New Faces, New Places in Falvey Library
Falvey Memorial Library Debuts New Homepage
by Lisa Stillwell
On Friday, January 22, Falvey Library proudly debuted its
redesigned homepage [http://www.library.villanova.edu]. One will notice a dramatic change in
the design of the page, which now features the library's mosaic of the Villanova
University seal. The mosaic is the creation of the Rev. Henry Syvinski, O.S.A., and is
located in the library's lobby.
While FLASH, or Falvey Library Academic Search, functioned
well as the library's homepage for a year, the time came to match the design and
organization of the page with the content to which it serves as gateway.
The new homepage offers many more information options
directly from the front page. A direct link to the Villanova University homepage is
available by clicking on the image of the university's logo. The selection of links on the
left side of the mosaic provides direct access to information about the library and its
services. The "For Your Information" link connects to a page where one can find
one's library patron record, a selection of news services (such as MSNBC and BBC), and
community links, including LibertyNet, the Philadelphia Business Journal and area
restaurants.
The right side of the mosaic features links to the
library's research resources. The "E-Resources by Subject" pages are new, and
feature one-stop subject shopping by providing access to index databases, catalogs, a list
of the library's full text electronic journals and selected websites for a particular
subject area, all on one page. Also new is the link to "E-Reference Sources,"
which provides access to dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, statistical sources,
almanacs and general reference sources.
Also, please note the link to the Bartley Virtual Reading
Room, which serves the College of Commerce and Finance.
All secondary pages feature a left-frame with links to
research resources, the University homepage (via the University logo) and the new library
homepage, via the familiar FLASH logo.
The new Falvey Library homepage was created by Lisa
Stillwell, Bernadette Dierkes, Steve Dixon, Jim Mullins, Kathy O'Connor and Linda Saboe.
The library encourages the Villanova community to explore
the new homepage and share your thoughts with us!
Congressional Universe: A New Electronic Database on FLASH
by Jacqueline Mirabile
Are you looking for timely and authoritative information
on current issues? The U.S. Congress is a storehouse of information acquired from its own
experts and from the witnesses it has the authority to call to testify on any issue of
concern.
Now you have access to this information through Congressional
Universe via Falvey Library terminals, your networked office pc, computer labs, RAS
(Remote Access Service) account or through the proxy server. Click on Falvey's homepage
(http://www.library.villanova.edu), then click on DATABASES; All Databases; C. Congressional
Universe also appears in the Government Resources or Social Sciences
categories.
Produced by the respected Congressional Information
Service through Lexis/Nexis, Congressional Universe provides access to
legislation;
the history and text of bills from 1989 to the present;
expert testimony;
voting records;
campaign financial information of Congressional members;
the Congressional Record from the 99th Congress
to the present;
the Federal Register from 1980 forward;
the current Code of Federal Regulations;
the current U.S. Code and public laws from 1988
to the present.
Also included from 1970 on are CIS indexing and
abstracting and legislative histories.
Searching can be done by keyword, bill or public law
number or by citations in the US Code, Code of Federal Regulations or Federal
Register. There are helpful explanations of the legislative process, types of bills
and publications and how to cite sources.
In addition, there is a file for Hot Bills
& Hot Topics. The current Hot Bills include Identity Theft
and Assumption Deterrence Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, International Religious
Freedom Act, Omnibus Appropriations (Budget) and the Workforce Investment Act.
The Hot Topics section brings together articles
selected from other Lexis/Nexis databases on issues such as hate crimes, the impeachment
of President Clinton, Microsoft antitrust trial and Year 2000 computer problem.
Explore Congressional Universe and be amazed at
the information available!
New Villanova Proxy Server Can Link You to
Falvey's Databases
If you've needed to use a Falvey Memorial Library database
from home and have been denied access through an Internet service provider, your problem
is now solved. Thanks to a new Web device called a proxy server, Villanova students,
faculty and staff can now connect to Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, the Britannica Online,
JSTOR and scores of other files using an Internet account.
To make this change possible, Falvey Memorial Library is
using a proxy server as a means of identifying valid Villanova users on the Internet. The
process is known as authentication. All companies that license databases for Falvey
Memorial Library use a means of admitting authorized users and turning away the general
public. Unfortunately, those companies make this distinction by authorizing access for one
specific Internet address domain, in this case the domain defined by
"villanova.edu."
If your Internet address lacked the necessary domain
identifier, you were turned away -- until now. The proxy server authenticates you before
you connect with a third party database by matching your identification information with
Villanova University database records. Once the proxy server completes the match, it
becomes your surrogate, connecting you with any database available to the Villanova Campus
Network domain.
To use the proxy server you will need to
1) change a setting in your web browser;
2) know your Wildcard number;
3) have an active Wildcard that is currently recorded in the University's Wildcard number database.
For instructions on how to use the proxy server, visit the
Proxy Server Instruction Page at http://www.library.villanova.edu/vbl/proxy/proxy.htm.
Quest Strategies Teaches First Year Students Critical Information Literacy Skills
You are researching a topic and your electronic search has
just retrieved 24,000 hits! How can you limit these results to a more manageable and
useful number?
Quest Strategies, the second semester component
of Falvey Library's information literacy pilot project, teaches first year students
to formulate and revise a Boolean search statement, and then use it to search the online
catalog or two scholarly, specialized databases. Building on the foundation of simple
search skills learned first semester through the Quest self-paced online
tutorial, Quest Strategies enriches these skills with more sophisticated
searching and evaluation techniques.
Quest Strategies consists of hands-on sessions
for all the Core Humanities Seminar classes which will be held in the Mary Ann Griffin
Instruction Room from January 25 until April 9. The Core Humanities faculty scheduled
their library workshops close to the time they plan to give research assignments to their
students. Research instruction is always more effective when students have a
"concrete" reason for learning about the resources.
The workshops focus on two crucial skills, Boolean
searching and the evaluation of search results. These skills will be illustrated with
sample topics derived from the broad topic, "Ireland and England in Conflict: An
Interdisciplinary Investigation of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, Its Context and
Aftermath." A number of more specific thesis statements, or sample term paper topics,
related to this broad topic will be used during the sessions. Students will participate in
a dramatization of Boolean logic and practice searching for information on these topics in
VUCat, Historical Abstracts and the Modern Language Association Bibliography.
Since the quality of information located on the World Wide Web is so uneven, the
crucial principle of evaluation is taught with a light hearted "rating game."
A PowerPoint presentation, created by created by Barbara
Quintiliano, Bernadette Dierkes and others, illustrates concepts taught in the Quest
Strategies workshops.
Collaboration is the cornerstone of Quest and, ultimately, of the entire
information literacy program at Villanova University. The Information Literacy Committee
was expanded early on to include both librarians and faculty from the Core Humanities
Seminar program.
Quest involves collaboration among the Falvey librarians as well, many of whom
are participating in the teaching experience for the first time. The Strategies workshops team more experienced teachers
with librarians newer to the teaching process. On January 14, Dr. Carol Weiss of VITAL
(Villanova Institute of Teaching and Learning) conducted a workshop for participating
librarians to develop their teaching skills, sharing the most effective techniques to use
when teaching first year students.
Quest Strategies was developed by Falvey librarians Barbara Quintiliano,
Louise Green, Michael Foight, and David Burke, and implemented with the help of other
Information Literacy Committee members, Judy Olsen, chair, Susan Markley, Merrill Stein,
and Core Humanities professors Jack Doody, Marylu Hill, Earl Bader, Gayle Pohlhaus, and
Peter Glomsett.
Check out the Quest Strategies web page at
www.vill.edu/~quest/strategies.htm or via the Falvey Library homepage (click on Quest).
Simon Mawer's Novel Weaves Science with Art
Gregor Mendel, the "father of genetics," Dr.
Benedict Lambert, a geneticist, and librarian Jean Piercy were alive in Falvey Library on
Monday evening, January 25. This was quite miraculous, since Gregor Mendel has been dead
for over one hundred years, and Dr. Lambert and Ms. Piercy are creations from the mind of
Simon Mawer.
British writer Simon Mawer, the author of Mendel's
Dwarf, was the second speaker in Falvey Library's Distinguished Lecture Series.
Co-sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the lecture brought together
over sixty faculty, staff, students and members of the local community to share in a
spell-binding evening.
Mawer read selected passages from Mendel's Dwarf
and offered commentary upon the selections. His audience was attentive and captivated with
his reading. His accent, magical articulation and emphasis of words created visual imagery
which took us back to the mid-nineteenth century of Gregor Mendel, when the Augustinian
scientist was conducting his research on the pea and establishing his laws of genetics, to
the present time of Dr. Benedict Lambert, a collateral descendant of Mendel, and Jean
Piercy, his love interest.
Responding to a question from the audience, Mawer stated,
"This story is not really about a dwarf, but rather a story about you and me. We are
all victims of our genes. It is just that sometimes the affliction is more apparent in one
than another." He mused that while he was writing Mendel's Dwarf, Dr.
Benedict Lambert, an achondroplastic dwarf, "walked" with him. He saw the world
through Benedict's eyes, looking for genetic signs of dominant or recessive traits in
those he encountered.
When asked which writers he presently reads, Mawer
responded, "I don't have the time to read -- I write." Professor Joseph Kinney
of Villanova's English Department commented on Mawer's writing style. "I wish to
compliment you on the stylistic brilliance of your language. Besides the effectiveness of
the characterization, organization, dialogue and refreshing humor, I was particularly
impressed by the precision, description, vividness and creativity in your use of
words."
As a gift from Villanova, the Rev. Kail Ellis, Dean of
Liberal Arts and Sciences, presented Mawer with a Mendel medallion with the date of his
visit. James L. Mullins, Director of Falvey Memorial Library, presented Mawer with a small
Villanova desk clock with the date of his lecture. Mr. Mawer presented Falvey Library with
copies of three of his other works: A Place in Italy, A Jealous God, and The
Bitter Cross. Chimera, his first book and the winner of the prestigious British
McKitterick Award, is so rare that he does not have gift copies.
Oprah Winfrey's film company has made contact to determine the availability of the film rights
to Mendel's Dwarf. Although Mendel's Dwarf has
just gone "out of print" due to demand, the paperback version will be available
in the summer.
The Trials and Triumphs of Research and Publishing: Richard Juliani's Building Little Italy
by David Burke
On January 27, Falvey Library held the second of its new
Faculty Book Talks. Professor Richard Juliani of the Sociology Department discussed the
research, publishing and marketing of his book, Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's
Italians before Mass Migration. The book has generated something of a stir,
especially locally. It was released in late May, and since then Juliani has participated
in more than 20 public presentations, while the book quickly moved to a second printing.
Building Little Italy addresses a neglected
history of immigration. It traces the development of Philadelphia's Italian community from
the first documented Italian arrival in the 1750's until the 1870's when the mass
immigration from the continent began. Juliani examines the early community, analyzes its
social networks, and explores how the early community influenced and was influenced by
Philadelphia. Ultimately, he argues that by the 1860's, the early Italian community served
as a bridge for the mass immigration then beginning.
Juliani researched the book to some extent for thirty
years, beginning while still a graduate student. He originally intended to study the
history of race relations; however, he became involved in the revival of interest in
immigration and ethnic studies. Also, as an adult he was more personally aware of the
negative portrayal of Italian Americans in mass culture. He interviewed many elderly South
Philadelphians for his dissertation, and realized that these interviews reconstructed a
community. When he later planned writing a comprehensive history of the Italian community
in Philadelphia based on the interviews, Juliani also realized he was starting in the
middle of the story, so he went to its very beginning.
Fortunately for his research, Philadelphia is a
"packrat city," retaining and preserving its earliest documents (most cities
have long since discarded them). On the other hand, the sheer volume of ship passenger
lists, city directories, naturalization records, tax lists, deeds, and other public
records (not to mention diaries and other first person accounts) was daunting. Juliani
accumulated thousands of index cards filled with information; the research had become his
hobby. Eventually, others had to tell him it was time to leave researching and start
writing. Finally, by the spring of 1994 Juliani had finished a preliminary manuscript.
Finding a university press proved easier than expected;
the eighth press to which he submitted, Pennsylvania State University Press, was moving
into local histories with an ethnic focus. Initials contacts were encouraging, and
eventually the senior editor returned the manuscript, commenting the book was good but
needed some cutting. Juliani described the experience as "having a beautiful baby
with a third arm requiring amputation." After cutting 140 pages, the manuscript was
sent to readers who gave it a very favorable review and suggested some more revisions. A
few days later, Penn State offered Juliani a contract for the book. His most important
lesson regarding university presses was that they want manuscripts which reflect honorably
on them, and which will sell. A university press is still a business.
Now that Building Little Italy was officially
approved, he had to wrestle with copy editing. At the time he read an article in The
Chronicle of Higher Education describing how university presses farm out manuscripts
to free lance copy editors fresh from college and with little experience in a given field.
Sure enough, when Juliani first received his manuscript from his copy editor, he was
infuriated by the quantity and quality of the suggested changes. A colleague advised him
to let the editor win the trivial battles while holding firm on important issues. In the
end, most editing changes were resolved in Juliani's favor.
Finally in the spring of 1998, the book was published and
its marketing began. Building Little Italy received many favorable reviews, but
Juliani noticed a favorable review was not necessarily a good review. The Philadelphia
Inquirer's reviewer was generally positive, but did not address the book's treatment
of sociological and historical issues. He gave several book signings and participated in
five television and radio interviews. The book has been nominated for six national awards,
but Juliani was especially flattered when an African American reviewer suggested Building
Little Italy should be placed on the same shelf as W.E.B. Du Bois' Philadelphia
Negro!
Personally, Juliani is not as euphoric at the success of
the book as he expected he would be. However, he is impressed when, at his book signings,
he sees old women beaming in the front row, clearly thrilled with the book and taking
immense pride in their community. He has also been moved by the personal stories related
to him by some readers of the book. He is now working on two new books, one on the first
Philadelphia parish for Italians and the other dealing with mass immigration from Italy to
Philadelphia, essentially a sequel to Building Little Italy.
New Faces, New Places in Falvey Library
Amy Rojek will be serving as visiting librarian, reference
and special collections cataloging, until the end of May. Graduating with an M.S. in
library and information science from Drexel University in December, Amy previously worked
as a technical services intern in Falvey Library, and at Rhys Carpenter Library, Bryn Mawr
College. Amy's interests include American and early European history, genealogy and
helping as a literacy volunteer. She notes that she is "impressed by the library's
concern for the learning and intellectual growth of Villanova students."
Kevin Maguire was recently appointed evening circulation
supervisor, transferring from his previous Falvey position of door checker and monitor.
Kevin began working at Villanova in September 1996.
