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Exploring French theatre at the turn of the 20th century

Posted for Alexandra Edwards (Falvey Memorial Library Intern and Digital Library student employee)

One of the best parts about working in the Digital Library is getting to experience, firsthand, historical materials related to your own interests. Recently, I worked on digitizing issues of a French theatre magazine, Le Théatre, from the turn of the 20th century — a project that combined my love of the stage, the French language, and fin de siècle culture.

Le Théatre gives a fascinating glimpse into French cultural life during this highly artistic time period. The magazine covered the world of French theatre and dance in-depth, and provides an intriguing primary-source look into stage conventions, costuming, set design, and theatrical celebrity.

Of particular historic interest are the articles on Loïe Fuller, the American dance sensation with no formal training who is now credited as a pioneer of modern dance as well as theatrical lighting. Videos of her performances have been preserved and are exhibited around the country to this day — I recently saw a Library of Congress video of her signature dance style at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Several issues of Le Théatre mention Fuller, either in reference to the dancer herself, or to the style of dance she created, which was subsequently picked up by other performers.

The December 1898 issue devotes an entire section to Fuller, including a color cover featuring a dancer dressed and posed in the style of “La Loïe Fuller.”  After several pages of more traditional-looking ballerinas, the section on Fuller highlights the somewhat shocking, modern quality of Fuller’s style.  The dancers pictured wear long and flowing dresses which can be held up — it appears that rods have been inserted into the fabric — to give the appearance of wings.  Indeed, butterflies are pictured on many of the dresses.  A captivating action shot hints at the effect of Fuller’s twirling style in combination with the flowing costume.

The article mentions that Fuller was basically unknown a few years prior, but has since taken the dance world by storm.  The author notes that Fuller may not be the best dancer on the stage, but rather that there is a kind of magical quality to her dancing in and of itself:


Subsequent issues of Le Théatre profile “Le Théâtre de la Loïe Fuller” (August II, 1900), as well as Japanese dancer Sada Yacco, who worked closely with Fuller after the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 (October II, 1900).  Fuller served as Yacco’s manager and press agent, proving herself as savvy a businesswoman as she was entertainer and theatrical inventor.

Seeing Fuller’s work documented in Le Théatre emphasizes both her importance in the history of dance and the necessity of preserving historical primary-source materials.  Researchers across the world can now access these documents for free, allowing them to understand, in the original historical context, the impact that Fuller made on the world of French theatre and dance.

References:

Loie Fuller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 May 2011. Web. May 2011.

Collier, Peter and Robert Lethbridge, eds.  Artistic relations : literature and the visual arts in nineteenth-century France.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.  Print.

Garelick, Rhonda K. Electric Salome : Loie Fuller’s performance of modernism.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.  Print.

Holmes, Diana and Carrie Tarr, edds.  A “Belle Epoque”? : women in French society and culture, 1890-1914.  New York: Berghahn Books, 2006.  Print.


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Friday Film Review: The Town

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.


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New Books!

New book arrivals for the month of May.  This month’s highlights feature titles recommended by communication faculty.

Process, sensemaking, and organizing
edited by Tor Hernes and Sally Maitilis
Perspectives on Process Organization Studies Series
Oxford University Press
2010

Philosophy and organization theory
edited by Haridimos Tsoukas and Robert Chia
Research in the Sociology of Organizations Series
Emerald
2011

Performance in the borderlands
edited by Ramon H. Rivera-Servera and Harvey Young
Performance Interventions Series
Palgrave Macmillan
2011

Gender stratification in the IT industry: sex, status, and social capital
by Kenneth W. Koput and Barbara A. Gutek
Edward Elger
2010


Bullying in different contexts
edited by Claire P. Monks and Iain Coyne
Cambridge University Press
2011

The art of convening: authentic engagement in meetings, gatherings, and conversations
by Craig and Patricia Neal, with Cynthia Wold
e-book version
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
2011

 


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Friday Film Review: Frontrunners

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


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Raamaan McBride Joins Access Services and Information Teams

Raamaan McBride, a new member of the Access Services team who is also staffing the Information Desk, graduated in 2010 from Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

While a student, he worked in the Samuel L. Paley Library for three years, first in Media Services and then in Access Services as the laptop loan coordinator.

Luisa Cywinski, Access Services team leader, said, “As a Temple graduate and former Paley Library employee, Raamaan brings a strong base of public technology experience to Villanova.”

Raamaan is originally from Bridgeport, Conn., and has lived in Philadelphia since 2006.

His hobbies include watching sports, going to the latest movies, cooking and visiting new restaurants and bars in the city. He is open to suggestions for new places to visit. He said, “I’m a huge UCONN and Yankees fan, so I would love to talk sports with anyone.”

Raamaan plans on pursuing a master’s degree in business or communication.


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Library Construction Alert: Falvey World History Collection to move to new onsite location!

This summer Falvey Memorial Library will start a building renovation project with the goal of transforming the Library into a more inviting and welcoming space. During the first phase of this project, the second floor will be completely gutted, except for the Special Collections room. In preparation for this phase, all current second-floor books will be relocated to the former bound-periodicals stacks, located in the Old Falvey section of the building. While this move in no way affects the American history collection, most D call numbers, with the exception of African and Australian history, will be moved into Old Falvey.
Clean-up work in Old Falvey has already started. Facilities Management staff will rehab and repaint the Old Falvey stacks to make them more inviting and conducive to shelf browsing. While the Library will do its utmost to keep its collection accessible while it is in transit, there may be some short periods of interrupted access. Be prepared for noise or messiness when you visit the Library over the summer. All heavy-duty construction should be completed before the fall semester begins.
Please feel free to contact me with any concerns that you may have.


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1611 King James Bible now online

Engraved title page of the 1611 King James Bible.

Title page of the 1611 King James Bible.

Over the past several months we have been working on scanning, processing, and completing metadata for a very special volume from one of our partners. In January, La Salle University brought over their latest batch of items for us to digitize, which included a first edition of the King James Bible from 1611. Not only is this an exciting and important work to digitize, but it is particularly timely now as this version of the Bible celebrates the 400th anniversary of its completion.

This book proved challenging to scan in many ways. Its bulky and unwieldy size meant that for most of the process, scanning was a two-person job. The volume is also fairly tightly-bound, which meant that getting the full page was difficult at times. We were able to meet these challenges, however, and we are pleased to present the entire volume online.

 

Sarah Seraphin, Special Collections Librarian at La Salle University’s Connelly Library, was very enthusiastic about the completion of this scanning endeavor. “This partnership makes it possible to deliver our content to scholars all over the world, on an excellent platform alongside the collections of other Catholic institutions,” Seraphin said. “Our aim is to curate a unique online selection of historic Bibles relating to the translation of the Holy Bible into English. With the 1611 ‘He Bible’ now online, the task of scanning one of our most prized volumes has come to fruition. We are grateful for the dedication of the Digital Library staff for their work on this and other invaluable works from the Susan Dunleavy Collection.”

Seraphin curated an exhibit called “Adornment & Alliance: Preserving Illustrated and Historic Bibles and Curating a Digital Collection Through Constructive Partnership.” This exhibit honors the mission of the Susan Dunleavy Collection of Biblical Literature and highlights La Salle’s partnership with our Digital Library—and, of course, it also celebrates the 400th anniversary of the 1611 King James Bible. The exhibit is on view in the main lobby of La Salle’s Connelly Library until mid-July 2011.

There were two separate issues of the first edition, both published in 1611. The volume featured in this article is a first issue of the first edition, which contained a type-setting error in Ruth 3:15: “… he went into the citie.” For this reason, the first issue is known colloquially as the “He Bible.” The second issue is known as the “She Bible” and it (and all subsequent editions) reads: “… she went into the citie.”

Text of Ruth 3:15 with type-setting error "... he went into the citie."

Ruth 3:15.


One of the great pleasures of working with rare books and manuscripts is getting to “touch” history and make it available to a wider audience online through our Digital Library, though oftentimes these materials may have been forgotten. It has been an interesting and exciting experience to handle and digitize a 1611 King James Bible—a book that still has a tremendous impact 400 years after its original publication.

Student scanning the King James Bible.

One of our student workers, Celina Wildemann, scanning the King James Bible.

 

Over the past several months we have been working on scanning, processing, and completing metadata for a very special volume from one of our partners. In January, La Salle University brought over their latest batch of items for us to digitize, which included a first edition of the King James Bible from 1611. Not only is this an exciting and important work to digitize, but it is particularly timely now as this version of the Bible celebrates the 400th anniversary of its completion.

 

This book proved challenging to scan in many ways. Its bulky and unwieldy size meant that for most of the process, scanning was a two-person job. The volume is also fairly tightly-bound, which meant that getting the full page was difficult at times. We were able to meet these challenges, however, and we are pleased to present the entire volume online.

 

[title page]

 

Sarah Seraphin, Special Collections Librarian at La Salle University’s Connelly Library was very enthusiastic about the completion of this scanning endeavor. “This partnership makes it possible to deliver our content to scholars all over the world, on an excellent platform alongside the collections of other Catholic institutions,” Seraphin said. “Our aim is to curate a unique online selection of historic Bibles relating to the translation of the Holy Bible into English. With the 1611 ‘He Bible’ now online, the task of scanning one of our most prized volumes has come to fruition. We are grateful for the dedication of the Digital Library staff for their work on this and other invaluable works from the Susan Dunleavy Collection.”

 

Seraphin curated an exhibit to honor the mission of the Susan Dunleavy Collection of Biblical Literature and to highlight La Salle’s partnership with our Digital Library—and, of course, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the 1611 King James Bible. The exhibit is on view in the main lobby of La Salle’s Connelly Library until mid-July 2011.

 

There were two separate issues of the first edition, both published in 1611. The first issue of the first edition contained a type-setting error in Ruth 3:15: “… he went into the citie.” For this reason, the first issue is known colloquially as the “He Bible.” The second issue is known as the “She Bible” and it (and all subsequent editions) reads “… she went into the citie.”

 

[Ruth]

 

One of the great pleasures of working with rare books and manuscripts is getting to “touch” history and make it available to a wider audience online through our Digital Library, though oftentimes these materials may have been forgotten. It has been an interesting and exciting experience to handle and digitize the King James Bible—a book that still has a tremendous impact 400 years after its original publication.


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Favorites, Lists, and Tags in the Library Catalog

If you loved the January post on Getting Organized in the New Year, check out this post from Jutta Seibert’s History and Sociology blog: Falvey Favorites, Tags, and Lists.  Here’s a preview:

Have you ever wondered what those cute little hearts in the library’s catalog could do for you?  Did you notice that some catalog records are tagged? Favorites and tags can be used in different ways to organize books into lists for personal use or to share them with students and colleagues.  Here is a short overview of the functionality of these catalog features.

Read the full post…


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Catholic Research Resources Alliance Conference at Falvey Memorial Library

by Darren Poley

On March 29, 2011, members of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance (CRRA), library directors, university librarians, archivists and technologists from across the United States and Canada met in Falvey Memorial Library to hear about several major developments and contributions Villanova University is making to the landscape on which the Catholic Portal of the CRRA has established itself.

Bente Polites talks with Noel McFerran from St. Michael's College Library, University of Toronto

Beginning with a blessing by University Archivist, the Rev. Dennis Gallagher, O.S.A., Ph.D and following welcoming remarks by University Librarian Joseph P. Lucia, M.A., M.L.S., which set the stage, attendees were offered a series of brief talks by Falvey professionals from the special collections and digital library team, which includes members of the Library’s technology development team and scholarly outreach team. The impetus for this session was a one day conference on the intersection of scholarship and technology at Villanova University’s library, VuStuff I, offered in the fall to academic librarians from the Philadelphia region interested in scholarly communication and digital initiatives.

Mr. Lucia answered his own question of  “why are librarians building technology?” with a clarion call to promote an open source, resource sharing approach that favors technical-skill development, which is in keeping with the tradition of the academic library as a resource for aiding scholars in accomplishing and sharing their work. According to Lucia, openness—whether it comes to book stacks, data, or engineering information-sharing solutions—is something for which the academic library community ought to have a missionary zeal.

(more…)


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National Jukebox from the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress Blog has announced the launch of the National Jukebox to showcase the historic Victor Records collection.

Today the Library of Congress, in conjunction with Sony Music Entertainment, launched a website – “the National Jukebox” – that streams 10,000 sound recordings from the historic Victor Records collection.  It’s a fun and fascinating ramble for anyone who loves American music and wants to dig down into the roots of jazz, opera, a vast range of popular music, famous political speeches — even early sound effects.  The collection launched today (which will expand over time) is the soundtrack of our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ early lives – music from the dawn of sound recording just after the turn of the 20th Century to the eve of the Great Depression.

Read the full announcement…


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Last Modified: May 13, 2011

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