scholars, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010, we asked a few University staff members to tell us about their favorite graphic novels.

Shawn Proctor, University Communications staff writer, on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:

Step aside, Batman and Spider-Man. What if characters from your favorite novels could join forces to battle evil? In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore’s (V for Vendetta, Watchmen) high adventure graphic novel, a quintet from classic literature does just that.

Mina Harker of Dracula, Allan Quatermain of King Solomon’s Mines, Dr. Jekyll of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Invisible Man from his eponymous novel defend all of England from Fu Manchu, even enlisting the aid of Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis Professor Moriarty. It’s thrilling stuff—not to mention there’s a climatic airship battle.

Moore’s rollicking, imaginative storyline gives avid readers new twists on old characters, but people unfamiliar with Harker, for example, will still enjoy the ride. Add in Kevin O’Neill’s anxious illustration of Victorian London and, unlike the mediocre film adaptation, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel easily stands up to many readings.

Be warned though: the story—like all of Moore’s work—contains mature themes.

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