Library News

The Dream of the Celt by Nobel Prize in Literature winner Mario Vargas Llosa is a fictional account of the life of Irish Nationalist Sir Roger Casement, hanged by the British government during the First World War. Several of Casement’s manuscripts are in Falvey’s Special Collections; as well, other materials collected by his friend and ally Joseph McGarrity are housed in the McGarrity Collection in Falvey Memorial Library. All of these materials have been digitized and are made available in Villanova’s Digital Library.

Prominently featured on the front cover of the English language translation of The Dream is a photograph of Roger Casement drawn from the McGarrity Collection. Read more on the Blue Electrode blog.

We had big “boots” to fill in Falvey West, and fill them we did. After we moved the journals in 2010, we had the shelving space thoroughly scrubbed and freshly painted. Still, some folks had trouble finding their way to Falvey West, so we mounted large signs on the Falvey first floor. As you enter the Library, head north (straight); then turn left (west) before you reach the Griffin room.

Falvey West (ground – 2nd floor) contains main stacks books with call numbers A – D. All other main stacks books are on the 3rd and 4th floors of the main library building.

Directional signs have been posted on each floor of Falvey West to help pioneering patrons get around. We’ve also added a computer to each floor for searching the catalog or trying our interactive map. Still have questions? Mosey on over to the front desk!

Graphic design by Joanne Quinn

Gail Betz, a graduate of Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., interned this summer in the Digital Library.  She is currently enrolled in a master’s program in library and information science at Drexel University’s iSchool.

Betz applied for the volunteer internship after working in public education for several years. After substituting in an elementary school library, she discovered that she liked working in a library but preferred to do so on a higher academic level. Betz is uncertain whether to specialize in library services or digital libraries. She says, “I wanted to explore working in a digital library, and I found I really like it.”

Her research interests are technology and instructional practices in an educational environment.

Her bachelor’s degree is in history and elementary education. She likes to read historical fiction and is currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

A native of Haverford, Pa., Betz enjoys long distance running. In this summer weather she tries to get out before sunrise to run. She has participated in half-marathons and one full marathon.

Concerning the scope of the Digital Library internship, Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, says, “After a period of intensive training and practical experience consisting of a set of modules including management of digital libraries, selection for digitization, social media, online exhibits, copyright, metadata, cataloging, rare materials handling and scanner training, each intern selects, in conjunction with the needs and priorities of the digital library enterprise, a project that highlights one of these content area modules and produces a representative work project” about four weeks into his or her internship.

Gerald Dierkes also contributed to this article.

“Joseph McGarrity (1874-1940), at the age of 18, left his Irish hometown of Carrickmore, County Tyrone to immigrate to America. He arrived in Philadelphia with no luggage, very little money and a strong sense of Irish nationalism that would soon attract him to become an active member of the Clan-na-Gael, the leading Irish republican organization in the United States. He would, during his lifetime, rise to lead the Clan-na-Gael and become a significant figure in the struggle for Irish independence.” (Brian McDonald, Blue Electrode blog)

Brian McDonald, PhD, the spring semester Digital Library intern, created the Digital Library’s latest online exhibit, “Joseph McGarrity: Man of Action, Man of Letters.” Joanne Quinn designed the graphics.

“What stands out after completing work on the exhibition is not necessarily McGarrity’s poetry, though his verse does have its moments, but rather his prodigious energy and drive,” Dr. McDonald said. “I’m left with a strong sense that poetry was central to his sense of himself. I don’t think it is really possible to distinguish McGarrity the revolutionary Irish nationalist from McGarrity the Irish balladeer, McGarrity the man of action from McGarrity the man of letters. I think that is a large part of why he is such a fascinating figure.”

The online exhibit begins with the “Curator’s Welcome.” This is followed by “Moods and Memories,” “’Playboy’ Controversy,” “Fenian Days,” “Easter Rising,” “Library,” “Poetic Circle,” “Memoirs & Travel Writing” and “Bibliography.” Each section includes text, often including quotations from McGarrity’s works, illustrations and references.

Read more about Special Collections’ McGarrity Collection and the Digital Library’s Joseph McGarrity Collection.

By Alice Bampton

Lisa Kruczek, currently enrolled in Drexel University’s Master of Library and Information Science program, is a Digital Library intern for the summer. She is specializing in archival studies, one of Drexel’s six optional concentrations, but is considering adding digital libraries for a double concentration.

Kruczek says that her internship, which is “structured in such a way that it is a meaningful experience,” providing experience in scanning, metadata and other aspects of digital librarianship, will aid in making her decision.

Kruczek, a resident of Merchantville, N.J., has a bachelor’s degree in media arts from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. She worked as a video editor and as a graphic artist before reevaluating her career. She has always been interested in history, media and computers, and these interests led her to enroll in Drexel’s Library and Information Science program. “In a perfect world I’d work in a moving image archive,” says Kruczek.

Her research interests are music (its different types and its history) and film, noting that in her first career she worked with film. Her hobbies include movies, books and music. She is currently reading Snow Crash, a “light contemporary science fiction adventure,” by Neal Stephenson.

Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, says, “After a period of intensive training and practical experience consisting of a set of modules including management of digital libraries, selection for digitization, social media, online exhibits, copyright, metadata, cataloguing, rare materials handling and scanner training, each intern selects, in conjunction with the needs and priorities of the digital library enterprise, a project that highlights one of these content area modules and produces a representative work project” about four weeks into his or her internship.

Last fall we established an online reading group for fans and friends of Falvey Memorial Library. “Falvey Reads” can be found on the Goodreads website. Register now and start sharing your reading with other Villanovans and see what other readers recommend. For instance, this summer library staff are reading The Googlization of Everything by Siva Vaidhyanathan. Members can share titles they have read, plan to read, or are currently reading.

It’s easy and it’s free. If you don’t have a Goodreads account, you can sign up for one for free.  It’ll just take a few seconds–all you need is an email address and password! Alternatively, you can sign in with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account instead.

Once you’ve registered, a couple of survey prompts will appear, which you may skip. After you get past the prompts, click on Home at the top of the display and then click on Explore to search for groups. Search for Falvey Reads and join the group!

Only two rules apply: be respectful and have fun! (If you have questions, contact Laura Bang at laura.bang@villanova.edu.)

By Alice Bampton

Reverend Edward Brady, St. Anne Parish

On June 19 the Reverend Edward Brady, pastor of St. Anne Parish, Phila., signed an agreement with Villanova University’s Falvey Memorial Library to digitize and add to its Digital Library historical items including a cemetery register, a photograph album and two parish histories. University Librarian Joe Lucia signed for the Library. This agreement became the Digital Library’s 15th institutional partnership.

Russell W. Wylie, Thomas J. Lyons II and Louis N. Ferraro of the St. Anne Historical Committee attended the signing, as did Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, and Scholarly Outreach Librarian Darren G. Poley, a member of the Digital Library team. Poley was instrumental in arranging the partnership and the signing of the agreement, commenting that this is part of his “role as outreach librarian for Falvey.”

Founded in Kensington/Port Richmond in 1845, the parish is one of the oldest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The cornerstone of the original church was laid on July 4, 1845. That church was replaced in 1870. Two cemeteries are adjacent to the church, which stands at the intersection of East Lehigh Avenue and Memphis Street. Two church histories to be digitized are A History of St. Anne’s Church, Philadelphia and St. Anne’s Church Philadelphia: One Hundred Years 1845 – 1945. (more…)

Diane Biunno, a graduate student in Drexel University’s Master of Science in Library and Information Science program, is the Digital Library intern for the summer semester. Biunno says that the internship will enable her to learn how a digital library functions, perhaps promoting her decision to enroll in the Drexel’s Digital Libraries concentration.

As part of her internship Biunno will create an online exhibit about Dante, “an illustrated journey,” using materials from Falvey’s Special Collections. Her own research interests focus on Dante and medieval literature.

Biunno decided to become a librarian after working in education, teaching Italian at the secondary and university levels. Her library science degree, she notes, will continue the track.

She has a bachelor’s degree and a PhD from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Her undergraduate degree is in Italian; for her doctorate she specialized in Dante. She is a native of Brick, N.J.

Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, says, “After a period of intensive training and practical experience consisting of a set of modules including management of digital libraries, selection for digitization, social media, online exhibits, copyright, metadata, cataloging, rare materials handling and scanner training, each intern selects, in conjunction with the needs and priorities of the digital library enterprise, a project that highlights one of these content area modules and produces a representative work project.”

Usually interns choose their projects about four weeks into their internships, but given Biunno’s dissertation on Dante, she chose her online exhibit topic at the beginning of her internship.

Her hobby is 1930s and 1940s style dancing. She is currently reading “a whole bunch of stuff for school,” and for fun she just started reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, the book from which the musical “Wicked” is derived.

Article and photo by Alice Bampton

What do an empty whiskey bottle, a portable typewriter with luggage tags and a large package of sewing needles have in common? The short answer is that they are part of the Special Collections “Cabinets of Curiosity” exhibit, the initial one in the new vitrines, or display cases, on the first floor.

In her “Curator’s Welcome,” Laura Bang, Digital and Special Collections curatorial assistant, explains, “A cabinet of curiosities was a collection of artifacts deemed unusual or interesting largely because they represented areas where modern knowledge was limited or unknown. … These ‘cabinets’ [originally rooms] … were especially popular in Renaissance Europe. … This exhibit follows in the spirit of these historical collections by gathering together items of interest from Falvey Memorial Library’s Special Collections. In addition to representing a broad array of subjects, many of these objects are rarely displayed because they do not fall into the scope of our regular themed exhibits.”

In the tradition of such cabinets, this exhibit offers a wide variety of objects: books, a large botanical print, a Sumerian clay tablet from circa 2000 B.C., a collection of 1927 John Player and Sons cigarette cards with illustrations by Jack Butler Yeats, and a membership book for the Communist Party of the United States of America, in addition to the various items mentioned above.

Iroha-biki Monchō

The books in this exhibit cover numerous topics. A small book, Iroha-biki Monchō by Kikuo Tanaka, published in Tokyo, 1881, is opened to show line drawings of Japanese house and family crests. The Portrait Gallery of Pugilists of America and Their Contemporaries: From James J. Corbett to Tom Hyer by Billy Edwards, published in Philadelphia in 1894, displays a large photograph of George Godfrey, a heavy weight champion with ties to the city.

“Portraits, Memoirs, and Characters,[sic] of Remarkable Persons: From the Revolution in 1688 to the End of the Reign of George II,” collected by James Caulfield and published in London, 1819, has an interesting history. Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, says that this book once belonged to Queen Victoria and was deaccessioned from Windsor Castle’s collections.

Two children’s books, Little Pollys Pomes by T.A. Daly, published in 1914, and Pepito the Monkey, written by H.M. and illustrated by Alfred Panepinto, Philadelphia, 1940,  show appealing images. (more…)

You may have seen summer reading ideas on other web sites, but these books come highly recommended by library staff members. Some of them are in our collection.

From Laura Hutelmyer—

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Egerton

The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis

From Joanne Quinn—

Now that summer is finally here, I’m excited to have finally dipped into Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith’s Van Gogh: The Life, the massive, meticulously researched volume on the painter’s life released last fall. Ten years in the making, the authors, who previously won a Pulitzer for their biography of Jackson Pollack, had unprecedented access to Van Gogh family letters and materials previously unavailable to the public. Vincent was as much an eloquent writer as painter, and the new material is considered by experts to be more revelatory than ever of his inner demons and restlessness. The authors also offer new details of circumstances surrounding his death that contradict long-held beliefs of what transpired. And if 860+ pages aren’t enough for you, the book is accompanied by a website, http://vangoghbiography.com, that allows readers to view much of this new material themselves and provides an extensive bibliography for the authors’ groundbreaking assertions. The book also has its own Facebook and Twitter feeds, so as to continue the conversation with other readers, creating a true 21st century reading experience. It may take this summer and part of next for me to plow through it all, but so far, it’s a highly absorbing read.

From Gerald Dierkes—

In The Way I See It, Temple Grandin shares her unique and memorable perspective on autism.

This year’s Teaching and Learning Strategies at Villanova workshops included an uncommon session: “On the Spectrum and in College… Asperger’s on Campus – Overview of Asperger’s Syndrome …” Asperger’s Syndrome is a part of the autism spectrum, and autism has certainly been in the news lately.  An ever increasing percentage of our population is being diagnosed as having elements of autism.  For those of us who work with students, this means we will and do encounter students who live with autistic traits.

We may have gleaned some understanding of autism watching Rain Man or reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, for instance. With those stories, talented writers used their imaginations to show us what it’s like to live with autism. But in her book, The Way I See It, Temple Grandin, PhD, writes from the perspective of someone who is autistic. Growing up in the 1950s, Dr. Grandin did not speak words until four years of age and appeared destined to live her life in institutions. Her determination to either use her autistic challenges to her benefit or learn to compensate for them will provide readers insights and inspiration.

If these titles are not available in Falvey, try E-ZBorrow or interlibrary loan.

Compiled by Gerald Dierkes