Library News

(from left to right, back row) Hatem Manosrah, Eric Ullmer, Eric Wagner, Bala Guduru, Raamaan McBride, Phylis Wright (left to right, front) Becky Whidden, Trisha Kemp

At a moment’s notice, Phylis Wright was asked to organize a group of staff to move the entire microfilm collection (28,000 reels) and videotape collection (4,000 items) from the Media Room to the Old Falvey 3rd floor stacks. She quickly assembled a group of volunteers from almost every team in the library. As needed, library team leaders and other staff provided input on the items to be weeded (close to 1600 reels) or on the placement of special materials. We also couldn’t have done this without the generous contributions of library book trucks from every library team. The project was accomplished in only four days, a Herculean effort given the amount of items to be moved. Hundreds of metal shelves had to be moved or adjusted to accommodate the 230 carts of materials that were moved while Phylis organized the process of “rack ‘em, stack ‘em, and pack ‘em,” keeping the energy and good vibes flowing. Volunteers were provided with snacks, grapes, juice, and water throughout the week.

For those who wish to use microfilm or videotapes, library staff at the front desk are ready and waiting to retrieve them for you!

Our special thanks to: Trisha Kemp, Becky Whidden, Ann Stango, Bill Greene, Fr. Dennis Gallagher, Michael Foight, Darren Poley, Gina McFadden, Jeff Eisenberg, Raamaan McBride, Margaret Duffy, Gerald Dierkes, Donna Chadderton, Mimi DiLenge, Anne Ford, Sarah Hidding, Krishna Bethanbhatla, Bala Guduru, June Jiang, Chris Altonji, Hatem Manosrah, Eric Ulmer, Eric Wagner, FeiFei Yang & Luisa Cywinski.

Domenick Liberato and Tim Coghlan

The moving company arrived today with a team of about 20 people to start the transfer of second floor books to the newly renovated space in Old Falvey. Domenick Liberato, stacks manager, and other staff worked hard to prepare the space and to measure the exact sections that would be relocated. The movers are working in several sections of the 2nd floor and are using both elevators, a ramp from Falvey Library to Old Falvey, and specially designed wooden library carts. Patrons may contact the front desk to arrange for retrieval of books in the A – DZ call number range.

Photo by Alice Bampton

From Demian Katz—

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novels are currently being aggressively marketed in association with a new HBO series, but don’t let all the grunge and swordplay of the television promos put you off: this is not a typical fantasy series. As a genre, fantasy has a bad habit of repeatedly presenting the same thinly-characterized archetypes engaged in a stereotypical confrontation of good vs. evil.  Martin avoids this trap through heavy doses of realism and ambiguity, portraying complex characters facing difficult decisions in a dangerous and unstable world. It is frequently difficult to decide who to root for, as few of the conflicts are entirely straightforward. This can make for a somewhat tense reading experience, and these books aren’t necessarily for the faint of heart. However, as long as you aren’t put off by the genre and subject matter, you should find this to be an engaging summer page-turner, and you probably won’t be able to stop after just the first book.

From Gerald Dierkes—

Goin’ Across by Doug Landman

Could you quit your job, leave your home and family (temporarily) and otherwise put your life on hold for two months to pursue a lifelong dream? Delaware County resident Doug Landman did just that when he left his successful career to drive his bicycle, with a tent and little else, across the continental United States. Did he undertake this challenge to test himself against nature, against himself? The answers are unexpected and more complex than one might imagine. Rather than jet over neighborhoods or cruise past them on the interstate, he encountered communities and individuals on his solitary journey who challenged his perception of America. He also discovered hidden aspects of himself as he struggled with setbacks and self-doubt. The author did not intend to create a book about his trek. He did, however, carefully document the details of each day’s travels, which he would mail home from the next post office. A passionately delivered topic, vivid details and humorous anecdotes make Goin’ Across a captivating story and an ideal summer read.

From Bill Greene—

Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer

Earth had made contact with extraterrestrials. The protagonist does not believe there is a God. But the extraterrestrials say that God definitely exists. And they can prove it!  Good writing, good science, excellent character development: Anything by this author is a good read.

(more…)

By Raamaan McBride

Public education in the U.S. is a broken system. When one school has a college-like campus but another one can’t even afford enough books for its students, something has to change. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, Waiting for Superman tries to shed light on this subject by looking at the past and predicting the future.

The film takes several different tracks. The first follows five families who enter lotteries to try to get their children into better schools. Waiting for Superman also examines the history of public schools and how these were formerly the best schools in the country. It then looks at current problems with public schools and finally suggests solutions.

The information is mind-blowing, especially one scene in particular which shows a chart of the “education gap” versus the money spent on education. It was shocking to see that it’s been unchanged for three decades. The statistics provide a good break from the film while offering meaningful information.

The families that they follow are heart-breaking, and Waiting for Superman challenges the viewer to think of better ways than watching children hope to win a lottery to get a better education. With that being said, the film does show bias. It spends a lot of time bashing teachers’ unions (which are honestly not great in my opinion), but unions are not the only contributors to the problem.

Anyone who has children or who is interested in education should see this film. Waiting for Superman is thought-provoking and sweet; it’s suspenseful while also being informative. This film isn’t perfect, but it does a great job telling you that there is a problem and it makes you want to fix it.

A documentary is supposed to inform while being enlightening; it’s supposed make you think and, hopefully, want to engage. This film does that and more. This review doesn’t come close to describing the greatness of the film: I can honestly say that this is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen.

(DVDs are located on the first floor and circulate to Villanova faculty, staff and students.)

by Raamaan McBride

Pardon the expression, but vampire movies suck. The genre has become so saturated with bad, cheesy films that it seems like every week another awful one is coming out in theaters. In recent times we’ve unfortunately had the Twilight series, 30 Days of Night and True Blood to sit through. Who knew that all this genre needed was a great story and the absence of shirtless teens endlessly staring at each other with angst?

Let Me In is a remake of a Swedish film which was based on the book, Let the Right One In. The movie follows 12-year old Owen who is the product of a broken family and who is being bullied in school, which leads to serious psychological issues. In comes Abby, a weird 12-year old who lives next door with her guardian. The two befriend each other with Abby helping Owen overcome his problems and Owen accepting Abby for being a vampire.

This may sound like a cute kid’s movie or something that won’t interest you, but I think this film will surprise you. The story is mature and tight, the acting is superb and the suspense is almost palpable with a Hitchcock-like style. What takes this film to another level is the directing and editing in the movie. The pace is amazing and the technical camera work is outstanding (specifically, a creative car scene I won’t ruin and that was shot in one take). This film is a “must watch;” it’s not quite in the realm of horror, but very suspenseful.

(DVDs are located on the first floor and circulate to Villanova faculty, staff, and students.)

Do you have a “bucket list” for reading?

Bucket lists became popular after the major motion picture, “The Bucket List,” was released in 2007. They’re usually thought of as lists of encounters, trips, or crazy stunts that a person wants to do before the end of her life.  According to squidoo.com, “the majority of them are general in nature, a catch-all for whatever takes your fancy.” In this case, the library would like to put together a display that represents your “bucket list” of reading.

We’d love to have your lists by June 16 so we can build the display. Send your bucket list to socialmedia@villanova.edu or post it here in the Comments!

by Raamaan McBride

The Garden is a documentary that follows a poor Hispanic community in South Central Los Angeles. After the 1992 race riots, the city wanted to mend its relationship with its citizens, so it took over a 14 acre blighted property using eminent domain and donated it to said community. That land’s transformation in the decade that followed could only be described as miraculous. This community not only managed to grow amazing fruits and vegetables in this dilapidated space (making it the biggest urban garden in the country), but in the process the garden uplifted the community.

Fast forward to 2003 in which the original owner of the property sues the city, stating that he is the rightful owner of the land. One year later the city sells the garden back to the owner in one of the shadiest backdoor deals ever, and it’s at this point that the film really takes off. A vicious legal battle ensues over who owns this land, with lots of political posturing along the way.

It gets to the point where celebrities, such as Danny Glover and Daryl Hannah, join the fight to save the garden. While I won’t ruin the ending, I can say that it will make you emotional. The film left me with a sense of public duty to take action, to help to improve the situation, which I think is a sign of a good documentary.

It’s unfortunate and ironic that the one thing this garden was supposed to avoid—race riots—is the thing it ultimately caused.

The Garden is unequivocally one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen (Waiting for Superman is slightly better). You can have your opinion on the ending, specifically the morality/legality of the situation, but what you can’t argue with is the people in this film. This is a must watch for everyone.

Also contributing: Gerald Dierkes

by Barbara Quintiliano

Over the years, Jackie Mirabile has won the respect and affection of her colleagues for her expertise, conscientiousness and affability. Falvey Memorial Library’s team leader for information and research assistance, Jackie retired at the end of May after almost 30 years of exemplary service.

Born and raised in Vermont, Jackie majored in history with a minor in mathematics at Trinity College, Burlington. After earning her master’s in library science from Simmons College, she was offered positions both in Detroit and Philadelphia. Fortunately for us, Jackie decided to come to Philly where she worked a total of nine years at the Free Library of Philadelphia and then several more years at a regional patent company. In 1982 Jackie was hired as Falvey’s second full-time reference librarian by then head of reference Louise Green, who became her close colleague and who recently retired in 2009.

During an era of sweeping changes in academic libraries, Jackie is unsurpassed in the art of information retrieval whether using no-baud print, 500-baud Telex, or broadband Internet. Uncle Sam owes her a debt of gratitude as well for her competent management and thorough knowledge of U.S. government documents. According to Jackie, “the real effort to provide service” is the one thing that has remained constant throughout the evolution of her profession, and her favorite aspect of the job is still “finding what the patron wants” — something all librarians know well as the love of the hunt.

She served as the librarian liaison to the psychology and education and human resource departments and taught research strategy sessions in a variety of disciplines.

Jackie has also served on Falvey’s Management Policy Group (MPG) and Communication team, and in previous years on the University-wide Villanova Quality Improvement (VQI). Colleague and information specialist Donna Chadderton is grateful to Jackie for patiently teaching her “how to do better reference work” and will miss “her friendly, ever-present smile, her commitment to her work and the knowledge that I could count on her for help.” Fellow Scrabble player Luisa Cywinski bows in homage to Jackie as the undefeated “Queen of Scrabble.”

Jackie’s retirement plans include volunteering in public library literacy programs and–best of all—spending time with her new grandson, Anthony James.

by Raamaan McBride

Ben Affleck directed and starred in this film, which I expected would result in a bad film. Not since the days of Dogma has Affleck been in anything relevant and we’ve had to muddle through the likes of Pearl Harbor, Daredevil and Gigli. The Town opens with a tag line of “one blue-collar Boston neighborhood has produced more bank robbers and armored car thieves than anywhere in the world.” It then cuts to a high pace action scene and never really let’s you down from there.

Filmed in Affleck’s home town, the cinematography makes Boston seem like a character in the film. Affleck plays a dropout NHL player with anger issues who turns smart aleck bank robber. He and his gang take a hostage from the bank (Rebecca Hall) whom Affleck later falls for. Their relationship is the main arc of this film; Affleck trying to dodge the police and get out of the “game” while Hall tries to cope with the stress of being kidnapped.

The film really shines most through the supporting cast. Jeremy Renner is great in his crazy but loyal gangster friend to Affleck.  Blake Lively, Affleck’s sister in the film, also gives a top notch performance. The emotional scenes are genuine and have more than enough weight to carry you through the amazing action sequences. The film could have done without the cheesy ending but overall the film falls into a definite “must see” category.

by Raamaan McBride

What happens when you get the richest, smartest kids in the country to run for their high school’s student union? Directed by Caroline Suh, Frontrunners follows the students of Stuyvesant High School in New York where only the top 3% of students get in and where the measuring stick isn’t if you go to college but what Ivy League school you attend. The film follows four candidates that are vying for the coveted Stuyvesant Student Union President (who controls a $40,000 budget).

It’s actually more engaging than it sounds mainly because of the affluent nature of the high school (televised debates!) and the pompous personalities. The film does raise some interesting questions about society and education. Is this event educational or does it further perpetuate our problems with the political system by breeding this type of behavior? (In the film there are political teams, newspaper endorsements and a primary.)

I found myself asking “does this even belong in a high school?” Even with all of the contention the film overall feels flat. You may find yourself asking “why do I even care?” The film fails to really connect with its audience, which is unfortunate because we have all gone through this in our school days. Ultimately this film is worth a look if you have nothing else to watch or you’re interested in education.

Film poster courtesy of Google Images