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This Cat is Signing Off!

By Daniella Snyder

I’m Daniella Snyder, a graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in the Library’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics–from research to study habits and everything in between–and how Falvey can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Hello, Wildcats!

For the last two years, it has been a pleasure to serve as Falvey Memorial Library’s ‘Cat in the Stacks. I’ve shared stories, books, and studying tips. I’ve discussed finals stress, the fantastic productions put on in Vasey Theatre, and I’ve researched important holidays, such as Women’s History Month and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I’ve certainly learned a lot, and I hope you have, too!

For my last blog post, I thought I’d take some time to share my gratitude for some of the many people who have made my time at Falvey Memorial Library so special.

To the Holy Grounds employees: Thank you for always serving me the midday black coffee and sugary donut! My productivity during my usual 1-2 p.m. slump can be attributed to you!

To the subject librarians: Thank you for being available to talk, give advice, or listen. I will miss our regular conversations about Matt LeBlanc and The Golden Compass, and I will definitely miss your warm and helpful emails.

To the IT department: It was a delight to sit near you all. Thank you for your patience while I talked about The Bachelor all Tuesday morning, and thank you for not laughing at me every time I had a minor computer problem.

To Kayla at the front desk: Catching your infectious positivity at the front desk was a great way to start my work shift. I know we’ll both be leaving the library, but I hope to see you again soon!

To Allie, Annabelle, Kelly, and the rest of the student staff: You ladies are superstars, and I will miss you immensely. I know you only spent a small portion of your Villanova experience with me, but you all made 100% of my Villanova experience what it was. Never hesitate to call or text me. Promise you won’t like the next grad assistant more than you like me?

To Nate: You’re the Dwight to my Jim. I know you wouldn’t like it if I wrote anything emotional or corny, so I’ll just say you’ve been a great co-worker, and I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.

To Shawn: You’ve been a great writing mentor for my last year in the office, and I’m sure you’ll be the same for the next set of GAs. Your big ideas are great, and I can’t wait to see a Tiny Front Desk Concert soon.

To Kallie: I will miss you, your spunk, and your Monday morning affirmations. You’ve been a fantastic mentor, and I’ve always appreciated your advice, whether it was about school, work, or life.

To Gina: You are a superhero, and I don’t know where any of us would be without you. You inspire me to always see the glass half full and to see the good in everything. I will miss you!

To Joanne: Thank you for your guidance throughout these last two years, and thank you for allowing our big ideas to come to life, like creating a podcast or recording the GlobalSmackDown. You were a great mentor, and I can only hope that my next supervisor will be as great as you!

Signing off,

Daniella


Daniella Snyder HeadshotDaniella is a graduate student in the English department and a (former) graduate assistant for Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 

 

 


 


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What’s on my summer reading list?

By Daniella Snyder

I’m Daniella Snyder, a graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics–from research to study habits and everything in between–and how the  Library can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Wildcats, this will sound nerdy, but one of my favorite parts of the summer is crafting a list of the books I plan to read over the next few months. Like a good playlist, my summer reading list must have a combination of different genres. It needs something academic, something funny, and I always add something that I should’ve read by now, but haven’t. I think you can tell a lot about a person by what books they read, so I thought I’d share this summer’s reading list.

Slaughterhouse-Five book cover

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Even though I know that Vonnegut’s a famous author, and Slaughterhouse-Five is a classic novel, I’ve never actually read it, and I’m pretty late to the Vonnegut game. I started reading his novels in college, but have only read two or three of his works. Slaughterhouse-Five is like, the Shawshank Redemption of books. Everyone’s read it, so I should too.

 

I Might Regret this book cover

I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawing, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff by Abbi Jacobson

Abbi Jacobson is a comedic genius. If you’ve seen Broad City, you know what I mean. With this book, I think I’ll be LQTM (laughing quietly to myself) at the beach, at the park, and on the train.

 

Wow, no thank you book cover

Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby

I was supposed to hear Samantha Irby read at the Free Library of Philadelphia in April, but reading her newest collection of essays will make up for the missed experience. Irby’s writing is biting and hysterical. I’d recommend this one to any of your funny friends.

 

How to Do Nothing book cover

How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

//I don’t really like self-help books, but I think this is different. Odell writes a book that helps us think about efficiency and attention in a new way.

 

Life of the party book cover

Life of the Party by Olivia Gatwood

I had to have at least one poetry collection on the list, and Olivia Gatwood is so cool. Seriously, though. I stalk her on Instagram, and think she’s so rad. So, I have to imagine that her poetry will be relatable, interesting, and bold.

 

Such a Fun Age book cover

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

This has been a highly-anticipated book of 2020, and I don’t know much about it, other than my friends have read it and liked it, so I should read it, too.

 

The Beautiful and Damned book cover

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I took a Fitzgerald course in college, and I still never managed to read this novel. Since Gatsby is still one of my favorite books of all time (basic, I know) I think it’s only right that I read the rest of the Fitzgerald canon.

 

Sing, Unburied, Sing book cover

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Honestly, how haven’t I read this book yet? It was named a top book of the last decade. Decade! Enough said.

 

Playing to the Gallery book cover

Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in its Struggle to Be Understood by Grayson Perry

If you’ve known me for 15+ minutes, you would know that I studied art history in college, because I somehow incorporate that fact into every conversation I’ve ever had. This book has been on my list for a while.

 


Daniella Snyder HeadshotDaniella Snyder is a former graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library. This week, she’s reading The Upside of Being Down by Jen Gotch.

 

 

 

 


 


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Celebrate: Read a poem!

By Daniella Snyder

I’m Daniella Snyder, a graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey Library’s (remote) Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics–from research to study habits and everything in between–and how the Falvey Library can play a large role in your success at Villanova!

Hey, Wildcats! Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? NPM was first launched in 1966 by the Academy of American Poets. It began as a way to remind us that poets and poetry matters and that they play a vital role in society. Since 1966, NPM has attracted tens of millions of readers, students, librarians, publishers, and poets.

Now, in the midst of COVID-19, we face unprecedented circumstances. This particular NPM has taken on new meaning and importance, as more and more of us are turning to poetry to find solace and strength.

National Poetry Month poster 2020

While I certainly recommend that everyone pick up the work of their favorite poet this month, I hope you’ll find some new poems that give you comfort during this uncertain time. If you’re looking for even more ways to participate in NPM during COVID-19, the Academy of American Poets has come up with some ways you can celebrate, both online and at home:

  • Sign up for “Poem a Day” and get free daily poems delivered to your inbox each morning.
  • Read last year’s most-read poem, “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye.
  • Listen to the “Poem a Day” podcast.
  • Buy a poetry book from a local, independent bookstore.
  • Host a virtual poetry reading on Zoom.

As NPM progresses, tell Falvey if you’ve found a poem that has been a source of comfort, solace, or strength for you. Share that poem with us: DM us on Instagram (@villanovalibrary), tweet us (@FalveyLibrary), or message us on Facebook.


Daniella Snyder HeadshotDaniella Snyder is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the English department. Since she’s back in her childhood home, she’s picking up her favorite poem from when she was a kid: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

 

 


 


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TBR: Followers

By Daniella Snyder

I’m Daniella Snyder, a graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey Library’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics– from research to study habits and everything in between–and how the Falvey Library can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Followers cover image

Hey Wildcats! With spring break around the corner, I’m slowly piling up some books I want to read during my days off. At the top of the list is Followers by Megan Angelo ’06 CLAS, a Villanova English alumna’s debut novel.

Angelo will be meeting with English majors and other interested students on Thursday, April 2, 2:15-3:15 p.m., in SAC 300 to discuss Followers as well as her path to becoming a successful novelist. Angelo’s meeting with students will be followed by a public reading from the novel.

Angelo’s debut is a techno-thriller that explores the present and future stakes of American’s obsession with social media. Orla Cadden dreams of literary success, but she’s stuck writing about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Orla has no idea how to change her life until her new roommate, Flossa striving, wannabe A-listercomes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they so desperately crave. But it’s only when Orla and Floss abandon all pretense of ethics that social media responds with the most terrifying feedback of all: overwhelming success.

Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularitytwelve million loyal followersMarlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything, even horrible things, to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.

Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss, and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection (Google Books).

I’d recommend this book to fans of  George Orwell’s 1984 and Dave Eggers’ The Circle. Next week, crack open Followers. Then, tell us what you think! DM us @villanovalibrary on Instagram or @falveylibrary on Twitter!

 


Daniella Snyder HeadshotDaniella Snyder is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the English department. For spring break, she plans on reading Followers on the train to New York City to visit a long-distance friend.

 

 

 


 


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Do you know these library study spots?

 

I’m Daniella Snyder, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey Library’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics– from research to study habits and everything in between– and how the Falvey Library can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Hey, Wildcats!

I constantly hear from students that it’s hard to find a study spot in the library, especially during stressful times like midterms and finals. So I sent one of our undergraduate student workers, Liam Brassington ’23 VSB, on a mission to find some lesser-known study spots all around Falvey. Use this list as your guide for the final few weeks of the semester!

Falvey Basement:

studying in falvey basement

studyign in Falvey's basement

 

All of these spots are down by the Idea Lab. It’s a pretty quiet hallway with little foot traffic, and the perfect set up for long-term studying.

 

Falvey West Stacks:

Studying in Falvey's West Stacks.

I know the Falvey West Stacks can be a little scary sometimes, but if you want the most isolated and quiet spot in Falvey, this spot is for you.

 

Old Falvey Basement:

Studying in Old Falvey

Look at all of these! comfy! seats!

 

Main Floor:

Studying in the Griffin Room

Whenever there isn’t a class in the Griffin Room, it’s open for studying. Use it!

 

3rd Floor, Old Falvey:

Reading in Falvey 301

Reading in Falvey 301

The third floor of Old Falvey houses the the Graduate Student Lounge, but there are a ton of additional quiet study spots in the hallway.

 


DDaniella Snyder Headshotaniella Snyder, Graduate Assistant in the Communication and Marketing Department, loves to study in Holy Grounds.  


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Falvey’s Fall Bucket List

I’m Daniella Snyder, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey Library’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics–from research to study habits and everything in between–and how Falvey Library can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Happy fall, Wildcats!

In the midst of Halloween, midterms, and seasonal allergies, autumn can get really busy. However, Falvey wants to make sure you use the Library’s great services and resources to ensure a smooth academic semester. So, we created a “Falvey Fall Bucket List,” complete with some of the Library’s essentials for the new season.

We want you to meet with one of our incredible subject librarians to get research help for that upcoming paper. We also think you should utilize our excellent 24-hour study spaces. Even at 2 AM, we promise there are no scary jack-o’-lanterns, bats, or monsters roaming our halls. You can study alone, with classmates, or with friends during all hours of the day for those terrifying midterm exams.

You can get in the fall season spirit with pumpkin spice coffees and muffins in Holy Grounds. We even think you should get #spooky by venturing into the hallowed halls of Falvey West. Did you know there are study spaces there, too? You might even find a book or two.

(We swear that it’s not as scary down there as you think it is!)

If you complete any of the tasks on the Falvey Fall Bucket List, awesome! Take a picture and post it on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Tag the library’s account and use the hashtag #FalveyFallBucketList.

Don’t want to post it? That’s cool, too. Follow us on one of our social media platforms and send us the picture.

For every item on the bucket list you complete, you’ll be entered in to win a $20 gift card to the bookstore!

Good luck!


Daniella Snyder Headshot

Daniella Snyder, our Graduate Assistant in the Communication & Marketing Department, loves fall. She’s most excited for her fall break road trip to Acadia National Park in Maine.


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Celebrate Banned Books Week: See “Orlando”

I’m Daniella Snyder, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University, and your ‘Cat in Falvey Library’s Stacks. I’ll be posting about academics–from research to study habits and everything in between–and how the Falvey Library can play a large role in your success here on campus!

Villanova Theatre is proud to present Orlando directed by Whiting and Barrymore Award winner James Ijames Orlando runs until Oct 6.
Audiences will join the spirited, freethinking nobleman, Orlando on “an epic adventure that transcends time, place, and gender” (New York Times). After awakening from a seven-day slumber, Orlando finds himself transformed into a woman and must navigate society, artistry, and desire from an entirely new perspective. This fantastical, gender-bending, period-hopping parable explores what it means to live in our own skin and in our own time.

Sarah Ruhl’s fantastical adaptation transforms Woolf’s already captivating novel into an entertaining, poetic and ensemble-driven night at the theatre. Using Woolf’s 1928 novel as inspiration for a modern look at identity, gender and desire, Ruhl explores the multitude of possibilities contained within every human being. This timely, textured play examines the ways in which gender and identity have been rediscovered, challenged and transformed over the last decade. As Orlando experiences a complex range of emotions, experiences, obstacles, and discoveries, so too will audience members as they take in a tale that sends home the universality of the human experience.

The multi-talented cast includes Sarah Stryker as Orlando, Angela Longo as Sasha, and Tina Lynch, Kale Thompson, Amy Abrigo, Jay V. Kimberley, Sharese Salters, and Effie Kammer portraying dozens of additional characters throughout the course of the play. Orlando runs at Villanova Theatre in Vasey Hall from Sept. 24-Oct. 6. Buy your tickets here.

The opening of Villanova Theatre’s upcoming production corresponds with national Banned Books Week, a week dedicated to celebrating the freedom to read. Falvey Library has been highlighting librarians’ and staff members’ favorite banned books (check it out on our Instagram @villanovalibrary!).

While Orlando is not currently banned in any libraries or schools (that I know of), Virginia Woolf narrowly missed persecution for her novel in 1928. A few months prior to the publication of Orlando, Woolf testified in court in the interests of free speech and against censorship in favor of a book with similar themes as Orlando: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (Brain Pickings).
However, instead of ending up on the banned book list, Orlando became a best-seller.
Why? Some claim it was Woolf’s writing style that allowed her to avoid censorship, others argue that instead of reinforcing stereotypes, Orlando “exploded all the stereotypes” about gender and same-sex desire.

In preparation for opening night, be sure to loan out a copy of Orlando from Falvey. Not in the mood to read? You can rent the 2010 movie with Tilda Swinton.

Want to know more about Woolf? We have access to Virginia Woolf Miscellany, The Virginia Woolf Review, and The Woolf Studies Annual.

Finally, Sarah Wingo, liaison librarian for English Literature, Theatre, and Romance Languages and Literature, wants to remind you about the Orlando database located in Databases A-Z. It provides entries on authors’ lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies. Interacting with these materials creates a dynamic inquiry from any number of perspectives into centuries of women’s writing.


Daniella Snyder Headshot

Daniella Snyder is a Graduate Assistant in the Communication and Marketing Department of Falvey Library.Her favorite Virginia Woolf book is To the Lighthouse.


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’Cat in the Stacks: Signing Off

CAT-STAX4I’m William Repetto, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University. This is the “‘Cat in the Stacks” column. I’m your ‘cat. I’ll be posting about college life, about learning and growing here at Villanova, and, of course, about the Falvey Memorial Library’s role.


It’s a short drive down Route 1, and a confusing interchange to I-76 West, then a turn south on 476 until a short drive down Lancaster Ave that brings you from La Salle University to Villanova University. Or the opportunity to expand the horizons of your history undergrad with a graduate degree in English ­– that could bring you to Villanova from La Salle as well, especially if the former offers you a very fulfilling graduate assistantship at their campus library.

Here’s me presenting our Diversity and Inclusion Resource Guide idea at Pitch Day, 2017 – one of my favorite memories here at Falvey.

 

When I think about how far some of my fellow graduate students have traveled to be here at ’Nova, I often feel blessed to have had such a minor change in location and studies. I usually have this thought when I park my car over at the Law Garage and start my walk toward Falvey. In fact, I’ve come to see this stroll from west campus to the library as a metaphor for my experience here at Villanova.

As I set out down route 1 from La Salle, so every morning I start walking down the hill from the garage to the train station. As I started my studies here at ’Nova, so too did I feel pulled heavily downward toward readings and papers more difficult than any other I’d yet read or written. Little did I know how quickly things could change. In one very, very short year, I found myself adapted to the workload, and the downward movement leveled off.

My morning walk levels off in the halls of the underground SEPTA tunnel. In my studies, I too ended up in a strange land – albeit a much more scenic one. During the summer between my first and second years, I enrolled in the Abbey Theatre Summer Studio Program. In the course of an MA, I somehow found myself in totally unfamiliar territory – writing a play of all things. My initiation felt somehow complete.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way so far, here at Falvey and beyond.

From here began the uphill climb to the thesis and, ironically enough, the library. Every workday I reached Falvey with the same sense of pride and accomplishment that accompanied my acceptance to Villanova. This morning, as I make this walk for a final time, as I feel the weight of my thesis removed, this is a sense of accomplishment that I’ll never forget. I found my way here a determined explorer, and I arose a Wildcat.


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Article by William Repetto, a graduate assistant in the Communication and Marketing Dept. at the Falvey Memorial Library. He is currently pursuing an MA in English at Villanova University.


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’Cat in the Stacks: A Little Creative Inspiration, Courtesy of Ariel Levy

CAT-STAX4I’m William Repetto, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University. This is the “‘Cat in the Stacks” column. I’m your ‘cat. I’ll be posting about college life, about learning and growing here at Villanova, and, of course, about the Falvey Memorial Library’s role.


Yesterday evening, Ariel Levy visited Falvey’s Speaker’s Corner. She talked at length about her new book The Rules Do Not Apply and her writing process generally. I myself had just read The Rules Do Not Apply in preparation for her visit and have one selection that I’d like to focus on for this week’s ’Cat in the Stacks.

Levy speaks in front of a jam-packed Speakers’ Corner.

Early on in the memoir, before describing her rise to prominence as an author, her miscarriage, and her difficult marriage, Levy posits, “Daring to think that the rules do not apply is the mark of a visionary. It’s also a symptom of narcissism.” I wanted to take some time to dwell on this quote because of it’s powerful message for me as a graduating student, for undergraduates, and for Falvey Memorial Library.

I’ve always seen myself as transgressing the normal “rules” laid down for our generation of college students; instead of majoring in business or communication as an undergrad, I chose to study history, English and French – they seem so “antiestablishment” somehow. I decided early on that I’d study what I really enjoy, not what might have the best material payoff. Overlaying Levy’s quote on my own life, I’ve come to realize in the last year or two that coloring outside the lines requires knowing how to color first.

Allow me to explain in terms of the undergraduate experience. Whether you major in marketing, religious studies, English or engineering, you have probably thought of how to make it on your own, to discard the rules and live on your own terms. Well, Levy’s quote – and indeed her career – shows us that this lifestyle is possible, BUT, if we come at it from the wrong angle, we may seem to all the world like narcissists. We have to learn the foundation of our field before we can construct something entirely new, something visionary.

Levy was even nice enough to leave some writerly advice in my copy of her book!

So, Villanova has become one step in your journey toward “daring to think outside of the rules.” With your liberal arts education, you’ve become prepared to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time – where do you go next? Enter Falvey Memorial Library. Within the databases and stacks, you’ll find the mastery you’re looking for; in the Idea Accelerator, you’ll find a staff of thinkers ready to help you shape your thoughts. Here, we will all team together not to make you rich but to enrich your humanistic ideas.


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Article by William Repetto, a graduate assistant in the Communication and Marketing Dept. at the Falvey Memorial Library. He is currently pursuing an MA in English at Villanova University.


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’Cat in the Stacks: Diversity and Diversification, Revisited

CAT-STAX4I’m William Repetto, a second-year graduate student at Villanova University. This is the “‘Cat in the Stacks” column. I’m your ‘cat. I’ll be posting about college life, about learning and growing here at Villanova, and, of course, about the Falvey Memorial Library’s role.


A few weeks ago, I brought you a ’Cat in the Stacks about our new Diversity and Inclusion Resource Guide and encouraged you to implement the ideas of diversity into your own life. Well, yesterday at Falvey we hosted a panel titled “The Language of Race and Gender in 2018,” featuring Sonia Velasco, Brighid Dwyer, and Dr. Terry Nance. In light of this event, I wanted to revisit the topics of diversity and diversifying.

In my earlier post, I talked about the importance of both educating oneself about and interacting with other cultures, but I also pointed out the ways we can diversify our own lives to aid in personal growth. I’d like to turn presently toward the lessons of our panel to continue that same line of thinking, starting with Brighid Dwyer’s message that the language of diversity changes, i.e., words we used five years ago might not carry the same connotation today.

From left to right: Velasco, Dwyer and Nance

This message drastically deepens our personal understandings of diversity and inclusion – as both a field of study and its practical implementation. For me, this means that some of the messages I learned about these topics even at the beginning of my undergraduate years might not be up-to-date. For you, it might mean that words or phrases that were acceptable during high school have developed a new connotation – meaning (a) you should be sensitive to how you’re saying things and (b) you should always seek out new sensitivities.

I would say also that this perspective on change should affect how we look at diversifying our own lives. Just because something was normal for us five or ten years ago does not mean that it’s normal now. For example, ten years ago it might have been different for me to take an entire day to read. Nowadays, as a graduate student, it’s a break from the norm to take some time off to socialize. Keep this constant change in mind when you think about diversifying your own life – be it by meeting new people or changing your routine.

This all ties back to a message that Dr. Nance gave at the event; different does not equal negativity. This message applies to our language and our personal lives. Just because someone says something differently from how we say it, does not necessarily imply something negative. It’s often worthwhile to learn their point-of-view to improve our own sensitivity (and sensibility!). In your personal life, trying something new has two outcomes: either you enjoy it or, well, not so much; it’s not always negative, so you might as well experience it!

University Librarian and Director of Falvey Memorial Library Millicent Gaskell introduces the panel.

Dwyer also left us with another inspiring message: it all comes down to constant engagement, constant learning and constant reading. We can help you with all of those things here at Falvey. You can visit our Subject Librarians, our stacks, or even the Diversity and Inclusion Resource Guide to engage, learn and read all about diversity and diversification.


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Article by William Repetto, a graduate assistant in the Communication and Marketing Dept. at the Falvey Memorial Library. He is currently pursuing an MA in English at Villanova University.


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Last Modified: April 19, 2018

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