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Cat in the Stax: Reading Recs for Women’s History Month

As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!

Wishing you all a wonderful spring break! Take this time to relax, hang out with friends, spend time with family. You deserve a rest after all the hard work you’ve put into the semester so far.

Photo courtesy of University of Iowa

March doesn’t just signify the arrival of spring break (and the coming of spring), it also marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, which runs from Mar. 1-Mar. 31. This observance first began in California in 1978 as a week-long celebration. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter made the first Presidential Proclamation declaring a week in March as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress passed legislation that designated March as Women’s History Month. Since then, this month has been a time to remember and celebrate the achievements of women throughout American history.

Whether you’re traveling or chilling at home over break, if you have some free time, check out some of these books to read in celebration of Women’s History Month. For your convenience, all these texts are available online through Falvey:

Happy reading! Enjoy the rest of the break, and I’ll see you all next week.


Rebecca Amrick

Rebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.


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Birthday Celebration for Father Falvey

Image part of “Villanova’s Library: Revisiting its Past, Envisioning its Future” exhibit, courtesy of Falvey’s Distinctive Collections

By Shawn Proctor

Happy birthday to the Rev. Daniel P. Falvey, OSA, for whom Villanova’s Library is named.

It is fitting tribute to Father Falvey to celebrate his life through the words of the Very Rev. Ralph V. Shuhler, OSA, then Assistant General, on the occasion of the library’s naming and rededication as Falvey Memorial Library on May 5, 1963.

“This library, which is the center of the intellectual life of the University, might well be called his child. He began his life’s work as an Augustinian priest in the Villanova Library as its custodian; and for twenty-five years it was the center of his unremitting care. …his counsel and designs were seen everywhere to make that building as modern and as functional as any library in the country today….

Father Falvey was not content to leave this Library a monument to the imposing campus of Villanova University. He wished to make it the source of intellectual endeavor both for the University students and for the community at large…..But far more important to the Friends of the Library were the human qualities that endeared him to all.”

Learn more about Father Falvey’s life here: https://library.villanova.edu/about-falvey/overview

 


Shawn Proctor Head shot

Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Library.

 

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2024 Spring Break Service Hours


Falvey Library Service Desk Hours: Spring Break 2024

Sunday, March 3: Service desk and book stacks closed.

Monday, March 4 through Friday, March 8: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. (book stacks close at 4:30 p.m.)

Saturday, March 9: Service desk and book stacks closed.

Sunday, March 10: 12 p.m.—8 p.m. (book stacks close at 7:30 p.m.)

Semester hours resume on Monday, March 11. Villanova students, faculty, and staff may enter the Library building 24/7 with a valid Wildcard. Library services are available to the University community during posted service hours. Electronic collections (articles, e-books, and more!) are accessible through the Library’s website 24/7. For a full listing of service hours, visit our website.

Have a relaxing and safe break, Wildcats!


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library. Her Spring Break reading recommendation: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. (Available in Falvey Library’s Popular Reading Collection.)

 


 


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Curious Cat: Fall or Spring Semester

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Happy Thursday, Wildcats! This week, the Curious Cat team wanted to know which academic semester students preferred. We asked library patrons, “Do you like the fall or spring semester better?”

“Spring!”
-Peyton Walker ’26 CLAS

 

“Fall”
-Ella Heckman ’26 CON

 

“Spring”
-Molly O’Connell ’26 CLAS

 


Rebecca AmrickRebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

 

 

 

Julia Wagner ’26 CLAS is a second-year Economics major and student worker at Falvey Library.

 

 

 


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Villanova Theatre’s 2024 Debut: Crazy for You

By Rebecca Amrick

Photo courtesy of Villanova Theatre

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see Villanova’s Theatre’s production of Crazy for You. This musical, written by Ken Ludwig, features Bobby Child, a reluctant uptown banker, who dreams of dancing on Broadway–but instead of getting his foot in the door, it seems he’s always stepping on toes. When Bobby is sent to foreclose on a rundown theatre in Nevada, his luck takes an unexpected turn as he falls head-over-heels for the theatre owner’s daughter, Polly Baker. Set in the 1930s and scored with the infectious songs of George and Ira Gershwin, this firecracker of a musical showcases classic tunes like “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, this madcap comedy “makes everything old feel new again” (New York Times).

This show was directed by Villanova University’s President, Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. Father Donohue served as Villanova’s chair of theatre department from 1992-2006 before he became the University’s 32nd president.

This musical was such a joy to watch. It’s colorful, funny, and full of great characters. This show’s got everything: hilarious wit and physical comedy, multiple love stories, catchy songs, and lots and lots of tap dancing! All the dance numbers were amazing and truly took my breath away. Truly a wonderful show!

 

To learn more about Crazy for You, check out this virtual playbill which includes a note from the dramaturg as well as information about the playwright and musical composers.

Check out the education guide for more information about this show’s director and dramaturgs as well as some context for the show’s setting.


Rebecca AmrickRebecca Amrick is a first year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.


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Cat in the Stax: Leap Year

As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!

Happy Wednesday, Wildcats! March is almost here, which means spring break is right around the corner! I wish you all a safe, relaxing, and fun week off. Enjoy it, I know I will!

I don’t know how many of you noticed, but this year is a leap year! That means this year will last 366 days and the month of February is 29 days instead of the usual 28.

Fun Fact: Did you know that Ireland has an old tradition where women can propose to their boyfriends on Leap Day, Feb. 29? This day is known as either “Bachelor’s Day” or “Ladies Privilege.” Not only that, but according to Irish folklore, any man who rejects a proposal must compensate the woman with a gift—either a kiss, a silk gown, or gloves. This tradition is the premise for the 2010 movie Leap Year, starring Amy Adams, which you can get through Falvey’s Interlibrary Loan Program.

Image by wongmbatuloyo from iStock.com

 

But why do we have leap years? Basically, the purpose of a leap year is to keep our calendars aligned with Earth’s revolution around the Sun. We attribute one year to the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make a complete revolution. The Gregorian Calendar has 365 days in a single year, but in reality, it takes Earth approximately 365.242189 days to circle the Sun, which leaves an extra 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds unaccounted for in our calendar. That means we’re getting behind Earth’s orbit by almost 6 hours every year, so we add a day every few years to make up for this extra time.

 

People tend to think leap years occur every four years, but this is actually not true! Julius Caesar, the Roman General who first introduced the concept into western calendars, established the formula that a leap year should occur every four years. However, this led to too many leap years in the Julian Calendar which placed religious holidays out of sync with fixed dates such as equinoxes and solstices by several days. Pope Gregory XIII developed his own calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, in 1582 to fix this error. His new formula determines whether a leap year should occur based on three criteria:

  1. The year must be divisible by four
  2. If the year can be evenly divided by 100, then it is not a leap year; UNLESS
  3. The year is also evenly divisible by 400—then it is a leap year

So there you have it, the long and somewhat complex history and understanding of leap years boiled down into a few paragraphs. An occasional event that we all take for granted has some interesting history and a bunch of science behind its origin.


Rebecca Amrick

Rebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.


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Curious Cat: Spring Break Plans

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Happy Thursday, Wildcats! Spring break is less than two weeks away, and the Curious Cat team wanted to know what students had planned for the week. We asked students at Falvey, “What are you doing over spring break?”

“Going to South Carolina with friends”
-Gianna Angelone ’27 CLAS

 

“Miami!”
-Madeline Cunningham ’26 COE

 

“Going home”
-Taylor Dillon ’26 CLAS

 


Rebecca AmrickRebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

 

 

 

Julia Wagner ’26 CLAS is a second-year Economics major and student worker at Falvey Library.

 

 

 


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TBT: “Twinkles in Their Eyes”

Image courtesy of the Villanova Digital Library (Bell Air 1964, p. 166)


Villanova’s 2024 Winter Gala has concluded, and students will now wait another year to dress up and take some pictures in Driscoll all while freezing in their suits, dresses, and heels in the chilly Pennsylvania weather.

Today’s TBT features a Junior Week formal from 1964. Would you wear any of these styles? Don’t forget, vintage styles are making a comeback! Maybe keep some inspiration in your back pocket for next year’s Gala.

Now that this Winter Gala is over, students are forced to face a long two weeks before they can bask in the relief of spring break, which is coming up after classes end on March 1. We hope that for those who attended the Winter Gala this past weekend, you enjoyed every minute with your friends dancing on the floor and saw “twinkles in their eyes and glows on their faces,” and that those memories will hold you over these next two weeks (and until the Winter Gala next year!)

Happy Thursday!


AJ Balinski ‘26 CLAS is a Communication major from Gibraltar, Mich. She works as a Communication & Marketing Student Assistant at Falvey Library.

 

 


 


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Cat in the Stax: Author Spotlight: Zadie Smith

As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!

Happy Wednesday, Wildcats, and welcome to a new segment I’m introducing into the Cat in a Stax Blog: Author Spotlight. I love to read, it’s probably one of my favorite pastimes. And as an English grad student, I’m constantly introduced to writers and texts I might not have otherwise have heard of, let alone read. I want to use this platform to expand your readership and hopefully help you discover some new interests in literature. Every month, one Cat in the Stax post will be dedicated to informing about and celebrating a  writer whose work is available at here at Falvey. Our very first featured author? Zadie Smith.

Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images

Zadie Smith is a British writer whose work includes novels, essays, and short stories. She was born in London, England on Oct. 27, 1975 to a Jamaican mother and an English father. She studied English Literature at Cambridge University and graduated with her B.A. in 1998. In 2010, she became a tenured professor of Creative Writing at New York University. For Smith, fiction is “a medium that must always allow itself . . . the possibility of expressing intimate and inconvenient truths.” She explores many of these truths in her work, which often ponder questions of race, religion, and cultural identity.

Her debut novel, White Teeth, was published in 2000. It explores a contemporary multicultural London through the lives of three different, but connected, families. The book was an immediate literary sensation and won many awards, including the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread First Novel Award, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best First Book). Her second book, titled The Autograph Man, examines loss, obsession, and the nature of fame. This book won the 2003 Jewish Quarterly Literary Prize for Fiction. It was also this same year that Granta magazine named Smith as one of 20 “Best of Young British Novelists” and published her short story Martha, Martha in their 2003 issue. On Beauty is Smith’s third novel (published in 2005), and tells the story of two families living in the fictional town of Wellington, Massachusetts. On Beauty won the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction.

Smith is also the author of NW, a story focused on the friendship between two women in London that is tested by the trials and tribulations of adulthood, and Swing Time, which follows the lives of two aspiring dancers whose lives take drastically different turns. Smith’s most recent book, The Fraud, is set in Victorian London and based on the historical Tichborne Trial. The Fraud can be found on Falvey’s new Popular Reading Shelves.

Zadie Smith’s work includes essays and short stories as well. A collection of her short stories was published in 2019, titled Grand Union. She has three essay collections: Changing My MindFeel Free, and Intimations. Smith also wrote a play called The Wife of Willesden, a reimagining of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale from his Canterbury Tales.

If you’re looking to read something different that will make you think, definitely check out this incredible and prolific writer!


Rebecca Amrick

Rebecca Amrick is a first year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.


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Curious Cat: Favorite Campus Food

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Happy Thursday, Wildcats! This week, the Curious Cat team wanted to know what campus foods students enjoyed. We asked library patrons, “What is your favorite food to eat on campus?”

“Cova Nachos”
-Kayleigh Wallis ’25 CLAS

 

“Spicy Breaded Chicken Conn Sammy”
-Kelsi Membrino ’25 CLAS

 

“Smoothies”
-Peyton Gibbs ’27 CLAS

 


Rebecca AmrickRebecca Amrick is a first-year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

 

 

 

Julia Wagner ’26 CLAS is a second-year Economics major and student worker at Falvey Library.

 

 

 


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Last Modified: February 15, 2024

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