Library News

It was quite a thrill for library staff to learn the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) chose Falvey Memorial Library as a recipient for the  2013 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award. The ACRL honor is a peer-review recognition through which experts review and validate the work of their colleagues in the library field. It goes further, however, in that it presents a new challenge “to sustain our record of energetic community involvement and innovation,” according to Joe Lucia, University librarian and library director.

Falvey Library Staff – March 2013

But first on the agenda? It’s time to party! The Villanova community is cordially invited to join the library staff for a four-hour gala and mini “rock concert” to commemorate the award (Falvey-palooza, anyone?). Besides being celebratory, the event will be historical as well, as it will re-inaugurate usage of the Falvey Hall (aka Old Falvey) reading room, a spacious hidden treasure on campus with impressive vaulted ceilings and towering windows, which has been closed to public access for over 30 years.

As part of the fun, the evening will feature two sets of music by Villanova University’s very own librarian band, Marc Fields & Bad Data, covering an eclectic range of styles from traditional songs and ballads to bluegrass and country through straight ahead rock-n-roll, including a number of original tunes written by library staff members!

The celebration will take place on May 14 from 5-9 p.m. in the Falvey Hall (aka Old Falvey) reading room, and light food & beverages will be served.

The ACRL award seems a worthy symbol of the culmination of three years of construction and change in Falvey Memorial Library, the focal point of which is the stylish and very popular Learning Commons, a state of the art center for learning and inquiry that integrates in a single physical setting access to key academic services, including Research Support Librarians, the Writing Center, Learning Support Services and the Mathematical Learning Resource Center. Its large meeting rooms and funky retro furniture have become favorite places to study on campus.

University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 LAS will formally accept the award from ACRL President for 2012-2013, Steven Bell, on the morning of May 14. A symposium on the future of libraries will follow the ceremony,  featuring a cavalcade of 30+ ‘lightning talks’ given by faculty and Falvey staff and a catered lunch. The symposium will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast, and end at 3:30 p.m.

So save the date—Tuesday, May 14—and join us for this celebration of fun, music and fulfillment of the University’s goal to ignite change through creativity, innovation and commitment to academic excellence. If you’d like to attend the daytime symposium, the nighttime celebration or both, please RSVP before May 10 to Gina Duffy.

Joanne Quinn is the team leader of the Communication and Publications team and a graphic designer.

Corey Arnold reads “Mosquito in Amber” and “Invocations”.

Falvey Memorial Library’s Speakers’ Corner provided the setting for Villanova University’s eighth annual Open Mic Poetry Reading. Master of Ceremonies Lisa Sewell, PhD, welcomed students, faculty, staff and guests to the event. Dr. Sewell, an associate professor in the Department of English and also the director of programming, Gender and Women’s Studies, began the event with her poem about an endangered species—the honey bee—titled, “Apis Mellifera.”

Timothy Freeman, PhD, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, came to the microphone next to read “Universal Declaration of Life.” Christina Danner, a Senior Class Poet contestant, shared “Dumb Luck.” Each Senior Class Poet contestant had one of his/her poems published on posters and displayed throughout the library’s first floor. After Christina, Juan Castillo presented “Antonio.”

Library staff member Gerald Dierkes reads from his selection of poetry.

Next, Matt Enright offered “Self-Fashioning,” a Zachary Hayes poem featured in Arthology. Gerald Dierkes, a library staff member, read his own “That Wonderful Sense of …” and a Harry LeFever poem, “At the Nadir of my Night”: both from Call me Ishmael, Still. Then Senior Class Poet contestant Gregory Watry delivered “Love on the Spanish Steps.”

Catherine Staples, ’86 MA, adjunct professor of English, presented “Conversation” and “Fear of Heights,” both from her new book: The Rattling Window. Corey Arnold offered “Mosquito in Amber” and “Invocations.” And Mary O’Malley, PhD, Heimbold Chair and professor of Irish studies in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for spring 2013, shared “Before Winter Comes.”

Dr. Sewell introduced senior class member Lauren Clem to talk about Arthology, one of the University’s student literary-art journals. Co-editor-in-chief of Arthology, Lauren presented the just-released 2013 issue of Arthology and made copies of the journal available at no charge to attendees.

Kamran Javadizadeh, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of English delivered “Blessings II Go.” Next, Senior Class Poet contestant Wesley Brown read “Gas Money.” And Alyssa Moudis, a Senior Class Poet contestant, offered “Child” and “Black Eye.”

Then the Director of Irish Studies, Joseph Lennon, PhD, presented “Circle,” “Ophthalmologists Reign” and “Spree.” Haley Potter, a Senior Class Poet contestant, shared “Children at Play” and “Quarantine.” Matt Riddle, the event’s final reader, delivered “night again” and “a subtle theology”; both poems appear in Arthology.

Gerald Dierkes is an information services specialist for the Information and Research Assistance team, senior copyeditor for the Communication and Publications team, and a liaison to the Department of Theater.

What do Jane Goodall, Martin Luther King Jr., Vladimir Putin, Stephen Harper, George Harrison, J.K. Rowling, Maureen Dowd, and Joe Biden all have in common?

All of the above, as well as countless others, have been accused of plagiarizing their sources.

While we tend to think of plagiarism as some secret process done in the dark of night to cover for shoddy work, it is possible to engage in plagiarism simply by trying to incorporate information from sources you did not fully read or understand. Without a good grasp of your source and your topic, it can become all too easy to plagiarize your source without intending to be dishonest.

With this in mind we welcome Steven Schultz from the Writing Center with a few words about how to effectively use and attribute sources in your next paper.

Start by embracing the research process. Locate sources early and incorporate them into the very first draft of a paper. This approach produces better writing than shoehorning a couple quotes into the final version and gives you time to understand each source and its relationship to your topic. Sure, some sources—numbers, data, and statistics—may appear straightforward enough, but complex thinkers such as St. Augustine, Friedrich Nietzsche and Adrienne Rich probably won’t be. Also, use sources for more than just garden-variety support by including some whose perspective on your topic diverges from your own. Critical debate enriches a paper.

Writers use three techniques to integrate outside sources: summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation. An effective writer chooses among them like a painter chooses among paintbrushes with bristles ranging from broad to fine: each technique conveys a different level of detail. A summary offers the broadest overview of a source by restating a main idea, thesis statement, or a lengthy passage. Think of summary as the view from an airplane cruising at 30,000 feet: big features are enhanced but small ones may be invisible. Summary is effective technique for condensing long sources such as a research study or a book chapter.

Quotation is the opposite of summary: it preserves the original writer’s exact words and reproduces all the original detail. Quote when rephrasing an idea would lessen its impact or when including the original writer’s words enhances your credibility. We quote Ernest Hemingway, not paraphrase him.

Paraphrasing someone else’s idea means being able to explain it in your own words, not just restate it. If a writer includes an idea from an outside source by changing a few though not all of the words from the original but still provides a citation, is that an acceptable paraphrase? Not so much. Faulty paraphrases like this are called “patchwriting,” a term used to describe writing that attempts to paraphrase a source but fails because it either 1) retains most of its wording from the original source or 2) replaces select key terms with synonyms but otherwise reproduces the source’s syntax. Both are problems and usually happen when a writer doesn’t fully comprehend the material she or he is attempting to paraphrase. In fact, done well, paraphrasing is a great way to draw attention to a particular facet of an idea or offer a new interpretation of it.

Lastly, vary how you use these techniques. Not only will it make your writing style more engaging, but by adapting your technique to each source’s purpose, you’ll demonstrate to your audience that you’ve thought about each source’s unique relationship to your argument and therefore be more persuasive.

Are you having problems working with your sources? If so it is time to contact the Writing Center and make an appointment to work with one of their phenomenal tutors. Appointments can be made by phone at 610-519-4604 or in person at the Writing Center in the Learning Commons on Falvey’s 2nd floor. Act fast though because appointment slots fill quickly.

Robin Bowles is a research librarian on the Academic Integration Team and a liaison librarian to the Villanova University School of Nursing.

It’s been a long haul, and you’re almost there! To help you prep for exams and finish those papers, the Library is providing extended hours for the next two weeks, so you can hunker down and study in comfort. We will stay open until 3 a.m. most nights and until midnight on Saturday. And as always, the 24-hour lounge will be available too!

We’re also working with the Campus Activities Team (CAT) to provide a stress-buster event on Friday, May 3, from 3-6 p.m. Massages and snacks for everyone!

Luisa Cywinski is the team leader of Access Services and editorial coordinator on the Communication & Publications team.

Join history librarian Jutta Seibert on Wednesday, May 1, for a 30-minute introduction to Ancestry Library Edition. Ancestry is an online database containing a wealth of historical data including U.S. census records, U.K. parish records, military records, and passenger lists. All Villanova students, faculty and staff have free access to Ancestry through the library’s website. The workshop will cover the basics of searching the database and interpreting results.

Location: Falvey Memorial Library, Learning Commons, Room 204
Time: Wednesday, May 1 at 4 p.m.
For more information, contact Jutta Seibert (jutta.seibert@villanova.edu).

To honor the University’s Senior-Class-Poet contestants and to commemorate National Poetry Month, the Library is publishing contestants’ poems on Falvey’s blog. The Library also has created posters for the contestants’ poems, which are displayed them throughout the first floor.

Each spring semester, all seniors are encouraged to enter the Senior-Class-Poet Contest. The Department of English will announce the 2013 Senior-Class Poet later this semester.

My Sonnet

(I think it’s a sonnet?)

by Lorena Bonner

I don’t really like poetry at all.

Please don’t compare me to a summer’s day,

Don’t serenade me about my smile,

Really, I just wouldn’t know what to say.

Don’t immortalize me with your clichés

about my eyes, or lips, or golden hair,

Thou knowest it would only make me squirm,

Or rush to a window, gasping for air.

Should you absolutely need to confess

a love you cannot hold within yourself,

then write and confess it to a book,

And when you finish, keep it on a shelf.

“My Sonnet” was one of my first attempts at writing poetry, when I had a slight distaste for it. I likened it to “cheesy” pick up attempts and so I attempted to turn poetry, and the sort of male gaze that goes along with certain poems, against itself. Not that I don’t love Shakespeare, but I think I had some of his now stereotypical sonnets in mind when I wrote it. Oh, and poetry has now grown on me a bit since my original dislike of it…

Lorena Bonner is an English major from Miami, Fla.

Sean Devlin, ’13

Hello and welcome back to the most exciting fake tournament in all of fake sports: Falvey Memorial Library’s Author March Madness. The sophisticated-looking pipe smoke has cleared and left us with just four remaining writers, ready and waiting to slug it out for a spot in the final match-up. This week we speak with guest analyst Adam Hembree, VU English Graduate student and Writing Center tutor.

CA: Adam, it was clear we were looking at a real bruiser in the Midwest between the legendary Dr. Seuss and some guy named … let me look it up real quick … oh right, William Shakespeare. This one was even closer than we expected—what did you think?

AH:  Do you hear it?

It’s the anguished silence of all the Whos in Whoville. Not even Horton can hear them now, for the tower of turtles has finally tumbled for dark horse Dr. Seuss’ (14) flamboozling run. To the good Doctor’s credit, he posed the first credible challenge to the Bard’s iambic dictatorship over Western Canon, rhyming valiantly to a one-vote defeat.

CA: I think Shakespeare should win on the merits of Gnomeo and Juliet alone. Now there’s a film that sounds the depth of the human spirit. On to the West, what did we see there?

AH: Buzzer-beating votes were the order of the week, as the much-anticipated match-up between J.R.R. Tokien (1) and C.S. Lewis (3) came down to the last battle. In the end, intricate politics, neo-linguistic triumphs, and an epic storyline were not enough to trump transparent allegory and Liam Neeson in lion form. Know thy audience, J.R.R.

CA: Sounds like you got a bit of a bias there, Adam, but as a LOTR fan I feel your pain. If Tolkien had won I was going to write this entire recap in Elvish, mellon. Your loss, blog readers! Tell me about the South.

AH: The Lost Generation lived up to its name in the Elite Eight as both Hemingway (2) and Fitzgerald (4) fell. It seems neither legend was aware of the contest, electing to continue getting tight on highballs instead of drumming up votes.

CA: Yup, they sure know how to knock ‘em back down there below the Mason Dixon. What do you think Twain’s advantage was over F. Scott in this last round?

AH: These are two inimitable classics, old sport. If it had been Gatsby and Huck Finn mano a mano in a book challenge, I have to think F. Scott would have had the edge. As it stands, Twain’s body of work gets ‘em young with Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (you know you’ve seen the TV movie). Plus, the dude is a veritable quote machine and has an unbeatable stache.

CA: He’d better hope this week’s votes were more than just lip service. What can voters expect to see in the coming match-ups?

AH: Ahead lies a Final Four showdown between Twain (3) and Harry Potter creator/billionairess J.K. Rowling (5). Rowling could not be reached for comment, despite being the only living competitor. Sybil Trelawney’s most recent prognostication was quite favorable for the Brit sensation, though Dick Vitale pointed out that the seer’s optimism was “greatly exaggerated, baby!”

The Final Four is shaping up to be quite the scholastic slobberknocker. Shakespeare vs. Lewis. Twain vs. Rowling.

CA: Definitely some titans here in the four, but I gotta think Shakespeare takes the whole thing. Anything he should watch out for against C.S. Lewis?

AH: Forgive me for sounding like a broken record here, but Lewis gets readers early. His direct prose and penchant for bold adventure really takes you back to the good ole days, sipping Surge while Mom reads aloud about dragons … lions … fauns …

CA: Adam? You were saying?

AH: Right! The point is, Shakespeare can nail this whole thing down for sure, but he needs to be wary of the nostalgia vote. Sure, these kids were all reading Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade, but many have painful associations with their introduction to Shakespeare. That could translate to votes against him rather than votes for the opposition. I’ve never heard of a “No Fear” edition of The Chronicles of Narnia, after all.

CA: What’s the celeb social media buzz like right now?

AH: Most folks are choosing to remain diplomatic. Hamlet (@99fardels), however, had this to say: “If the ‘ship comes down to Lewis and JK … I’m totes shuffling off this mortal coil. #done”

CA: Ominous words. I used to have him on Instagram, but I could only tolerate so many photos of his meals. Dude eats a lot of turkey legs. Thanks for chatting with us, Adam.

Readers, stick here for more information on the tournament, including a chance to win a prize during the championship round. And, as always, don’t forget to cast your vote!

Falvey employs undergraduate and graduate students and, whether they are working behind the scenes or in a public space, we appreciate their contributions.  The student employees are talented and enthusiastic. They assist at the service desk, process document delivery requests, digitize rare materials, prepare new materials for circulation, and generally bring their ideas, energy and positive attitudes to the workplace. They have learned to use specialized library software, developed important customer service skills and taken ownership of their work. It would be difficult to run the Library without their help.

A few of our student employees are pictured below in photos taken at the Student Employee Appreciation Reception, where pizza, soda and desserts were served, and where they were serenaded by library staff.

These graduating seniors work for various teams in the library, contributing their talent, enthusiasm and time to the delivery of services and resources, from the circulation of books to the digitization of rare materials. (From left to right: Madeline Horvath, Alison Fernandez, Meghan Rodgers, Kyle Brundin, Bridget Kiley, Stephanie Liu, Sabrina Clerssaint, Robert Bertini, Christine Bochanski)

Stephen Spatz, research librarian (out of frame), Joe Lucia, library director and University librarian and Bill Green, Access Services specialist (and resident crooner), churn out “Monster Mash,” a library favorite.

Sabrina Clerssaint and Meghan Rodgers, both graduating in May 2013. Congratulations and thanks for your hard work!

Bridget Kiley and Alison Fernandez, both graduating in May, 2013, work for the Access Services team. They will be missed!

Photographs by Laura Hutelmyer

Laura Hutelmyer is the photography coordinator for the Communication and Publications Team and Special Acquisitions Coordinator in Resource Management.

Also contributing: Luisa Cywinski is the team leader of Access Services and the editorial coordinator for the Communication & Publications team.

A Senior-Class-Poet Contestant, Wesley says “I write my poems with a certain vision in mind, but in important ways that vision doesn’t matter at all. My interpretation of my work is just that, an interpretation. I have often had friends of mine convince me that my poems aren’t about what I thought they were at all.”

Wesley Brown is an English and History major from San Mateo, Calif.

More of Wesley’s poems appear on his poetry blog: beautifularithmetic.wordpress.com.

Using an old-fashioned motif of chalk on blackboards (does anyone other than this writer remember them?), Joanne Quinn, Falvey’s graphic designer and Communication & Publications team leader, created an exhibition based upon two events occurring on April 26: Falvey Scholars Day of Research and Sigma Xi’s Day of Research.

The Falvey Scholars portion features a schedule of events and blackboards with appropriate sketches for each of the disciplines represented: business, nursing, engineering, science and arts. Accompanying each blackboard is a picture frame holding one or more question marks. Photographs of the winners will be added after the event. Other blackboards say, “Winners to be announced next week,” and “Falvey Scholar 2014? Could be you! Contact librarians for A+dvice how!”

To the right of the Falvey Scholars section is information about Sigma Xi, the international honor society of research scientists and engineers. A large blackboard gives the society’s mission and the Villanova chapter’s schedule of events for April 26.

At the bottom right side of the exhibit another blackboard panel says, “For more information scan [the QR] code or visit <library.villanova.edu>.”

The Falvey Scholars Award is an annual event cosponsored by the Library, the Honors Program  and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. Faculty advisors nominate their senior students; the nominees then submit an application to the Falvey Scholars selection committee. The committee includes representatives from the Library and each of the Colleges (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova School of Business, College of Engineering and College of Nursing). The successful candidates will present their research, highlighting their use of Falvey resources.

University Librarian and Library Director Joe Lucia will give a brief talk following the students’ presentations. Lucia will emphasize the importance of undergraduate and graduate research on campus. He will also mention the Sigma Xi Day of Research, held in the Connelly Center after the Falvey Scholars program.

Sigma Xi, founded at Cornell University in 1886, is an honor society of research scientists and engineers which has included women as full members since 1887. Sigma Xi now has over 500 chapters and nearly 60,000 members in the United States, Canada and abroad, wherever scientific research is conducted.

Nostalgic and informative, this exhibit is well worth visiting.

Alice Bampton is a digital image specialist and senior writer on the Communication and Publications Team.