Library News

Coordinating with the campus community’s marathon reading of the Confessions on November 7, Bente Polites, Special Collections librarian, has mounted a small exhibit of the early editions of Saint Augustine from Special Collections.

Laura Bang, Special and Digital Collections curatorial assistant, created a complementary online exhibit.

Housed in two glass cases on Falvey’s first floor, the first case features four small books and one large one, all published in the 16^th century in various places: Dillingen (1659), Cologne (1569),  Louvain (1573), Rome (1589) and Würtzburg (1581). The four small Confessions are opened to their illustrated title pages; the large central volume displays text only.

The second case houses three 17^th century editions and one unusual volume published in 1900. The three works from the 1600s are opened; two have illustrated title pages.

The larger volume of Confessions is one of 400 limited-edition copies published in London by Kegan Paul, Trench Trübner & Co. Ltd. Falvey’s copy is number 227. Its decorative cover, which includes gold leaf and inlaid mother-of-pearl and was designed by Cedric Chivers (1853-1929), is made with vellucent, a process invented by Chivers. The book cover was painted on paper which was then covered with very thin vellum, or calfskin.

This small exhibit provides a glimpse of the larger collection housed in Special Collections. Polites has made an assiduous “effort to acquire 15^th and 16^th century editions of Saint Augustine’s Confessions.” Special Collections owns approximately one thousand volumes by Saint Augustine and also collects works by other Augustinians for its Augustiniana collection.

This exhibit will remain on display throughout November.

Contributed by Alice Bampton

Howard Shelley in costume

The papers of Howard Merrill Shelley, noted 20th century Philadelphian and playwright, are now being digitized and made available online through the Digital Library.  In addition to being a figure of the Philadelphia theater world, Shelley (1879-1956) was also descended from historic and famous inhabitants of the area, including David Rittenhouse and Benjamin Franklin.

The Digital Library’s Fall 2011 Intern, Karla Irwin, introduces readers to Howard Shelley and his illustrious family history, on the Blue Electrode blog. “Digitizing the Howard Shelley Collection,” she writes, ”has been like working on a miniature time capsule of Philadelphia genealogy and theater history.”

Read more of Karla’s research about Howard Shelley here.

Karla Irwin, currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Library and Information Science program at Drexel University, is the Digital Library intern for the fall semester. Karla has a bachelor’s degree in fashion design with a minor in theater from the University of Delaware. Her home town is Wilmington, Del.

Before enrolling at Drexel, Karla worked as a theater costumer for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. “It was an interesting line of work,” she says, “and I still like to make clothing in my free time… I know how to tailor a suit and make period corsets.” She also worked with the Drexel Historic Costume Collection before coming to Villanova University.

Karla’s change from being a theater costumer to studying library science blended a number of her interests, and she hopes at some point to combine her past career with her new one.

Her hobbies include reading, watching screwball comedies, hiking, camping, quilting and other crafts.

Read Karla’s blog on a lost piece of theater history.

Article and photograph by Alice Bampton

The prices of e-readers are falling, the range of e-readers and tablets on the market is expanding, the formats for reading digital books has stabilized around PDF and EPUB, while the cost of buying e-books remains in flux.

So where does this leave academic business library collections? Not on the sidelines, but in the thick of it! Read Linda Hauck’s Business Reference blog on e-books for the Villanova School of Business.

Also contributing: Gerald Dierkes

If you’re applying to graduate school, there’s no getting around the fact that you have to take an exam. Whether it’s the GRE, MAT, GMAT or LSAT, you’ll need to log some study hours in order to score well.

But before you shell out a heap of cash for a study guide, let the Library help!

Our collection includes several study guides for each test. These study guides not only include general tips and strategies, they also contain practice tests which allow you to get a feel for the format before taking the real thing.

Some study guides are held at the reference desk, and you can access them by asking there. Others are shelved with the general collection.

As always, the library catalog will note which study guides are held where. And with the new interactive map feature, you can click “Find on Map” to get a detailed view of where to look.

Avoid spending money on study guides when you don’t have to! You can get in plenty of practice tests from the comfort of Falvey.

Find other library Quick Tips by clicking here.

by Gerald Dierkes

You’ve looked up a  book in the library catalog, but where in the Library is it located? Each book’s catalog record now includes a helpful “Find on map” link, as shown for the Concordance to the Greek Testament.

The link connects you to a map of the library floor on which your book is shelved. The section of shelves that holds your book is also highlighted. Below you can see that your book is shelved in the Falvey West stacks.

The interactive map itself also shows the locations of various rooms and departments within the Library, as well as those of library staff. David Uspal, a member of the Library’s own Technology Development team, designed this interactive map and established its links in catalog records.

As construction continues on our building, and resources and personnel move around, we’ll be sure to keep the interactive map updated so you’ll always have the latest locations at your fingertips.

Also contributing: Laura Hutelmyer

by Alice Bampton

This year marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the American Civil War. It began April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard fired on a Union garrison stationed at Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C. Thus began America’s deadliest war, one which still resonates today.

In addition to numerous books about the Civil War, which one would expect to find in a library, Falvey Memorial Library’s collection includes some unexpected treasures related to that war. One of the most surprising, housed in Special Collections, is a frock coat which belonged to General William Tecumseh Sherman. Although Special Collections is temporarily closed due to renovation, photographs and a story written by Michael Foight, Special Collections and Digital Library coordinator, fully describe this important part of the Sherman Thackara Collection.

Special Collections also features the Humbert Collection and the Nagy Collection, both of which relate to the American Civil War.

To examine actual artifacts, take a look at the exhibit, “Remembering the U.S. Civil War” on the library first floor, near the elevator. Laura Bang, Digital and Special Collections curatorial assistant, curated the exhibit.

For a decidedly different and British view of our Civil War, go to the Tenniel Civil War Cartoon Collection housed in ARTstor, a database of images to which Falvey subscribes. John Tenneil (1820-1914), probably better known for his illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, also worked as an illustrator for the English periodical, Punch.

Tenniel created over 50 political cartoons about the Civil War. These cartoons provide a wealth of information: caricatures of  Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, British views of the war and slavery, and even illustrations of fashions of the time. To access ARTstor the first time, you must be on campus. If you have a problem accessing ARTstor, please seek assistance from one of Falvey’s librarians.

Also contributing: Gerald Dierkes and Judy Olsen

This summer, the Digital Library secured an exciting partnership with the William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, the publishers of Augustine through the Ages. This encyclopedia is the single most-accessed item in Falvey’s Special Collections. With renovations now underway on Falvey’s second floor, the Special Collections reading room has temporarily closed, but its most popular book is now more accessible than ever.

Below, in his own words, Augustine through the Ages editor Father Allan Fitzgerald, OSA, PhD, describes this landmark partnership and its benefit for students, faculty and other members of the Villanova University community:

“Augustine through the Ages presents the life, work and influence of Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430), one of the greatest figures in the history of the Christian church. Few figures in history are so great in their own time and so lastingly influential that they can stand being made the subject of an encyclopedia of over 950 pages.

Fr. Allan Fitzgerald discusses the creation of "Augustine Through the Ages" at a Falvey Faculty Book Talk, Sept. 20, 1999

This book is now available in the Villanova Digital Library for members of the Villanova University community – thanks to an agreement with William Eerdmans Publishing. It is the first full encyclopedic handling of the thought and influence of Saint Augustine of Hippo, a much-needed reference for this major patristic figure in the development of Western religious thought. About 150 scholars have supplied almost 500 articles. Each article is signed and contain bibliographies for both older and more recent scholarship.

This book is organized and functions as an encyclopedia. The digital version is searchable, whether one is seeking individual words or entry headings (upper case). The book also includes tables of Saint Augustine’s works which show Latin titles, English translations, common abbreviations and dates.

Three reasons why this encyclopedia is so valuable can be listed:

1. It contains articles by the best Augustine scholars from both the Catholic and Protestant ranks, allowing for an evaluation of Saint Augustine’s contribution to the history of Western Christianity.

2. It is a useful overview of the various categories of Saint Augustine’s thought.

3. It includes articles on many areas of Saint Augustine’s thought: biblical, theological, philosophical, ethical, historical and his many literary works.“

This online version of Augustine through the Ages is the first item in a new collection called the Saint Augustine Reference Library, a set of materials of Saint Augustine scholarship which is jointly sponsored by the Augustinian Institute and Falvey Memorial Library.

Augustine through the Ages, also available in print, is in both the Falvey collection and the Augustinian Historical Institute collection.

Also contributing: Alexandra Edwards

If you’ve been following our renovation updates, then you know that the second floor of the Library has been completely gutted in the space of one week. Marble slabs were removed, walls were disassembled, and the elevator was blocked off to keep curiosity at bay (and our patrons safe). Now begins new construction – wiring, plumbing, lighting and ventilation – cranes will lift the building materials from the loading dock and through a second floor window. We ask that patrons stay clear of the second floor stairwell doors and be aware that delays might be experienced when using the elevator.

And don’t forget, the books that were once housed on the second floor can be found in Falvey West, which patrons can enter from the first floor near the print center. Feel free to ask for help at the front desk!

Photo by Alice Bampton

On Monday, Aug. 22, surveyors and contractors began working on the second floor “Learning Commons in Falvey” project, which will eventually bring together academic research librarians and staff from the mathematics lab, learning support and writing center into one unified space.

The book collections that were once housed on that floor have been moved to Falvey West, a section of Old Falvey Hall that was refurbished over the summer. The entrance to Falvey West is on the first floor of Falvey Library and can be freely accessed by patrons who wish to browse and retrieve books in the A – DX call number ranges.

“The first day or two of work involved site assessment and the development of a project sequencing plan by the contractors themselves,” according to Joe Lucia, University librarian. Demolition and infrastructure work will take place over the next few weeks with louder work taking place between midnight and 6:00 a.m. “Scheduling work this way will minimize the impact of construction noise on the library study and work environment,” said Lucia. (Watch a video of the marble slab removal below.)

The Special Collections room will be sealed off from the rest of the second floor in order to protect the valuable collections from dust.  The elevator and stairwells will be blocked off at the second floor to prevent unauthorized entrance and to protect library patrons.

As always, library staff can be called upon for assistance and information. Our aim is to provide a comfortable and accessible work and study space throughout construction.

(Previous blog posts about the renovations can be found here.)

Photo by Alice Bampton – Video by Joe Lucia