Divine Inspiration at Falvey Library

Digital exhibit Divine Inspiration: Revealing the Sacred in Biblical Texts and Imagery is now live on the Digital Library.

Jacob’s Dream, Gustave Doré

 

 

The digital version of the Divine Inspiration exhibit, featured in the Spring 24 issue of Mosaic, expands upon the themes highlighted in the physical exhibit installed on the first floor of Falvey Library (on display Fall 23-Spring 24).

This complementary digital exhibit showcases the historically significant Bibles featured in the physical exhibit cases with additional supplemental biblical material from Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections.

Viewers can navigate the exhibit to investigate digitized materials pertaining to biblical translations, hand-press printing practices, the history of bible production and education, as well as biblical imagery, engraving practices, and the extremely prolific 19th century biblical illustrator, Gustave Doré. For those who are curious to learn more about bible production, history, and illustration, see the Bibliographical Resources section, which includes the Susan Dunleavy Collection Of Biblical Literature. 

Curators Meg Piorko (Distinctive Collections Librarian) and Mike Sgier (Distinctive Collections Coordinator) are excited to present the digital version of this exhibit to showcase more materials and details of materials from the physical exhibit to a much larger audience.

 

Villanova Wildcats, 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Champions. April 4. Houston, Texas. Courtesy of University Archives.

This week we’re throwing it back to the 2016 National Championship team! With news of Donte DiVincenzo joining Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson on the New York Knicks, Nova Nation is excited to see the former teammates on the court this fall.

Image courtesy of the New York Knicks Twitter.

Image courtesy of the New York Knicks Twitter.

• Ganguli, T. (2023, April 14). ‘Nova to the Knicks: Two College Buddies Pursue Another Title. New York Times, B7(L). https://link-gale-com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/A745502243/OVIC?u=vill_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=81e9d4a3
• Jensen, M. (2023, April 29). Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, former Villanova NCAA stars, are now Knicks playoff stars. (2023, April 29). Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia, PA], NA. https://link-gale-com.ezp1.villanova.edu/apps/doc/A747421942/OVIC?u=vill_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=37a3e13b
• Mahoney, B. (2023, July 2). Donte DiVincenzo joining Knicks, former Villanova teammates, on 4-year deal, AP source says. AP English Worldstream – English. https://library.villanova.edu/Find/EdsRecord/nsm,AP8c01615b1128fa8614058ef355e22514#html

Check out the digital exhibit “Wildcats Past & Present: Moments from the History of Sports at Villanova,” for additional championship memorabilia and unique items representative of the varied sports played at Villanova College, and later Villanova University.

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

In conjugation, with  WXVU 89.1 The Roar’s  big announcement of full ownership of the WXVU call letters, Distinctive Collections is excited to announce our latest digital exhibit, The New Collegiate Sound.

The New Collegiate Sound as a title came from a phrase from the 1964 Belle Air used to describe Villanova radio’s latest reinvention and is emblematic how each generation of Villanovans create a new radio sound representative of them and the times. Thus the exhibit invites you to explore the history of radio on campus from the early days as a radio club in the 1920s to today as FCC-licensed campus radio station.

The exhibit includes great photographs, newspaper clippings, programs, yearbooks, 3D model by Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, and scrapbooks from WXVU radio station.

The exhibit’s 3D image of the radio can be explored with VR in the CAVE. Contact Andrew Grace, andrew.grace@villanova.edu to schedule a demo.

And of course, if you haven’t already, check out WXVU 89.1 FM The Roar on your radio or stream it here: https://wxvu.org.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s book, The Heart of the Antarctic, published in 1909.

This week’s “Throwback Thursday” (TBT) is part of Falvey Memorial Library’s exhibit “That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory. The exhibit, both in the Library’s first floor display cases and online, highlights the generous donation of a collection of books and items about the Arctic and Antarctic recently given to the Library’s Distinctive Collections by Dr. James Wheeler. The exhibit includes connections to other Library materials as well as current issues affecting the polar regions today.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s book, The Heart of the Antarctic, published in 1909, is pictured above. The online exhibit provides additional information on the explorer:

“Sir Ernest Shackleton, an Anglo-Irish explorer, made four expeditions to Antarctica between 1901 and 1922, leading three of them. He was third officer on Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery expedition, 1901-4, before heading his own expedition in 1907 aboard the Nimrod. This expedition, split into two parties, achieved a new record for farthest south of 88° 23′ S; made a first ascent of Mount Erebus, the most active and second-highest volcano on the continent; and were the first to reach the South Magnetic Pole (different from the geographic South Pole first achieved by Amundsen). Shackleton wrote about this expedition in The Heart of the Antarctic, published after their return in 1909.”

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory will be available for viewing on the Library’s first floor through June 15, 2022.

The exhibit was co-curated by Laura Bang and Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Archivist, with graphics by Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication and Marketing.

Comments or questions? Contact dcde@villanova.edu.

Word of the Week: Vernal Equinox (also known as: Spring Equinox, March Equinox) 

Yesterday marked the official first day of Spring! Each year spring is marked by the vernal equinox, which falls around March 20 or 21 and is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going north. 

Equinoxes occur when the axis of rotation of the earth is exactly parallel to the direction of motion of the earth around the sun. Day and night are about the same length on this day, hence the name “equinox.” The name is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). 

Now that we’ve passed the vernal equinox, be prepared for earlier sunrises, later sunsets, softer winds, and sprouting plants—all signs that Spring is here.  

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, June 15

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit | Falvey First Floor & Virtual | Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, March 21 

Mindfulness Mondays | 1–1:30 p.m. | Virtual | https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Monday, March 21 

The Interfaith Human Library: Where Books Talk and We All Learn About Life in a Multi-Faith World | 4:30–6 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Register Here 

Tuesday, March 22 

Scholarship@Villanova–Billie Murray, PhD, on Combating Hate: A Framework for Direct Action | 4–5:15 p.m. | Room 205 | Find more info here 

Wednesday, March 23

2022 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: Introduction to Digital Archives and Research | 12–1 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

Thursday, March 24  

Spring 2022 Digital Seeds Lecture: Matthew Bui, PhD, on “Toward Urban Data Justice: Auditing the Racial Politics of Data” | 4 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

Friday, March 25

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting | 2:30–4:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

March 23, 1839 – “OK” enters national vernacular  

On March 23, 1839, the initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post, partially as a joke. It was meant as an abbreviation for “oll korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct.” However, “OK” then steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans. 

In the late 1830s, many younger people would misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang. Some examples include “KY” for “no use” (“know yuse”) and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).  

OK rose above the rest and made its way into common vernacular even to this day in part thanks to the Boston Morning Post. From there, its popularity continued when it was picked up by politicians at the time. 

Read more from History.com. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Jenna Renaud

Word of the Week: Hiemal  

(adj) of or related to winter; wintry  

With the heimel temperatures we have been experiencing, it does not surprise me that February is here. If your friends or family are tired of hearing you complain about how cold the weather is, up your cold-weather vocabulary and change it up on them. Here you can find a whole list of synonyms for “extremely cold.” 

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, Jan. 15 

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit / Falvey First Floor & Online / Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, Jan. 31

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / Virtual / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849  

Friday, Feb. 4

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30–4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public  

This Week in History 

Feb. 1, 1884– Oxford Dictionary debuts 

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, including not only present-day, common meanings, but also the histories of words included.  

In 1857 members of London’s Philological Society set out to produce an English dictionary covering all words starting during the Anglo-Saxon period (1150 A.D.). Although planned to be 6,400 pages in four volumes, the Dictionary was published under the imposing name A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles – contained over 400,000 words and phrases in ten volumes. 

In 1984, Oxford University Press began the five-year journey to electronically publish the OED. The project required the power of 170 people – 120 people to type up the pages from the print edition and another 50 people to proofread. The online dictionary has been active since 2000.  

To learn more about the development and history of the OED, read the full History.com article here. 

History.com Editors. (2009, November 24). Oxford dictionary debuts. History.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/oxford-dictionary-debuts 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

Falvey Memorial Library is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit, both in the Library’s first floor display cases and online.

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory highlights the generous donation of a collection of books and items about the Arctic and Antarctic recently given to the Library’s Distinctive Collections by Dr. James Wheeler. “In organizing this exhibit, we really wanted to share the depth and range of this new collection,” says Laura Bang, Distinctive Collections Librarian and co-curator of the exhibit. “It was also important that we make connections with our other collections materials as well as current issues affecting the polar regions today such as global warming and climate change. These connections really enhance the relevancy of this collection.”

“The title reflects these themes of ‘imagining’ and ‘remembering’ that are present throughout the exhibit,” says Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Archivist and the other co-curator. “Many of the items on display are published narrative memoirs of expedition journeys written for general audiences.” From the exhibit introduction:

While these explorative voyages were scientific in nature, the books satisfied public fascination with the polar regions by visualizing previously unknown territories through word and image. But even as explorers filled in and corrected maps and myths, we continue to imagine and construct—from works of pure fiction to conjectures of lost expeditions. And as we read about “that fairyland of ice” we watch it slowly disappear as dire warnings about climate change threaten what we have come to know of the Arctic and Antarctic—once again to mind and memory.

The online exhibit contains additional materials beyond what is on display in the Library. “We are physically limited by what will actually fit in the cases,” says Oviedo, “and we can only show one page of a book at a time, for example, whereas online we can show several pages or even an entire book if we want.” Links to items that have been fully digitized in Villanova’s Digital Library are included when applicable. The online exhibit includes additional section headings as well as a Q & A with Dr. James Wheeler about collecting and acquiring the eclectic collection that now bears his name.

The exhibit was curated by Oviedo and Bang. Graphics created by Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication and Marketing. Photos courtesy of Kallie Stahl, Communication and Marketing Specialist.

By Beaudry Rae Allen

Junior Week Committee, 1934

Distinctive Collections is excited to announce our new Spring exhibit, Blazers & Class Rings: Junior Week at Villanova.

Corsage pinning, 1951

Take a peek into Villanova traditions from the past with this digital exhibit that explores Junior Week, one of the most popular week-long events on campus. The honored tradition of Juniors receiving their senior blazers and class ring, celebrating all things Junior, and, of course, a special visit from Mother. All the items in the exhibit are from the University Archives.

Junior Week Mascot, 1948

Our latest online exhibit, “Rediscovering T. A. Daly: Immigrant Voices in Poetry,” is now available, just as April’s National Poetry Month draws to a close. The exhibit explores the life and works of Thomas Augustine Daly (1871-1948), a native and lifelong Philadelphian; an Irish-American and a Catholic; a journalist, poet, and prolific author; and an early Villanova University alumnus.

This exhibit brings together newly digitized materials from Falvey Memorial Library’s collections, including Daly’s notebooks from his Villanova days (1880-1887), a scrapbook documenting his early career, and the majority of his published books.

These items are also available in the Digital Library, while the exhibit provides context around the poetry—written mainly in Italian-American and Irish-American dialect—for which he was best known. His collective works give us glimpses into his own life deeply rooted in Philadelphia’s Irish and Catholic communities, with his poetry strongly themed around a broader American identity through the everyday characters he created.

Visit the online exhibit here: https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/t-a-daly.

Photograph, Thomas A. Daly (with wife and children), c. 1910. Villanova Photograph Collection. Villanova University Archives, Villanova University. Thomas Daly and Ann “Nannie” Barrett had eight children: Leonard (b. 1897), John (b. 1899), Tom Jr. (b. 1901), Anne (Nancy) Elizabeth (b. 1903), Stephen (b. 1904), Brenda (1907-1914), Frederic (b. 1908), and Frances Joan (b. 1914).

Rebecca Oviedo is Distinctive Collections Librarian/Archivist at Falvey Memorial Library.

To continue our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, this throwback Thursday we’re featuring a picture of Dublin from 1821. You can almost imagine the leprechauns hiding in the hills of Phoenix Park in Dublin. This photograph is housed in the Joseph McGarrity collection in Falvey’s digital library. 

This photo is also featured in Rambles, Sketches, Tours: Travellers & Tourism in Ireland. This exhibit highlights Irish travel narratives and related materials, primarily from the Joseph McGarrity Collection, in Falvey Memorial Library’s Special Collections.

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.