Library News

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.

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.

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 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.

Children at Play

by Haley Potter

For Margaret Atwood

Remember that time you stabbed me?

I still have the scar.

You pillaged your dad’s old Swiss army knife,

the red paint chipped and camouflaged by rust,

so we could build a wobbly fortress in the woods.

You tossed it to me, closed, but

the wind caught the loose hinge, unmasked it in mid-air.

A flare of silver flickered across my leg

before a burn of flaming fluid trickled down.

I cried, but we laughed

and swore we wouldn’t tell.

Now you clutch at your real weapons:

not a Swiss army knife, but an American Army rifle;

not stolen, but proudly, desperately entrusted.

You find yourself a toy soldier,

green with inexperience and nauseous fear,

panicked that you may have jumped the gun.

We don’t laugh now.

Do we cry?

I won’t tell.

“For me, writing poetry is always an arduous but enjoyable experience. Sometimes a poem will begin because I think of some memory or experience that I want to memorialize or explore, and other times just a word or image can spark an idea. My favorite thing about writing poetry is the way that it allows me to think of things from different perspectives and provides a means for understanding my own emotions.”

Haley Potter, from Mechanicsville, Md., is an English and honors major with a writing-and-rhetoric concentration. She minors in Spanish, sociology, and gender and women’s studies.

This month saw a three-way tie for student employee of the month: Robert (Bobby) Bertini, Sabrina Clerssaint and Melissa Schroeder, all seniors.

Bobby Bertini, an economics major from West Hartford, Conn., has worked in Falvey’s Resource Management for four years. Roberta (Robbie) Rosci, Resource Management specialist, says, “[Bobby] is a great kid. He has been a faithful worker for all of his four years at Villanova. He’s very versatile and does any task … with a smile. He keeps our weekly book orders moving, from opening the boxes to labeling the books.” Bobby is the current director of fundraising for Rays of Sunshine. He plays ultimate Frisbee and indoor soccer and is an avid follower of the Italian soccer club, Juventus. He is “also a big tennis fan.” Bobby says, “[I] had a great four years working in Falvey!”

Sabrina Clerssaint, a biology major, has worked in Access Services since her sophomore year. She has done shelving, inter library loan and shipping. Rebecca (Becky) Whidden, Access Services specialist, says, “[Sabrina] is always willing to cover other students’ shifts and put in overtime. She graciously does any task set before her. Sabrina always has a smile on her face and a joyful attitude. We will miss her tremendously.” A native of Maywood, N.J., Sabrina is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta (pre-medical honor society) , the vice president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and one of the secretaries of the Villanova Gospel Choir. She also received a 2011 Blue White Club scholarship. Her hobbies include reading, relaxing with friends and exploring the city with friends and family.

Melissa Schroeder, an accounting major from Washington Township, N.J., has worked for Falvey since her first year at Villanova. She works in circulation and also does shelving, reporting to Phylis Wright, manager of access desk services. Melissa is a Villanova cheerleader . After receiving her bachelor’s degree in accounting and management information systems, Melissa will work for Deloitte & Touche in Philadelphia. Philip Mairs, a library assistant who works with Melissa says, “[She] is a very good worker and relates very well to both students and staff.”

The University Staff Council (USC) of Falvey, led by Linda Hauck, business librarian, selects a student employee of the month based upon nominations from the department supervisors of student employees.

Joanne Quinn, graphic designer, will create a sketch of each of the student employees of the month. The sketches will be displayed on the pillar behind the circulation desk and then will be given to the students.

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

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 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.

……….Love on the Spanish Steps

…………..by Gregory Watry

Picture perfect:

she in a white dress

and he in a black suit.

Fingers laced,

looking at each other

they are poised;

positioned by the photographer.

Fanny pack tourists

with their cameras and maps

look on.

…………Haven’t they ever seen staged love?

The bulbs flash;

fingers unlace.

…………Give ‘em a peck for the show

…………they deserve it.

The crowd golf-claps;

she traces the fountain’s water

with a fingertip.

And there I sit,

…………watching from the steps

……………………sick to the stomach

………………………………thinking I am somehow above love.

A Senior-Class-Poet Contestant, Gregory says “Poetry writing, for me, grows out of observation. The daily images that pass before my eyes hold more than I can ever imagine. It’s a bottomless well.”

Gregory Watry is an English and communication double major from Sparta, NJ.

On Tuesday, Apr. 16, at 7 p.m. in Connelly Center Cinema, critically acclaimed author Junot Díaz will conclude Villanova University’s 15th Annual Villanova Literary Festival with a free reading, book signing and reception.

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey, Díaz made his literary debut with his short story collection Drown (1996), which addresses the brutal and somehow beautiful realities of urban life. By offering a sharp, unflinching glare at life in the margins of modern America, Drown became a best-seller and introduced Díaz as a new, fresh voice to be reckoned with in the world of fiction.

After its success, Díaz took an eleven year hiatus, during which he produced his only novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this multi-generational story, Díaz merges the history of his own birthplace with modern American culture. In doing so, he crosses traditional boundaries of gender, nationality, class and language in order to create an overarching narrative of the struggle and survival so central to the narrative of being human.

His most recent collection of short stories, This Is How You Lose Her (2012), is on The New York Times Best Seller list and was a National Book Award finalist. It carries the same spirit of his previous works as the character Yunior, who narrates The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and is the predominating voice in Drown, once again becomes the focus in many of these stories about identity, family, romance, literary struggle and multicultural conflict. As with his previous works, Díaz confronts his audience with Spanish words and phrases, which have the effect of either alienating readers or inviting them into the diversity that influences American language and culture today.

Díaz is the recipient of many honors such as a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a PEN/Malamud Award and The O. Henry Award, among others. Currently, he is the fiction editor at Boston Review, creative writing professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and honorary chairman of the Dream Project. His current work in progress, tentatively entitled Monstro, will hopefully fulfill his dream of becoming an established voice in the science-fiction genre.

During an interview hosted by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley for Wired.com, Díaz described the work as an “insane novel about a strange invader virus-type thing that takes root in the poorest, hottest places in the world in the near future, and of course one of those places is going to be Haiti.” The novel, he explains, came from “this crazy idea to write a near-future story where these virused-up 40-foot monstrosities are going around eating people, and taking it from there. I’m only at the first part of the novel, so I haven’t really gotten down to the eating, and I’ve got to eat a couple cities before I think the thing will really get going.”

Alexander Williams, ’11 MA, is an intern on the Academic Integration and the Information and Research Assistance teams. He is currently pursuing an MS in Library and Information Science at Drexel University’s iSchool.

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 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.

Forecasting

by Laura Solomon

Expecting snow, but feeling rain

Expecting sun, but feeling shade

Forecasting is

risky, indeed

but it is wise

to expect

the unexpected

and isn’t it funny

that the Spanish word

tiempo

means both weather and time

because when they change

so do we

A Senior-Class-Poet contestant, Laura says “I enjoy poetry because it’s whimsical and it creates song in speech.”

In what appears to be the most surprising library development in several decades, Falvey Memorial Library has acquired a red Solo cup thought to have belonged to country singer and rabble-rousing scoundrel Toby Keith. The cup was found in a closet in Sullivan Hall, and library authorities have reason to believe it may be the very cup featured in Keith’s hit song “Red Solo Cup.” Keith attended Villanova University during the 1979-1980 academic year, and has since been granted an honorary degree from the University.

Michael Foot

“If we’re right about this cup, then it’s an object that bears an important connection to Villanova’s history,” says Michael Foot, Falvey’s Special Collections librarian. Since the cup’s discovery a few weeks ago, it’s been Foot’s task to date the piece and to verify claims that it may have belonged to Mr. Keith. After employing an array of archival techniques including finger printing, saliva sampling and DNA forensics, Foot seems convinced that this is the very cup of country music legend.

“When I matched some hardened residue at the bottom of the cup to major ingredients in Miller Lite, that’s when I knew,” Foot declared, before adding: “That’s Toby’s brand.”

The cup was discovered after members of the University grounds crew had been called to Sullivan to deal with a routine bat infestation. Searching through one of the vacant dorm closets for a broom, they found instead an old box which included objects from Mr. Keith’s past. Beneath empty cans of dip, camouflage hats, broken bowling trophies and delicately phrased love letters, the crew found the mother lode itself: a single crumpled cup.

If Foot’s investigation proves successful, Library Director Teddy Fuller has agreed to name the new wing of the Library after Keith.

“At this point, it’s so much more than a cup,” says Fuller. “I mean, country fan or not, this is an object of tremendous cultural value nationwide. To think that when Keith penned the line ‘you are the best receptacle for barbecues, tailgates, and festivals,’ he could have just as easily included Villanova University Parent’s Weekend Brunch…” Visibly pleased, Fuller looked out the window towards Sullivan Hall. “This is a very exciting time to be a librarian,” he enthused.

Corey Waite Arnold is a writer and intern on the Communication and Publications Team. He is currently pursuing an MA in English at Villanova University.

Having worked at the Library for the past four years while going to school at Villanova, I feel like I have seen all that it has to offer. There is never a dull moment while working at the front desk. It never stops being funny when someone walks into the turnstiles at 10mph, even though it obviously causes them some pain. A shift does not go by when the printer doesn’t jam at least once. I continue to be amazed when students hesitantly approach the desk and ask, “Am I allowed to check out books?”

When spring begins, five minutes cannot pass without a tour coming into the Library; in walks a group of eager, bright faced parents, and their children, most of whom look like they would rather be anywhere else. Every once in a while it is fun to hear a tour guide rattle off incorrect information, such as “the library is open 24 hours a day.” There are students who come into the building only once in their entire college career and ask for directions to the stairs. However, there are also the usual students who come in and out several times a day and probably spend more time in the Library, whether it is for work or for play, than many of the employees do.

Not only is the Library a great place to see while working at the front desk, but the Library also provides so many amazing services. Unfortunately, many students do not even know about them. For example, who knew you could rent a kindle or nook e-reader and take it home with you from the building? Or that on the second floor, there is a whole army of brilliant research librarians who can get you all the resources you need for even the longest of papers.

Guest lecturers come to the Library several times a week. You not only sit and listen to what they have to say, but you almost always get cookies when they’re finished talking. You can rent computers, power cords, head phones, Ethernet cords, calculators – you name it – chances are the Library will have it. Most importantly, the Library provides an environment that can be studious but social at the same time. At the heart of Villanova, the Library manages to do it all, and without it life on campus would not be the same.

Meghan Rodgers, ’13, is a political science major and Chinese minor. She works part-time for the Access Services team in the Library.