Join the Office of Belonging and Inclusion and Falvey Library’s DEI Committee to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month on May 1, from 1-2:30 p.m. (or until supplies last), with free mochi donuts and a bubble tea bar. Stop by the Suite Lounge in Corr Hall to grab some bubble tea, then head over to Falvey Library’s first floor for some mochi donuts. In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month Falvey Library will be sharing a list of books and other resources by and about people of Asian-Pacific ancestry. No list of this nature could ever be comprehensive, but we hope the resources will serve as a starting point.

What are mochi donuts?

Mochi donuts also known as poi mochi are a hybrid between cake donuts and chewy mochi, Japanese rice cakes made from glutinous rice, also known as polished sticky rice. Mochi donuts typically use gluten-free tapioca flour or glutinous rice flour. While some recipes include all-purpose flour, they can also be made entirely gluten-free.

What is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea also known as “Boba tea,” “pearl milk tea,” or in Taiwan, zhenzhu naicha (珍珠奶茶) is a Taiwanese recipe made by blending black tea, milk, fruit juices, and chewy tapioca pearls, all shaken together and served with a large straw big enough to accommodate the tapioca pearls.

This event, co-sponsored by the Office of Belonging and Inclusion and Falvey Library, is free and open to the Villanova community.

Layna Nurse and Isabel Choi discuss True Biz with a Falvey patron.

This spring Falvey is proud to promote One Book, One Philadelphia. From April 8 to May 22, the Free Library of Philadelphia will offer events to “foster literacy, library usage, and civic dialogue through all corners of the city.” For more information on the One Book, One Philadelphia events: visit this link.

One of the 2024 One Book, One Philadelphia Selections is True Biz by Sara Nović. The fictional novel, centered around three characters at the River Valley School for the Deaf, focuses on “themes of belonging, autonomy, and the importance of self-expression…True Biz shows the rich history and culture of Deaf communities.” Want to read True Biz online? Check out Falvey’s eBook!

The Villanova community had the opportunity to enter in a drawing to win copies of True Biz and a pocket sign language dictionary on Wednesday, April 17-19. Winners will be announced soon–Stay tuned! The informational table (pictured above), sponsored by the Falvey Library DEI Committee provided students with helpful resources. Join Falvey Library this September for Deaf Awareness Month. Falvey’s DEI Committee and the Deaf Studies Program at Villanova will host a panel book discussion on True Biz and Deaf culture.

Interested in learning more about ASL and Deaf culture at Villanova? Check out the new Deaf Studies minor! Looking for more resources? No list of this nature could ever be comprehensive, but we hope these eBooks available at Falvey will serve as a starting point.

Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking by H-Dirksen L. Bauman
Deaf Gain: Raising the Stakes for Human Diversity by H-Dirksen L.Bauman and Joseph J. Murray
Deaf Utopia: A Memoir – and a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco

We’re celebrating libraries this week!

National Library Week, April 7-13, 2024, celebrates “the contributions of libraries and librarians,” while promoting “library use and support.” The week-long celebration was first sponsored in 1958 by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries (school, public, academic, and special) across the country.

While we love all libraries, we’re especially excited to celebrate Falvey Hall. Monday, April 22, 2024, marks the 75th anniversary of Falvey Hall as the home of Villanova University’s Library! The Villanova Community is cordially invited to join us on April 22 from 1-3 p.m. on the Falvey Hall Patio to celebrate the major milestone. We’ll offer a variety of delicious treats including cake, cookies, and candy for attendees to savor during this sweet moment (or until supplies last!) In honor of the Library’s namesake, we’ll also be raffling off a limited amount of custom Father Falvey socks.

You can help us commemorate this momentous occasion! Make sure to stop by to sign our big anniversary card and take a trip down memory lane by sharing your favorite Falvey memories! We want to know what part Falvey has played during your journey at Villanova. We hope to see you there. Cheers to 75 memorable years!

Take a peek at some throwback photos of Falvey Hall below. All images are courtesy of the Villanova Digital Library. More throwback memories of Falvey Hall will be featured on April 22.

Students in Falvey Memorial Library, 1979.

Dedication Of Villanova College Library, 1949.

Commencement, 1950.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Please join us on Friday, April 19, from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Connelly Center Cinema as we celebrate the official launch of the 2024 issue of CONCEPT, our interdisciplinary journal of graduate studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The ceremony will recognize this year’s Graduate Research Prize for top paper, along with all of the student authors and editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers.

The panel discussion will be held in the Cinema, followed by a reception beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Grad Center Student Lounge in Vasey Hall. This event will also be livestreamed.

CONCEPT accepts submissions from Villanova graduate students in all fields of the arts and sciences and is an opportunity for them to share their scholarship and research.

The 2024 edition of CONCEPT marks the 47th release of the journal. This ACS-approved event, co-sponsored by Falvey Library, the Office of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Graduate Research and Education, is free and open to the public.

Visit the CONCEPT website to learn more about the journal and to browse past volumes.

Steven T. Goldsmith (he/him), PhD.

Please join us on Tuesday, April 23, from 4-5 p.m. in Falvey Library’s Speakers’ Corner for a talk by Steven T. Goldsmith (he/him), PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, 2023-2024 Faculty Fellow in Climate, Justice, & Sustainability, Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University, titled “Broadening Diversity in the Environmental Sciences Through a High School Environmental Justice Focused Research Experience.”

Urban communities often suffer the greatest damage from poor water, air, and soil quality. Geoscience programs, including the environmental sciences, are the foundation for jobs tasked with remedying these problems; however, the racially minoritized residents who disproportionately experience environmental burdens are vastly underrepresented in these fields. This partnership with Walter B. Saul High School in Philadelphia uses an immersive, locally based, culturally responsive research experience in urban environmental geochemistry, through an environmental justice lens, to broaden a pathway to the geosciences for underrepresented minoritized students. Students are engaged though both school-based active learning modules and a solutions-based summer research experience carried out alongside Villanova undergraduate students. This talk will highlight successes, challenges, and lessons learned.

This ACS-approved event, sponsored by The Villanova Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice and Sustainability (SICJS) and Falvey library, is free and open to the public.

Please join us on Thursday, April 25, from 12-1:15 p.m. in Falvey Library’s Speakers’ Corner or via livestream for a book talk and Q&A event featuring historian Amy Jane Cohen. At the event, Cohen will discuss her recently published book, Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape: Deep Roots, Continuing Legacy (Temple University Press, 2024). The event will be moderated by Olukunle Owolabi, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of Africana Studies.

In Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape, Amy Cohen recounts notable aspects of the Black experience in Philadelphia from the late 1600s to the 1960s and how this history is marked in the contemporary city. Learn more here.

This ACS-approved event is being presented by the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest and is co-sponsored by Falvey Library, Falvey Library DEI Committee, Department of History, Department of Political Science and Africana Studies. It is free and open to the public.

View the Livestream here.

Image courtesy of A.J. Balinski, ’26 CLAS.

Falvey Library Service Hours: Easter 2024

Tuesday, March 26: 8 a.m.—12 a.m. (book stacks close at 11:30 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 27: 8 a.m.—10 p.m. (book stacks close at 9:30 p.m.)

Thursday, March 28—Sunday, March 31: Service desk and book stacks closed.

Monday, April 1: 2 p.m.—12 a.m. (book stacks close at 11:30 p.m.)

Villanova students, faculty, and staff may enter the Library building 24/7 with a valid Wildcard. Library services are available to the University community during posted service hours. Electronic collections (articles, e-books, and more!) are accessible through the Library’s website 24/7. For a full listing of service hours, visit the Library website.

Blessings to you and your families for your Easter, Passover, and Ramadan celebrations.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Photo courtesy of A.J. Balinski, ’26 CLAS.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.