Library News

David Uspal recently joined Falvey as Web Specialist for Library and Scholarly Applications. Joe Lucia, University Librarian, commented, “Dave brings many exciting skills to the library, and he will be working to advance our open source applications on all fronts in the months ahead.”

Dave works with the Technology Development team to update library web sites and to add new resources.

A native of Reading (Pa.), Dave has a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in management information systems from The Pennsylvania State University and two master’s degrees from Penn State, Great Valley in software engineering and systems engineering.

His hobbies are board gaming and his two house rabbits. Dave noted that he tried doing home repairs over the summer but decided this wasn’t a hobby he is likely to pursue.

Article and photograph by Alice Bampton

Six Villanova students presented their senior projects during the eighth annual Falvey Scholars awards ceremony in Falvey Memorial Library on April 23 at 1:00 p.m. This annual program, established by the Library, recognizes outstanding undergraduate research. The collaborative efforts of the Library, the Honors Program and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships make this program possible.

This year’s recipients represent all of the University’s undergraduate colleges, and each winner’s presentation highlighted the value of utilizing library resources and staff.

Arts- Brittany Parisi (Political Science), “Evolving the Third Sector: The Convergence of Local and International Civil Society in India.” (Satya Pattnayak, Ph.D., faculty mentor)


Business – Christopher McKay (Economics), “Equity vs. Efficiency: When is Lending a Helping Hand Being Too Helpful?” (Mary Kelly, Ph.D., faculty mentor)


Engineering – Susan Mischinski (Engineering), “The Effect of Bone Microstructure on Crack Initiation and Propagation In Human Cortical Bone.” (Ani Ural, Ph.D., faculty mentor)


Nursing – Ashley Thompson and Kelly Moran (Nursing), “Social Ecological Model to Address Hookah Smoking of Villanova Students.” (Ruth McDermott-Levy, Ph.D., RN, faculty mentor)


Sciences – Shreya Trivedi (Biology), “Analysis of the role of inflammatory pathways on estrogen-induced uterine tissue remodeling in the ovariectomized immature rat.” (Louise Russo, Ph.D., faculty mentor).


“This program is exciting and rewarding for the Library; it allows us to experience the intellectual work of our outstanding students,” said Joe Lucia, director of Falvey Memorial Library.

This year’s winners were chosen from a group of candidates-either an individual Villanova University senior or a group of seniors- working together with the faculty adviser for their senior thesis or capstone project. The candidates were then selected by the Falvey Scholars Selection Committee, comprised of representatives from each of the collaborating departments.

Digital copies of the winning papers are maintained in the Villanova Digital Library.

Compiled by Akua K. Adoo, Publications and Communication intern; photographs by Alice Bampton, Laura Hutelmyer and Natalie Tomasco

by Alice Bampton

A large blue banner, “Honoring Outstanding Undergraduate Research: Falvey Scholars,” first captures our attention in the display window between Holy Grounds and the main area of Falvey Library’s first floor.

Picture frames house photos of the newly selected Falvey Scholars who  represent their respective Colleges: Nursing, Engineering, Business, Arts and Sciences.

The 2010 Falvey Scholars have been selected: Arts — Brittany Parisi (Dr. Satya Pattnayak, faculty mentor); Business — Christopher McKay (Dr. Mary Kelly, faculty mentor); Engineering — Susan Mischinski (Dr. Ani Ural, faculty mentor); Nursing — Ashley Thompson and Kelly Moran (Dr. Ruth McDermott-Levy, RN, faculty mentor) and Sciences — Shreya Trivedi (Dr. Louise Russo, faculty mentor).

Bright red posters provide information about the Falvey Scholars Awards. The Falvey Scholars presented their research on  Friday, April 23, at 1 p.m. in the library first floor lounge. Also, the program is in its eighth year of collaboration among the Library, the Honors Program and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

The display was created by Joanne Quinn, the designer of cultural displays and special projects for Falvey’s Events and Outreach team.

Falvey offers the University community online access to the Chronicle of Higher Education, “the No. 1 source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators.” Widely valued for the timeliness and credibility of its news coverage, the Chronicle has won numerous awards for its coverage of political issues with impact on higher education. (more…)

By Alfred Fry

Do you wish that you knew more about the night sky?  Have you dreamed of taking a flight into space?

Villanova University now has online access to the Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics , the most extensive and comprehensive reference work in the field.  Currently, the encyclopedia contains over 2,750 signed articles.  The encyclopedia frequently adds new articles or updates existing ones.  Editorial and advisory boards consisting of prominent astronomers and astrophysicists assure the high quality of this definitive reference source.

Although the primary audience for this encyclopedia is people with an academic or professional interest in astronomy or astrophysics, most of the articles do not require scientific expertise.  People with a casual interest in astronomy can browse broad subject categories like Galaxies, the Solar System or Space Missions, and can also find articles on Mayan Astronomy, the Star of Bethlehem, Art and Literature and the Vatican Observatory.

The encyclopedia also contains articles aimed squarely at amateur astronomers.  Beginners can get started with articles on Naked-Eye Astronomy and Binocular Astronomy.  More advanced amateurs can find many articles on equipment and techniques, such as Wide-Field Astrophotography, Observing Asteroids, Radio Astronomy for Amateurs and Amateur-Professional Collaboration in Astronomy.

Amateurs make significant contributions to astronomy research; for example, an Australian amateur astronomer discovered a spot on Jupiter that was consequently photographed by the Hubble telescope.

Learn how to organize your research and never type a bibliography again with RefWorks.  MLA, APA and other styles supported. Open to faculty, staff, and students in all disciplines.

When? Nov. 5 & 12

4:00-5:00pm

Where: Driscoll Hall, Room 221

MUST BRING YOUR OWN LAPTOP!

Contact: Barbara Quintiliano, Instructional Design Librarian (telephone: ext.95207)

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 20 PERSONS.  PLEASE CONTACT BARBARA IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.

ON-CAMPUS ACCESS ONLY
http://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/
(Ignore sign-in. Scroll past middle of page for subject categories.)
Available until June 30, 2009
Please send comments to Barbara Quintiliano (x95207)
barbara.quintiliano@villanova.edu

Take advantage of Falvey’s trial subscription to the Cold Spring Harbor Protocols,a definitive, interactive source of new and classic research techniques. The database is fully searchable by keyword and subject, and it has many novel features—such as discussion forums and personal folders—made possible by online publication. Its coverage includes

cell and molecular biology
genetics
bioinformatics
protein science
imaging.

Protocols are presented step-by-step and edited in the style that has made Molecular Cloning, Antibodies, Cells and many other CSH manuals essential to the work of scientists worldwide. Protocols will be continuously expanded, updated, and annotated by the originators and users of the techniques.

Civil Engineering students and faculty will be pleased to have electronic access to a collection of the International Code Council’s reference works.  E-Codes Premium include the full text of the most recent versions of the International Building Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code as well as pertinent titles from the Code of Federal Regulations.  With this new resource you can do simple keyword searches, browse the table of contents, print and make notes in the text.  You can link to this resource from the Engineering subject page, E-Reference Resources and the library catalog.

Dissertations & Theses Full Text (ProQuest)  (1861- ; Full Text 1997 – )

A comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses with over 2.4 million dissertations and theses included from around the world. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master’s theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637, and more than 65,000 new citations are added to the database every year. Where available, PQDT provides 24 Page Previews of dissertations and theses. In addition, nearly one million are available for download in PDF format. (Digital dissertations and theses are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Some will be Native PDF, some PDF Image).