By Ethan Shea

Vendor Station at Wildcat Thrift Event

Last Friday, Villanova hosted the first-ever Wildcat Thrift Shop. As someone who loves to thrift, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to write about another interest of mine while hopefully learning something in the process.

The recent thrifting event seemed to be very popular, and I’m not surprised. There are plenty of reasons to thrift.

For one, new clothes are ridiculously expensive. As cute as that jacket at Urban Outfitters is, I can’t bring myself to spend $90 on it, so if you’re looking to save a few bucks, thrifting is the way to go.

Students wait to enter a busy Wildcat Thrift event

Thrifting is also sustainable! By re-using or repurposing an article of clothing, you’re preventing it from ending up in a landfill. You’re also distancing yourself from the waste that comes with packaging new products. I can confirm from working in retail for a couple years that A LOT of waste is created in the process of shipping new clothing to stores.

Just as thrifting invites shoppers to make a positive environmental impact, Falvey Library is keen on sustainability initiatives. The JSTOR Sustainability database is accessible through Falvey and will keep you updated on all things eco-friendly. If you’d like to read more on this topic, check out this blog from earlier this year.

Although Villanova’s recent event was all about finding new outfits, thrifting is not only about clothes. You can find all sorts of strange and entertaining items at thrift stores. One of my favorite purchases was a Coca-Cola themed toaster designed to toast hotdogs and hotdog buns. Did I ever use this toaster? No, but it was only $5 and a great conversation starter, so I have no regrets.

And don’t forget about used books! Most thrift shops sell books for only a few dollars, and you can usually find some classics on their shelves. The amount of second-hand books I’ve bought rivals the number of books I’ve checked out from the library, which goes to show that reading can find its way into just about any activity.

Finally, furniture is another great item to thrift. My aunt and uncle are experts at taking used furniture and “flipping,” or refurbishing and altering, the old pieces to make them into something that is both stylish and seemingly brand new. They were actually featured in an episode (Season 14 Episode 4) of Flea Market Flip on HGTV!

A few places near campus to thrift are the Bryn Mawr Hospital Thrift Shop, the Goodwill in East Norriton (my local Goodwill), and the Junior League Thrift Shop.

Altogether, for the sake of your pockets, your style, and our environment, be sure to visit your local thrift shop as soon as possible!

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

By Jutta Seibert

Against considerable odds the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization has flourished since its launch in 1965. In an article published in 1982 in Jewish Historical Studies, Louis Littman, the series’ founder, recounted his goals for the series and the obstacles he faced in realizing them.

Littman, who grew up in Brighton in the thirties, blamed the relative ignorance of the Jewish intellectual tradition among British Jews on a lack of English translations of classical Hebrew scholarship. He hoped to change the status quo by commissioning translations and publishing Hebrew scholarship in English in a series dedicated to the memory of his father.

However, publishers showed little interest in his project as the series was not expected to be a commercial success and qualified translators were few and far between. It took considerable effort to get the project off the ground.

The first book in the series was a small volume of Hebrew poems from medieval Spain. On its jacket, Littman described the scope of his project:

“The aim of the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization is to present to the English-speaking public a selection of some of the finest products of the Jewish religious and literary genius. It is hoped that this Library will help to encourage a revival of interest in a religious and literary Heritage, much of which has been virtually closed to those unfamiliar with the language in which it is enshrined.”

In 2017, the Littman Library entered a publishing partnership with Liverpool University Press and launched its first e-books. The Villanova community acquired electronic access to the series through JSTOR. A subset of books from the series is also available in print.

Related resources:

• Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (JSTOR)
• Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (selected print volumes)
• Littman, L.T.S. “The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization.” Jewish Historical Studies 29 (1988): 311-325. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29779823.
• “Mr. Louis Littman.” Obituary. Times (London), December 21, 1987. The Times Digital Archive.
• Goldstein, David, ed. Hebrew Poems of Spain. Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2007.

Jutta Seibert is Director of Research Services & Scholarly Engagement at Falvey Memorial Library.

Do you have an interest in sustainability research? If so, be sure to check out JSTOR Sustainability, one of Falvey’s resources. This database provides a wide range of scholarly journals, ebooks, and research reports in effort to help you stay informed on topics related to sustainability. Having celebrated the landmark 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, there is no better time to dig into this dynamic resource!

Within this database, users have the option to search for content on a broad range of topics related to sustainability. Some featured topics include:

• Agricultural productivity
• Agroforestry
• Carbon footprint
• Climate change policy
• Conservation biology
• Emissions trading
• Energy policy
• Environmental education
• Environmental engineering
• Environmental history
• Environmental law
• Food security
• Green buildings
• Human ecology
• Industrial ecology
• Land use planning
• Natural resources
• Nature conservation
• Population geography
• Renewable energy
• Resource economics
• Sustainable cities
• Sustainable urban infrastructure
• Transportation planning
• Urban development
• Waste management
• Water quality
• Wetland conservation

There are many other topics you can delve deeper into as well, depending on your interest or research needs.

Matters of sustainability impact all people, so the JSTOR Sustainability database could potentially be of use to not only scholars in environmental science/studies, sustainable engineering, global health and peace and justice fields, but really to anyone who has a general interest in climate studies or wants to learn more about living a sustainable life. In fact, Villanova University has expressed a pledge to sustainability efforts through its Climate Commitment, so the information found within this database is of great significance to all Villanovans—past, present, and future.

If you need help using this or any other library resource, you can Live Chat or email a reference librarian at ref@villanova.edu.

Be sure to check out JSTOR Sustainability to stay informed on the latest and greatest information in sustainability research.

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

By Regina Duffy

In order to support faculty and student scholars who continue to work remotely into the summer, Falvey recently added JSTOR’s Security Studies to its growing list of new and expanding resources. This database has broad interdisciplinary appeal and is useful to those interested not only in the study of criminology and sociology, but also to those who focus on political science, cultural studies, peace and justice studies, history, law, technology, and global interdisciplinary studies.

JSTOR Security Studies contains journals, book chapters, research reports, and pamphlets—all of which can be downloaded or saved as full-text PDFs. Some topics in the database include “geopolitics,” “cybersecurity,” “food justice,” “economic security,” and “war crimes,” just to name a few. There are tons of topics to browse, whether you are a scholar or are simply interested in the many different facets of security studies.

In addition, JSTOR Security Studies also makes it super convenient for scholars to cite works. When viewing an item, users can simply click “cite this item” and they are offered citations for the piece in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style formats that can be copied directly from the source. Export citation tools are also provided if needed.  However, please note that our expert subject librarians suggest that you always double-check your citations as the software occasionally makes mistakes.

JSTOR Security Studies is a new temporary resource that was added to the collection to support the Villanova Community as part of the Library’s response to COVID-19. The database will be available until June 30, 2020.

If you need help using this or any other database, please reach out to our reference librarians, who are available Monday- Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. to assist you. They can be reached by via Live Chat or email at ref@villanova.edu.

Don’t miss out on this very useful and easy-to-use resource!

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.