The United States celebrates its independence from Great Britain on the 4th of July, the day in 1776 on which the delegates to the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence.

We know from an article which appeared in The Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 5, 1777, that the first Independence Day anniversary was celebrated with the discharge of thirteen cannons in the port of Philadelphia in honor of the original thirteen states. The ships were decorated in red, white and blue streamers. Congress gathered for an elegant dinner to which the president and numerous other guests of honor were invited.

A captured band of Hessian musicians played suitable tunes interrupted by repeated toasts. Bonfires and fireworks lit up the evening sky, and the peals of bells closed out the day.

Not much has changed since then. Food, fireworks, parades and the national colors are still at the center of today’s celebrations, and the Glorious Fourth continues to capture the national imagination. The Library has a wealth of information in both print and electronic form for those who would like to learn more about the history of the Declaration of Independence.

On our shelves:

Andrew Burnstein’s America’s Jubilee takes a critical look at the fifty year anniversary of independence in 1826, which also happens to be the day on which two of the Declaration’s signers, frenemies John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died. William Hogeland takes a close look at the nine weeks leading up to July 4, 1776, in his Declaration, and Alan Dershowitz follows the sources which influenced Jefferson’s text in America Declares Independence.

David Armitage’s The Declaration of Independence: A Global History delineates the impact of the U.S. Declaration as it resonated around the world. Armitage looks at over one hundred declarations of independence to demonstrate the global influence of the U.S. Declaration, and Alexander Tsesis’ For Liberty and Equality synthesizes the continuing impact of the Declaration on American life.

Online:

Noteworthy among Falvey’s digital primary-source collections are the American Founding Era collection which contains the papers of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James and Dolley Madison, and Alexander Hamilton; the American State Papers with the executive and legislative documents of the first fourteen U.S. Congresses; and America’s Historical Newspapers, which includes early American newspapers back to 1690.

Happy Independence Day from the staff at Falvey Memorial Library!

Jutta Seibert is the director of Academic Integration and the history librarian. Her contact information: Jutta.Seibert@villanova.edu, office-room 228, telephone 610-519-7876.

We are committed to accuracy and will make appropriate corrections. We apologize for any errors and always welcome input about news coverage that warrants correction. Messages can be e-mailed to alice.bampton@villanova.edu or call (610)519-6997.

Falvey Memorial Library is fortunate to be able to provide access to hundreds of instructional databases for the Villanova Community. While the choices may be vast, each searchable collection presents a unique treasure trove of information. Today, in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we’d like to direct your attention to a uniquely browsable resource, the Oxford African American Studies Center. Touted as “the online authority on the African American Experience,” the Oxford AASC provides a wide array of primary source documents, educational resources and articles, and multimedia.

The database provides students, scholars and librarians with online access to the finest reference resources in African American studies. At its core, AASC features the new Encyclopedia of African American History: 1619-1895, Black Women in America, the highly acclaimed Africana, a five-volume history of the African and African American experience, and the African American National Biography project (estimated at 8 volumes). In addition to these major reference works, AASC offers other key resources from Oxford’s reference program, including the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature and selected articles from other reference works.

Feel free to contact a librarian if you’d like further help exploring and utilizing any of Falvey Memorial Library’s databases.

Today is a special day at  Falvey Memorial Library as we celebrate the retirement of staff member Bill Greene. Bill’s varied spectrum of interests and skills makes him one awesomely multifaceted person! We are rerunning a ‘Monday Mood Board’ blog post from 2015 to commemorate the day. Read on to learn more about Bill, dinosaurs, science fiction, and to follow some links to great books and resources.

Hi, Bill! So I saw on Facebook that you had a major work anniversary recently. How many years have you been here now?

40. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

What is your earliest Falvey memory?

Actually, it wasn’t much of a memory, but it was my first day here. I was a student. Way back—I can tell you the date! I was a student. I knew it was gonna be a life-changing thing, y’know. The date was May 7, 1968. It was a Wednesday, and I was working in acquisitions. I was working with books in print. I was checking the orders to make sure they were correct. The whole first day was really strange, because the previous day, I had known nothing about working in a library. But then my mother said to me “[one of our neighbors] called, and she wanted to know if you’d like to work at Villanova’s library. “ So I said, “Yeah, why not?” I just could’ve said, you know, “Nah, forget it, I don’t wanna do that” and that would’ve totally changed my life. But I said yes. Next day, I was in there, that quick. It just grew from there, it wasn’t planned.

And forty years later, look at you!

Yeah, still here!

What are the first three words that come to mind when you think of Falvey Memorial Library?

Fun. Novel.* People.

*”I was considering, I still am, writing a novel with this place as the background. With so many experiences, I have plenty to pick from.”

Read any periodicals, magazines, journals?

I read Discover Magazine, because mainly, it’s science, which I am interested in. It’s science, but they write it so I can understand it. Once in a while I read Scientific American… and I wonder, why did I bother reading this? I didn’t get anything out of it. They’re too technical, I think, in some cases. Discover is a good magazine, especially if you find an article on something you care about.

What’s your favorite dinosaur?

My favorite dinosaur is Triceratops. Do you have any idea what Triceratops looks like?

 I do!

Very good! I figured you would. He’s one of the more common ones, the three horn face, that’s what it stands for in Latin, I guess. I couldn’t tell you why I like him. My favorite dinosaur is not Tyrannosaurus Rex because that’s who everybody’s favorite dinosaur is. [Triceratops] is always defending himself against Tyrannosaurus Rex, supposedly.

I can’t even pronounce my favorite.

Yeah, what is it?

 I think it’s… Parasaurolophus?

Parasaurolophus, you like him? He’s cool! Thinking about this question [of my favorite dinosaur], he came up. Parasaurolophus is the one with the horn. He’s the one they’re thinking, recently, in the past five years or so, they’re figuring, the reason for the horn? All of the duck-billed dinosaurs, which she is one of, went around making noises and the different noises they made could tell each one what individual was from his group, what species it was from. The air went through the horn, and made all kinds of honking noises.

That would be so neat to hear!

Wouldn’t it? A herd of ‘em?

Current favorite poet? Any poet you’ve read, new or old, that makes you think “yeah, them!”

One that pops to mind is Coleridge. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” “Kubla Khan.” When I was reading him, he hit me right away.

What is your information routine? How do you get news and info?

Most of my news I probably get from TV. I don’t get any papers, because they all come to the library. I don’t have time from it, for one thing. Yeah, the news. Channel 6 is what I usually have on.

Do you visit any websites on a regular basis?

Amazon. Goodreads.

What are you going to do after this interview?

Probably going to continue work. A lot of the things I do, I have to wait for someone to bring it to me, like the mail, and the stuff from UPS, and the stuff that’s over in Garey waiting to come over to be scanned. But chances are pretty good that I’ll probably go down and start scanning stuff. Lot of books to scan, articles.

Can I mention something you haven’t asked me? I’m a big science fiction person.

Great! When did you discover you love science fiction?

I was around 12, give or take a year. I think the first book I read was R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury, short story collection. And I read the whole book, and I kept thinking – this is just my state of mind at the time, you know, I’m 11 or 12 – I’m thinking, “gee, these are good stories, he writes them so well and they’re good, but they all end badly! I don’t like that, they all end badly!” And now I’m coming from a different perspective, being as old as I am; they do end badly, but you know, they’re really cool stories. I wish I had written them. It doesn’t bother me quite as much, and I can see why he did it the way he did it. ‘Cause it would’ve been a stupid story if it didn’t have a bad ending.

What is your favorite Bradbury work?

Fahrenheit 451, of course.

Any other favorite science fiction authors besides Bradbury?

Alfred Bester, Theodore Sturgeon. Any of the best [science fiction] novels are written back in the fifties, I think, because now science fiction just can be anything. How do you define science fiction anymore? There is a definition for it, but a lot of the science fiction today is really on the edge. There’s no science in it! So what if it takes place on Mars? There’s no science in it.

I just read a book called The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. The thing that makes it different is it’s a combination of science fiction and romance, and I’m thinking, I can’t think of any books, good books, like that. I would highly recommend it.

Thanks for chatting with me, Bill!

Article by Michelle Callaghan, graduate assistant on the Communication and Service Promotion team. She is currently pursuing her MA in English at Villanova University.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

Jedi Master Chris Hallberg
Technology Development Team

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

Stress Free Happy Healthy Hours. 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in room 205 of Falvey Memorial Library. Take a break from studying and enjoy a variety of stress-relieving activities. Each hour will feature a different activity, including coloring books for grown-ups, making your own stress balls, board games and puzzles, a combined yoga mindfulness session, and, of course, plenty of snacks and drinks. Comfort Caring Canines will also be here with therapy dogs from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Extended Hours

To provide students with additional late night study facilities, the main Library will have extended hours beginning Monday, Dec. 7th. We’ll be open most nights until 3:00 a.m.

As always, you can use your Wildcard to swipe into the 24/7 lounge, Falvey Hall lounge and Reading Room after hours. Take advantage of our cozy and inspirational spaces for quiet study. Check the Hours link on the library homepage for a full listing of extended hours.

From everyone at Falvey, good luck on your papers and final exams!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Today is International Mountain Day, and it couldn’t have come at  a better time – I’ll bet it feels like you’re climbing mountains today! This international holiday was established in 2003 by the U.N. General Assembly to promote recognition of mountains and their contribution and importance to life, and to encourage positive ecological steps in mountain regions. Check out our science-oriented mountain holdings today!

“If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you’ll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way.” – Bill Bryson

Photo via US National Park Service. Denali – Mt. McKinley.

SIGNING OFF FOR THE SEMESTER!

This has been the final 8:30 for the fall 2015 semester. We hope you have an excellent holiday and best of luck with final exams and papers! It has been a pleasure to serve your daily speed-reads.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

Jedi Master Nicole B. Subik
Assistant Director, Learning Support Services
Learning Commons in Falvey, 212 C

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

Finals Stress Busting Open House. 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the first-floor lounge. Fight the dark side with free Philly soft pretzels, hot beverages, video games and other activities to unplug and unwind. Use the #falveyforce.

SAVE THE DATE…

Stress Free Happy Healthy Hours. Friday, December 11 at 10:00 a.m. in room 205 of Falvey Memorial Library. Take a break from studying and enjoy a variety of stress-relieving activities. Each hour will feature a different activity, including coloring books for grown-ups, making your own stress balls, board games and puzzles, a combined yoga mindfulness session, and, of course, plenty of snacks and drinks. Comfort Caring Canines will also be here with therapy dogs from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

#TBT

Check out these #TBT pics from the 1975 yearbook.  These students are chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool. Make sure you get some stress relief this week, too, Wildcats!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

On this day in 1830, poet Emily Dickinson was born. While after her death Dickinson was discovered to have written well over a thousand poems, only a handful were published during her lifetime – and the ones that were had been manipulated by publishers to fit more conventional poetic practices of the time. It was Emily’s sister Lavinia who discovered Emily’s stockpile after her death, and it is thanks to her that Emily’s poetry gained public acknowledgment. Still, it took until 1955 for a mostly unaltered collection of Dickinson’s poetry to be compiled and released. Check out Dickinson’s poetry from our stacks today!

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

– Emily Dickinson

image via poets.org

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

Does writing papers make you want to pull out your hair buns? Jedi Master Mary Beth Simmons suggests you come to the event below!

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

To provide students with additional late night study facilities, the main Library will have extended hours beginning Monday, Dec. 7th. We’ll be open most nights until 3:00 a.m.

As always, you can use your Wildcard to swipe into the 24/7 lounge, Falvey Hall lounge and Reading Room after hours. Take advantage of our cozy and inspirational spaces for quiet study. Check the Hours link on the library homepage for a full listing of extended hours.

From everyone at Falvey, good luck on your papers and final exams!

SAVE THE DATE

DID YOU KNOW—Daily Advent reflections by our University community are posted on the Office for Mission and Ministry’s website.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Today in 1902, actress Margaret Hamilton was born. Hamilton is most famous for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz – a character recognized as one of the greatest film villains of all time (seriously, check out the internet lists!). A former schoolteacher, Hamilton went from teaching kindergarteners to scaring them. Did you know that the world of Oz has been the focus of much scholarly research – literary, sociological, and historical? You can learn more from our holdings.

“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.”  – L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

image via imdb.com

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

Jedi Master Sarah Wingo
Liaison Librarian English & Theatre

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

To provide students with additional late night study facilities, the main Library will have extended hours beginning Monday, Dec. 7th. We’ll be open most nights until 3:00 a.m.

As always, you can use your Wildcard to swipe into the 24/7 lounge, Falvey Hall lounge and Reading Room after hours. Take advantage of our cozy and inspirational spaces for quiet study. Check the Hours link on the library homepage for a full listing of extended hours.

From everyone at Falvey, good luck on your papers and final exams!

SAVE THE DATE

NEW MEDIA NEWS

You get more than text in How to Make and Set Traps, the latest eBook release produced by Falvey’s collaboration with Distributed Proofreaders. There are trap illustrations and songs about rats & otters! According to a review by Demian Katz of Dime Novel fame, the book mixes “dense and convoluted details of trap-building with anecdotes about animal behavior, reflections on the definition of “vermin,” and a strong sense of the Victorian era.” Allow us to share a rather graphic quote that Katz highlighted in his review:

Emphatically I declare it—a weasel never relinquishes its quarry till the life’s blood has been sucked and the brain extracted and eaten.

Makes you want to download it and read it right now, doesn’t it? Uh huh. Thought so.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Today music fans remember John Lennon, half of the songwriting team that made The Beatles, well, The Beatles. As most people know, John Lennon was assassinated this day in 1980.

“If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal.” – John Lennon

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

Tasty coffee is, but a substitute for rest it is not. You can study much, Padawan, but at least 6-8 hours of sleep you require in order to concentrate during your tests. Coffee and exhaustion are of the dark side…

Jedi Master Rob LeBlanc
First Year Experience & Humanities Librarian

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

To provide students with additional late night study facilities, the main Library will have extended hours beginning Monday, Dec. 7th. We’ll be open most nights until 3:00 a.m.

As always, you can use your Wildcard to swipe into the 24/7 lounge, Falvey Hall lounge and Reading Room after hours. Take advantage of our cozy and inspirational spaces for quiet study. Check the Hours link on the library homepage for a full listing of extended hours.

From everyone at Falvey, good luck on your papers and final exams!

SAVE THE DATE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

On this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. The infamous naval base assault was the impetus for the United States joining World War II. To dig deeper into Pearl Harbor and other events surrounding World War II, check out our holdings.

Image by U.S. Navy photographer, MCC David Rush. “A Sailor from the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band plays taps during a joint U.S. Navy/National Park Service ceremony commemorating the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The theme of this year’s historic commemoration, “Pacific War Memories: The Heroic Response to Pearl Harbor,” emphasized the brave efforts of those who fought at sea, on land and in the air to turn the tide in the Pacific. More than 2,000 distinguished guests and the general public joined service members, Pearl Harbor survivors and their families and friends for the annual observance.” Image description via Wikimedia Commons.

“I think history is continuous. It doesn’t begin or end on Pearl Harbor Day or the day Lyndon Johnson withdraws from the presidency or on 9/11. You have to learn from the past but not be imprisoned by it. You need to take counsel of history but never be imprisoned by it.” – Richard Holbrooke

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

TODAY IN THE LIBRARY…

The final Villanova Electronic Enthusiasts Club (VEEC) Meeting this semester. 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the first-floor lounge. Open to all. Come join in for games and fun. Questions? Contact: Matthew Pasquale 

ACS Writing Awards Reception. 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in Speakers’ Corner. Questions? Contact: Sandra Suprenuk

Gender & Women’s Studies Meet & Greet. 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in room 204. Questions? Contact: Joyce Harden

Flashback Friday

Finals gotcha feeling overwhelmed? Check out this #fbf picture from the 1980 yearbook. Looks like someone hit the books a bit too hard!

GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS 2015

Goodreads has announced their 2015 Choice Awards! These selections were chosen via Goodreads user ratings and are categorized by genre. They’re the perfect additions to your Goodreads Want to Read lists!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

National Cookie Day is the day, and cookie eating is the way… to celebrate. Why are so many “national days” food related? The answer is unclear, although perhaps it is an interesting research inquiry. But we’re not complaining for any reason that encourages the eating of chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm. Did you know the word “cookie” comes from the Dutch “koekie,” or “little cake”? Also, if you want to try your hand at some classic Italian cookie dough, check out this recipe in our digital library, straight from The Philadelphia Italian Market Cookbook out of the Celeste A. Morello Collection.

“Sometimes me think, what is friend? And then me say, friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” – Cookie Monster

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.

Here’s your daily dose of library-oriented speed-reads to start your day!

SAVE THE DATE…

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! The final Villanova Electronic Enthusiasts Club (VEEC) Meeting this semester. Friday, December 4 at 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the first-floor lounge. The VEEC is a social club, focused on recreation and relaxation. Participants gather to play video games in a safe and fun environment. The VEEC is always accepting new members. Open to all. Come join in for games and fun.

STUDY STRESS?

Here you go! It’ll be okay.

GOOGLE USERS

Google has implemented a starring system to save images from Google searches to personal collections. Simply star an image result and it’s yours. Compiling photos for a project or presentation has never been easier! Learn more here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Today is #roofoveryourhead day, a day to appreciate and be thankful for things you might take for granted daily, such as the roof over your head, the food in your refrigerator, or warm clothes on your back. Want to observe this holiday? Donate a toy for Christmas or support a local shelter. Speaking of roofs over your head, our extended hours are coming up next week for finals, and you know you can always find a warm corner in the library!

Wiosna w Gościeradzu (Spring in w Gościeradz Akwarela. Muzeum Okręgowe, Bydgoszcz)

“Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.” – John Wooden

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

If you have ideas for inclusion in The 8:30 or to Library News in general, you’re invited to send them to joanne.quinn@villanova.edu.