Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian; Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Librarian Archivist; and Jennifer Santoro, Department of Geography and the Environment, examine maps from the John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection with Villanova students.

Jennifer Santoro, Department of Geography and the Environment, talks with a student about historic maps.

Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, shows students Falvey’s online exhibit, “Projecting the World: An Audio Tour of the John F. Smith, III & Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection,” and georeferencing tools.

Students focus on maps from the John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection.

Learning about georeferencing historic maps, students in Jennifer Santoro’s Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course had the opportunity to examine maps from the John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection on Thursday, Feb. 23, in Falvey Library. Collaborating with Santoro, Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, showed students georeferencing tools and Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Librarian Archivist, shared more information about historic maps in the collection.

View the John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection here. Contact Rebecca Oviedo for more information.

Interested in integrating digital tools and methods into your research? Contact Erica Hayes.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. Photos courtesy of Shawn Proctor, Communication and Marketing Program Manager.

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.

Celebrating the installation of Distinctive Collections’ newest exhibit, “Happily Forever After,” the Curious ‘Cat asked the curators,

“What is your favorite fairy tale?”

Beaudry Allen, Preservation and Digital Archivist:

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Coordinator:

“Beauty and the Beast.”

Stop by Falvey’s first floor to explore a selection of fairy tales in Distinctive Collections’ new exhibit, “Happily Forever After: The Timeless Relevance of Fairy Tales.” Curated by Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Coordinator, and Beaudry Allen, Preservation and Digital Archivist, the exhibit is open to the public throughout the summer.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Cinderella

Little Red Riding Hood

Kallie Stahl, MA ’17 CLAS, is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library. Her favorite fairy tale is The Ugly Duckling.