If this is your first year at Villanova, please take a moment to browse some of the Library’s event offerings. Scroll to view links to most of Falvey’s sponsored and co-sponsored events from the 2021-22 academic year. Falvey Memorial Library hosts a number of in-person and virtual events each semester. View a list of upcoming Library events here. We know the Villanova community has many academic and social commitments during the year, so if you missed an event last semester, or if you just want to watch a particular event again, check out the list of Library programming below.

Scholarship@Villanova featuring Billie Murray, PhD, on Combating Hate: A Framework for Direct Action

The United States has a hate problem. In recent years, hate speech has led not only to deep division in our politics but also to violence, murder, and even insurrection. And yet established constitutional jurisprudence holds that proper response to hateful expression is not government regulation, but “more speech.” So how can ordinary citizens stand up to hate groups when the state will not? What does “more speech” look like in our contemporary moment? In Combating Hate, Billie Murray, PhD, proposes answers to these questions. As a scholar-activist at public protests against the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and Westboro Baptist Church, Murray researched firsthand the limitations of the ‘more speech’ approach as well as the myriad of tactics used by activists. Dr. Murray argues that while more speech tactics can be effective in some contexts, what is also needed in this ongoing struggle are combative tactics that embody a radically different strategy for combating hate—one that explodes the myth of content neutrality and reveals hate speech to be a tactic of fascist organizing with very real, highly anti-democratic consequences.

Watch the lecture here.

Reading the Bible in Black: the Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart

Birds of North America: A Reading and Artist’s Talk
The event is a celebration of the publication of Birds of North America, an artist’s book that is accompanying a show at The Drawing Room in Philadelphia with images by Susan Hagen and poems by Nathalie Anderson and Lisa Sewell. At the event, Susan Hagen showed slides and gave an artist’s talk and Lisa and Nathalie read from their series of collaborative poems that focus on the birds.

Villanova University Three Minute Thesis Finals

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a competition for master’s and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills. 3MT cultivates students’ academic, professional, presentation and research communication skills. To be successful, competitors must effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Watch the presentations here.

2021 Outstanding Faculty Research Award Lecture

The 2021 Outstanding Faculty Research Award Lecture featuring co-recipients Christopher Kilby, PhD, and Samantha K. Chapman, PhD. Dr. Kilby and Dr. Chapman each gave presentations that highlighted the extensive research that led them to win the coveted Outstanding Faculty Research Award in 2021. First, Dr. Kilby, Professor, Department of Economics, Villanova School of Business, discussed his work on US influence in the World Bank and how this can undermine the institution’s apolitical mandate to alleviate poverty and provide important global public goods. The talk focused on Dr. Kilby’s recent projects that explored the role of US domestic politics in this process and on the World Bank’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a short Q&A and break, Dr. Chapman, Professor, Department of Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, spoke on how coastal wetlands protect human communities from big storms and help mitigate climate change through carbon storage. Dr. Chapman explored how these thin strips of green that line the earth’s coasts are threatened by sea level rise and development, and how we can manage our coasts to help us adapt to climate change and move into a more sustainable future.

Watch the lectures here.

Conversation with Villanova 2022 Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies Emma Dabiri and NYU Sociologist Dr. Kim DaCosta

Emma Dabiri has written two very successful non-fiction books: Twisted (published as Don’t Touch My Hair in Ireland) and What White People Can Do Next. Her work in the arts, fashion, and the media are complemented by her academic teaching and research in African Studies and Visual Sociology. She is currently completing her PhD at Goldsmiths University, London. The Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Chair of Irish Studies is held in the Spring semester of each academic year by a distinguished Irish writer. Inaugurated in 2000, it has become one of the most prestigious Irish Studies positions in the United States. Typically, the Heimbold Professor teaches two undergraduate seminar courses, one in Creative Writing and one in Irish Literature, allowing Irish Studies students to have the enriching experience of a close classroom experience with Ireland’s finest voices.

Kimberly DaCosta, PhD, is a sociologist interested in racial inequality and, in particular, the contemporary production of racial boundaries. Her book, Making Multiracials: State, Family, and Market in the Redrawing of the Color Line (Stanford University Press, 2007), explores the cultural and social underpinnings of the movement to create multiracial collective identity in the United States. She is currently writing on how interracial extended kin relationships speak to questions of interracial empathy, care and politics. She teaches courses on race in different societies, social mobility, consumerism, and the commercialization of intimate life.

Watch the conversation here.

2022 Villanova University Literary Festival: Jericho Brown

Jericho Brown is author of the The Tradition (Copper Canyon 2019), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and he is the winner of the Whiting Award. Brown’s first book, Please (New Issues 2008), won the American Book Award. His second book, The New Testament (Copper Canyon 2014), won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. His third collection, The Tradition, won the Paterson Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the director of the Creative Writing Program and a professor at Emory University.

For more information on Brown, please visit his website.

Watch the reading here.

2022 Villanova University Literary Festival: Emma Dabiri

Emma Dabiri, our 2022 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair in Irish Studies, is an Irish writer, academic, BBC broadcaster, and social media influencer who has written two very successful non-fiction books: Twisted (published as Don’t Touch My Hair in Ireland) and What White People Can Do Next. Her work in the arts, fashion, and the media are complemented by her academic teaching and research in African Studies and Visual Sociology. She is currently completing her PhD at Goldsmiths University, London.

For more information on Dabiri, please visit her website.

Watch the reading here.

2022 Villanova University Literary Festival: Camille Dungy

Camille T. Dungy’s debut collection of personal essays is Guidebook to Relative Strangers (W. W. Norton, 2017), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is also the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Trophic Cascade (Wesleyan UP, 2017), winner of the Colorado Book Award. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2019. She is a professor in the English department at Colorado State University.

Watch the reading here.

2022 Villanova University Literary Festival: Tiphanie Yanique

Tiphanie Yanique is a novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer. She is the author of the poetry collection, Wife, which won the 2016 Bocas Prize in Caribbean poetry and the United Kingdom’s 2016 Forward/Felix Dennis Prize for a First Collection. Tiphanie is also the author of the novel, Land of Love and Drowning, which won the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Award from the Center for Fiction, the Phillis Wheatley Award for Pan-African Literature, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Family Foundation Award, and was listed by NPR as one of the Best Books of 2014. Land of Love and Drowning was also a finalist for the Orion Award in Environmental Literature and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. She is a tenured associate professor at Emory University.

For more information on Yanique, please visit her website.

Watch the reading here.

2022 CONCEPT Virtual Recognition Ceremony

We celebrate the official launch of the 2022 issue of CONCEPT, the interdisciplinary journal of graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The ceremony recognized this year’s Graduate Research Prize for top paper, along with all of the student authors and editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers. 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 2022 edition of CONCEPT marks the 45th release of the journal.

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

Watch the ceremony here.

Scholarship@Villanova talk featuring Mark Schrad, PhD, on Smashing the Liquor Machine: A Global History of Prohibition

A Scholarship@Villanova talk featuring Mark Schrad, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, on his book Smashing the Liquor Machine: A Global History of Prohibition. “Schrad’s pathbreaking history of prohibition looks at the anti-alcohol movement around the globe through the experiences of pro-temperance leaders like Vladimir Lenin, Leo Tolstoy, Thomás Masaryk, Kemal Atatürk, Mahatma Gandhi, and anti-colonial activists across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Schrad argues that temperance wasn’t ‘American exceptionalism’ at all, but rather one of the most broad-based and successful transnational social movements of the modern era” (Oxford University Press, 2021).

View the lecture here.

2022 Falvey Scholars Virtual Research Presentation and Awards Ceremony

This program provides the opportunity to recognize outstanding undergraduate research by the senior students who were selected as the 2022 Falvey Scholars from across Villanova’s campus. The event also serves as a recognition of the dedication of faculty in supporting undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. During the event, award recipients shared a video and provided a brief 10-minute presentation to highlight their overall research process and showcased a summary of their winning project. Presentations emphasized the use of Library resources, which included one-on-one librarian consultations, reference workshops, library books, and journals, access to Interlibrary Loan, databases, and even quiet study space. Five minutes of live Q&A take place after each student presentation.

Watch the presentations here.

Alfred F. Mannella and Rose T. Lauria-Mannella Endowed Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture featuring Poet Maria Famà

The 2021-2022 Alfred F. Mannella and Rose T. Lauria-Mannella Endowed Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture featuring Poet Maria Famà. Famà’s talk is titled, “Mining an Italian Heritage for Poems.” As a poet of Sicilian descent, she mines the richness of the oral culture that has been passed down by her family of storytellers. Famà writes her poems to preserve family tales, personalities, sufferings, joys, and wisdom for future generations. In her presentation, she gives examples of her poems from her various books and explains how they came into being.

Famà is the author of eight books of poetry. Her work appears in numerous publications and has been anthologized. Famà has read her poetry in many cities across the U.S. and shared one of her stories on National Public Radio. She co-founded a video production company and recorded her poetry for CD compilations of music and poetry.

To learn more, check out Maria Famà’s website here.

Watch the reading here.

Faculty OER Adoption Award Forum

Join the Affordable Materials Project (AMP) in celebrating faculty members, Jeanne Liedtka, JD, and Valentina DeNardis, PhD, awarded Open Educational Resource (OER) Faculty Adoption Grants for 2021-22 in a virtual forum. Faculty shared their insights into the benefits and challenges posed by redesigning their courses using FREE, OPENLY LICENSED TEXTBOOKS. Students shared feedback on using OER. This event is perfect for faculty considering or curious about OER and everyone interested in educational affordability, accessibility, and inclusivity.

Watch the panel here.

Matthew Bui, PhD, on “Toward Urban Data Justice: Auditing the Racial Politics of Data”

A virtual talk by Matthew Bui, PhD, on “Toward Urban Data Justice: Auditing the Racial Politics of Data” as part of Falvey Memorial Library’s Digital Seeds Speaker Series. What is the role of (open and big) data in enacting, facilitating, and/or limiting racial justice within an increasingly datafied society? This talk explores the relationship between marginalized communities of color and data, foregrounding questions about power, inequality, and justice. First, Dr. Bui briefly touches on a study that proposes a typology of community-based engagements with, and disengagements from, data for racial justice: namely, data use, re-use, and refusal. Building on this work and considering the politics of data re-use and refusal to keep powerful actors accountable, Dr. Bui discusses in detail a second longer-term project exploring questions of algorithmic accountability and the predatory nature of data-driven systems: specifically, a study that aims to audit and examine online targeted ads as racially discriminatory by nature. In all, this work theorizes and conceptualizes “urban data justice” as a community-engaged vision and reparative praxis in response to what Dr. Bui and his team are conceptualizing as “algorithmic discrimination.” In all, he asks: how do we tell stories with—and about—data? Who benefits from dominant narratives? How can we subvert unequal power relations within—and of—data? What new methods, frameworks, and language do we need for these endeavors?

Watch the talk here.

David R. Ambaras, PhD, and Kate McDonald, PhD on “Bodies and Structures 2.0: Scalar and the Practice of Digital Spatial History”

A virtual talk by David R. Ambaras, PhD, and Kate McDonald, PhD on “Bodies and Structures 2.0: Scalar and the Practice of Digital Spatial History” as part of Falvey Memorial Library’s Digital Seeds Speaker Series. The fundamental intervention of spatial humanistic scholarship is the notion that space is multi-vocal—that places are made up of layers of meaning and history; that layers of place produce distinct geographic footprints and sets of spatial relationships; and that one’s social-historical positionality or “body” shapes how one encounters particular spatial “structures.” Launched in 2021, Bodies and Structures 2.0 examines the dynamics of place- and space-making in modern East Asia. In this presentation, Dr. Ambaras and Dr. McDonald discussed how they developed Bodies and Structures 2.0’s unique combination of individually-authored modules and collectively-curated conceptual maps and visualizations and how they used the open-source Scalar platform to build our multivocal project.

Watch the talk here.

Polar Voyaging and the Humanities with Hester Blum, PhD, Professor of English at Penn State

In the summer of 2019 Blum was the lone humanities scholar on a scientific expedition tracking climate change in the Northwest Passage. Drawn from her experience on the Arctic icebreaker (and on an Antarctic expedition), as well as her research on nineteenth-century polar expeditions, Blum’s talk offers a meditation on ice as a measure for visualizing, writing about, mourning, and mediating the state of the climate in an age of ecological and institutional crisis. The event was offered in support of Falvey Memorial Library’s current exhibit “That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory.”

Watch the talk here.

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

Happy Holidays, Wildcats! Looking for some reading recommendations for the semester recess? The Falvey Memorial Library staff shares a few suggestions below.

Roberta Pierce, Access & Collections Coordinator:

• The Invited by Jennifer McMahon.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Darren Poley, Associate Director of Research Services:

• Franz Jägerstätter: Letters and Writings from Prison edited by Erna Putz and translated by Robert A. Krieg.
• The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Linda Hauck, Business Librarian:

• Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America by Eyal Press.
• Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America by Alec MacGillis.
• No One is Taking About This by Patricia Lockwood.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Michael Foight, Director of  Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement:

• The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen.
• Burning Boy: The Life and Work of Stephen Crane by Paul Auster.
• The Education of Corporal John Musgrave: Vietnam and Its Aftermath by John Musgrave.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Meg Schwoerer-Leister, Access and Collections Coordinator:

Sarah Wingo, Librarian for English Literature, Theatre, & Romance Languages:

• My recommendation is for Harry Potter fans, who love the world but maybe wish there was better more inclusive representation in the Harry Potter world. The Simon Snow book series (currently three books Wayward Son, Carry On, and Any Way the Wind Blows), by Rainbow Rowell are pretty literally Harry Potter fan fiction. Characters have different names and not everything is the same, but it’s not that these books are like Harry Potter, they are directly commenting on and engaging with Harry Potter. Rowell is herself a prolific award-winning author, and I’ve really enjoyed this series. The audiobooks are excellent if that is more your speed. Link to series: https://bit.ly/3pw3LPI

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Deborah Bishov, Social Sciences & Instructional Design Librarian:

•  My reading recommendation is The Hidden Palace (2021), long awaited sequel to The Golem and the Jinni (2013), both by Helene Wecker. They’re magical realist fantasy that immerse you completely in a richly detailed world where mystical beings end up in turn of last century New York City and face otherworldly obstacles and human dilemmas.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Shawn Proctor, Communication & Marketing Program Manager:

• Aristole and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. This is a unique and memorable novel about friendship and self-discovery. A book that both reads quickly and lingers in your memory for a long time. Bonus: the sequel book just came out.
• Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer. A tightly written mystery by a master puzzle maker and author. It feels a part of the time in which it is set and refreshingly modern, using Sherlock Holmes as inspiration and foil to Enola’s ingenuity and pluck. If you’ve been wanting to see what the Netflix movie’s buzz is about, this is the best place to start.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Ethan Shea, Communication & Marketing Graduate Assistant:

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I’ve heard endless praise about The Picture of Dorian Gray, so this winter, I’m finally taking the plunge and checking this novel off my to-read list. The story follows a young and beautiful Dorian Gray as he sells his soul to ensure he will never age or lose his beauty. Gray continues to live a worry-free but sinful life while the consequences of his actions become visible in his portrait.
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I hope to read Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles over winter break, a fresh take on the story of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. A couple of my friends have recommended Miller’s books to me, and this particular text aligns with my interest in Greco-Roman mythology. 
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In anticipation of a class on the African novel I’ll be taking next semester, I’m excited to read Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.  I’ve heard Achebe’s depiction of colonialism and masterful use of language is incredibly moving to say the least, so I can’t wait to read this classic novel.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication & Marketing:

• At Christmas time, not only do I like to eat cookies, I like to read about them, too. That’s why I’m excited to see several delicious looking new cookie cookbooks on the horizon, including one by legendary baker Rose Levy Beranbaum. When Rose titles a book with a food item and then the word Bible after it, you know The Cookie Bible will be a must-read. The pandemic has affected its delivery date, but you can pre-order it on Amazon.
• Also on my cookie-cooking radar is Sweet Talk Cookies, by Hayley Callaway. This one teaches you all the tools to ice/stencil and uber-customize cookies to feature any art that you wish–including an amazing turkey from a peace sign cookie cutter–which of course, every Villanovan should own.
• And finally, It’s Not Just Cookies, by Tiffany and John Chen tells the story of two college sweethearts and entrepreneurs who began a multi-million dollar cookie business, Tiff’s Treats, in an off-campus apartment at the University of Texas, Austin. Sound like they’re two smart cookies, for sure.

Image courtesy of Amazon.

By Jenna Renaud 

This semester is coming to a close as well as 2021, so it’s the perfect time to reflect back on my third semester working in Falvey as a Graduate Assistant (GA.) Also, I may or may not be stealing the idea from Falvey’s other GA Ethan, so make sure to check out his post! At the beginning of this semester, I officially handed off the duties of Cat in the Stax to Ethan.

As excited as I was to see someone new take over the role and provide their creativity, I wasn’t sure where that left me in regard to blog writing. That being said, reflecting back, I definitely was able to fill my semester with fun and challenging projects and content to take on! 

Courtesy of Jenna – Beckett Bites

The first weekly blog post I took on this semester was Peek at the Week, a preview of all the events going on in the upcoming week. I then expanded that to include a “Word of the Week” and a “This Week in History” section. Looking back, I would have to say that my favorite “Word of the Week” probably had to be my first, “petrichor” or the smell of rain. This was also a word I learned during a team meeting at my summer internship and was able to bring over into my job here! Through my “This Week in History” sections, I learned more about historic events from the opening of the New York subway to the lore surrounding the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. 

In addition to expanding my history knowledge every week, my Weekend Recs allowed me to scour the internet to deliver snapshots on what is going on in the world. From recapping important topics like COVID vaccinations to silly topics like potatoes, I kept up with the news and maintained a pulse on what was happening outside of my Villanova community bubble. I also got the opportunity to write about some of my favorite topics including Taylor Swift, the NFL and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Falvey continuously challenges me to find ways to tie my passions and interests into my Falvey writings and the Villanova community.  

Writing for the blog has also allowed me to create and maintain relationships outside of Falvey, including with Villanova Theatre! Last year I got a taste of Villanova Theatre through their virtual productions; however, fall 2021 brought the full experience and the opportunity to see the first live performances in the brand-new John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. This semester I covered “WHITE” and co-wrote a blog on “Beckett Bites” with Ethan. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the theatre community and promote incredibly talented individuals every semester. 

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week display

Being back in-person full-time for the fall semester brought with it new and exciting changes to my daily duties. Rather than being in the office solo once a week, I was surrounded by my co-workers and a team of student workers! The opportunities for collaboration were something I didn’t know I craved so much coming out of last year. From learning the ropes on poster deliveries from Kelly, to collaborating on the Taylor Weekend Recs with Anna, to reading Allie’s Flick or Flip blogs, I have genuinely enjoyed growing with all of Falvey’s student workers.  

Being on campus altogether also calls for more displays and events! Putting up the Homelessness Awareness Week display with Anna challenged me to think about ways to get students’ attention for important topics through a static display. Our salty & sweet finals grab-and-go table required creative thinking to find a way to help relieve students’ stress in a COVID-safe way!  

All in all, I cannot express how grateful I am for this past semester at Falvey and part of what made it great was you all reading and engaging! Time is flying by and I am excited to make Spring 2022 the best semester yet. Cheers to 2022! 

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

Image courtesy of Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication & Marketing.

Falvey Library service hours for winter break are listed below. Happy Holidays, Nova Nation!

Winter Break Service Hours

• Saturday 12/18: Closed (24/7 access available)
• Sunday 12/19: Closed (24/7 access available)
• Monday 12/20: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Tuesday 12/21: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Wednesday 12/22: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access unavailable after 4:30 p.m.)
  

24/7 access is unavailable from 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday 12/22 until 6 a.m. on Wednesday 1/5. The Library building will be fully locked and closed during this time period.

• Wednesday 1/5: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Thursday 1/6: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Friday 1/7: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Saturday 1/8: 12 p.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)
• Sunday 1/9: 12 p.m.—8 p.m. (book stacks close at 7:30 p.m., 24/7 access available)

Regular semester hours resume on Monday 1/10, 8 a.m.—12 a.m.

Masks must be worn on all floors and spaces of the building, regardless of vaccination status. Electronic collections (articles, e-books and more!) are accessible through the Library’s website 24/7.

By Ethan Shea

For my last “Cat in the Stax” of the semester, I thought it would be fun to write a semester recap and reflect on some of my favorite moments from fall 2021 while looking ahead toward what the new year holds!

To get the obvious out of the way, this was my first semester at Villanova University and first time publishing “Cat in the Stax” blogs. In my humble opinion, I think the transition to life as a wildcat has gone smoothly, and I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Villanova community.

“Cow Community” by Yunuen Cho

As for my favorite “Cat in the Stax” blog, I have to say I’m particularly attached to my post for Hispanic Heritage Month, “Appreciating Hispanic Visual Artists.” I really enjoyed the research that went into that blog, and I loved having the opportunity to promote an upcoming artist.

Writing these blogs has had a substantial impact on my day-to-day life too. After writing about Fantastic Mr. Fox in the “Fall Films for the Faint of Heart” blog, I put the movie on repeat for the next month and started listening to the soundtrack while studying. A couple songs from the film even made it onto my Spotify Wrapped! Additionally, since writing the blog on “Hayao Miyazaki’s (Un)retirement” a few weeks ago, I’ve been watching Studio Ghibli movies whenever I get the chance. I won’t be surprised if some Ghibli scores make it onto my wrapped playlists in 2022.

And speaking of music, my “What are you listening to ?” blog from early in the semester was definitely a highlight for me. It forced me to narrow down some of my favorite musicians and choose a group of artists with diverse styles to present. I enjoyed the process of putting what I love about each album to words too. It helped me appreciate the music even more than I already did.

Scene from “Fantastic Mr. Fox”

“Mood Valiant” by Hiatus Kaiyote

“Cat in the Stax” blogs also taught me lots of fun facts. For example, who knew the Department of Transportation oversees timezones in the United States? I certainly didn’t until I wrote “Why Daylight Saving Time Scares Me.” Moreover, discovering that late-night study sessions can actually be productive by writing the “Answering All Your Study Questions” blog has made me feel a lot better about my nocturnal habits.

And we can’t forget the memorable events tied to “Cat in the Stax” blogs this semester. My personal favorite was Wildcat Thrifting. Not only was this the first student-run Wildcat Thrift ever, I also discovered some more places to thrift near campus while writing the blog for it.

Photo from Wildcat Thrift

As for next semester, there are plenty of occasions I’m looking forward to. For one, Lit Fest 2022 is sure to be a hit, and I’m excited to learn about all the amazing writers that will be there!

There are plenty more “Cat in the Stax” blogs to come next year, and I truly appreciate everyone who reads these posts!

To wrap things up, I hope everyone enjoys winter break and finds time to read a good book. Happy holidays!

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.

Found this hidden on Falvey’s second floor. Thought we’d share as the semester comes to a close.

Good luck on finals, Nova Nation!

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

Not many people enjoy the early sunset, yet campus still looks pretty with lights.

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

Hang in there, Wildcats—the semester break is almost here! Beginning this Friday, Dec. 3, Falvey Library will have extended service hours the next two weekends:

Friday, December 3: 8 a.m.–10 p.m. (book stacks close at 9:30 p.m.)
Saturday, December 4: 9 a.m.–10 p.m. (book stacks close at 9:30 p.m.)

Friday, December 10: 8 a.m.–10 p.m. (book stacks close at 9:30 p.m.)
Saturday, December 11: 9 a.m.–10 p.m. (book stacks close at 9:30 p.m.)

For a full listing of service hours, visit the Library website.

Looking for a place to study? Villanova students, faculty, and staff may enter the Library building 24/7. Masks must be worn on all floors and spaces of the building, regardless of vaccination status. Electronic collections (articles, e-books, and more!) are accessible through the Library’s website 24/7.

Good luck on finals, Nova Nation!

Photo courtesy of Shawn Proctor, Communication & Marketing Program Manager.

Welcome back, Wildcats! Falvey’s third and fourth floors are open for quiet study. Group study rooms remain unavailable. For more fall semester FAQs, visit the library website.

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

By Ethan Shea

The 2021 Fall Semester is finally beginning, and for many it’s an exciting return to campus and some semblance of normalcy. With new schedules comes new opportunities and goals, but goal-setting isn’t always easy, so be sure to start SMART this fall.

What do I mean by start SMART?

SMART is an acronym used to help you set goals that you’ll be more likely to achieve. I’ve personally found that using SMART goals helps most when my planner starts to fill up and life begins to get busy, but everyone can benefit from learning a bit about them.

Specific

If your goal is not clearly defined, it’s easy to find a way out of accomplishing it. For example, if my goal is to run more this semester, I would be better off planning to run “five days per week” rather than just telling myself to run “more.” Ask yourself when and where you will work to achieve your goal and write it down. This way, there is less margin for error.

Measurable

Most large goals aren’t achieved in an hour, day, or even a week. As a result, it’s helpful to take note of how you’re progressing toward your goal. Maybe you want to read five books this semester. After you finish one, write it down. Now you’re only four books away from reaching your goal!

Achievable

All goals worth setting should be challenging, but this doesn’t mean they should be impossible to achieve. It’s not helpful to tell you set a goal of growing wings and flying this semester. Of course, you couldn’t do that. The main idea to take away from this portion of your SMART goal is to always ask how you will reach your goal. If you can’t answer this question, maybe your goal, like the wish for wings, is for the birds.

Relevant

When all is said and done, what will you have gained from achieving your goal? All you’ll get from having a goal of eating fast food everyday is a stomach ache, but practicing a language for five minutes daily will bring you one step closer to fluency. Even if a goal is worthwhile, it may not be the right time to achieve it. Maybe your schedule is especially hectic this semester. You don’t want your goals to get in the way of each other, so make sure you plan accordingly.

Time-Bound

If there is not a set date your goal needs to be achieved by, you’ll have more leeway to neglect the work needed to accomplish it. The next time you’re aiming for an A on an exam, write down specific times you plan to study for it. That way you’ll know exactly how much time you’re putting aside, so you’ll be able to focus on all of life’s other obligations accordingly.

In general, some of the most common goals for students are to make new friends and get good grades. Luckily, Falvey Memorial Library is here to help. From astronomy to accounting, librarians who specialize in each subject can be found with the help of Falvey’s subject guides. In addition to your academic aspirations, the Library is a great place to accomplish your social goals and spend time with friends. Maybe even grab a coffee together at Holy Grounds.

No matter what your goals are for this semester, stay safe and stay SMART!

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student at Villanova and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.