Blueprints: Falvey Library

Contents: April 2003

• Connections between the University archives, Graphics in IMS, and Special Collections and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Mendel Medal Celebration

• The presses of Elizabeth and Lily Yeats, sisters of William Butler Yeats

• Falvey Book Talk features Leonard Shyles' Deciphering Cyberspace

• The OED Online: "It's not your father's dictionary"

• Want to read more about Iraq? Check out these books in Falvey Library.

• Also contributing to this issue...

by Judith Olsen

Each year as Villanova University awards the Mendel Medal to an outstanding contemporary scientist, three Falvey Library departments contribute to the celebration. The University archives, Special Collections, and the graphic artists of IMS. collaborate with Father Ellis to mount a special exhibit to accompany the Mendel Medal presentation.

Various documents and artifacts on display from the University archives lend a sense of history to this special occasion. According to Father Ellis, Father Gallagher is "very involved and helpful." When the Mendel Medal Presentation was reestablished in 1993, Father Gallagher delved into the University archives to retrieve the mold of the medal, designed and sculpted by John Sinnock in 1929. He also discovered the correspondence between the Rev. Joseph M. Dougherty, O.S.A., the founder of Villanova's sciences division and a Mendelian authority, and the first Medal recipient, Dr. John A. Kolmer.

Rev. Dennis Gallagher, O.S.A.., University archivist

Bernadette Dierkes and Lorraine Williams in the graphic arts and photography department of IMS. work with Father Gallagher and Special Collections librarian Bente Polites to mount the exhibition of Mendel related items that are on display. Father Ellis remarked how each year their efforts "really enhance" the Medal Presentation events. As a component of the exhibit, IMS. designed and produced the Mendel Medal recipient portion of the web site which features the history of the Mendel Medal at Villanova University. According to Father Ellis, IMS. also developed and mounted Mendel Hall’s two permanent exhibit cases which illustrate the history of the sciences at Villanova.
 

Bente Polites, Lorraine Williams, Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A.., Bernadette Dierkes, Donna Blaszkowski

In addition to interesting historic items from the University archives, Falvey Library's Special Collections places on display significant publications from its Mendeliana collection. Father Ellis noted how Bente Polites and former University librarian James Mullins were instrumental in locating and acquiring important works that represent Mendel's prominence in the history of science, inspiring the inception of the Mendeliana collection. This collection, begun only a few years ago, focuses on the study of Gregor Mendel and his role in the history of genetics. The Mendeliana collection contains the first printing of Mendel's 1866 paper reporting his experiments with the hybridization of pea plants. This important and rare paper, a gift from the Augustinians of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, was also featured in the Mendel Medal exhibit.

This series highlights the collegial connections and diverse services provided by the people and departments in Falvey Library.

Special Collections exhibit features Dun Emer and Cuala, publishers of leading Irish writers

by Bente Polites
 

During the spring semester you are invited to visit an exhibit of Irish literature from Falvey Library's Special Collections. All the displayed books and broadsides were published by the Dun Emer Press, which later became the Cuala Press.

The Dun Emer Industries was a women’s craft co-operative established in Dundrum, County Dublin, in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson "to find work for Irish hands in the making of beautiful things." During the 1890'sEvelyn Gleeson had been part of Irish artistic circles in London together with Elizabeth and Lily Yeats, sisters of William Butler Yeats. They were members of the Irish Literary Society and decided to contribute to the Irish revival in a practical way by educating young Irish women in the crafts of embroidery, weaving and printing. They were probably also inspired by William Morris and his Kelmscott Press.

The Dun Emer Press was part of the Industries, and it was managed by the Yeats sisters while W. B. Yeats acted as editor at his sisters' press. Eleven titles by leading Irish writers, such as Lady Gregory, Katharine Tynan, AE, and Yeats, were published in limited editions between 1903 and 1908.

In 1908 Elizabeth and Lily Yeats moved away from Dun Emer and changed the name of the press to Cuala Press. The name Cuala was the old Irish place  name for the part of County Dublin to which they moved.
 

The first series of Broadsides was issued from 1908 to 1915 in 48 issues. A broadside is a sheet of paper printed on one side only. It originated in late 16th century England and was used to distribute poems, ballads, news and political statements. The Cuala Press broadsides were created specifically to feature Irish poems and ballads, some traditional and others contemporary. Each broadside was illustrated with drawings, many hand-colored, by Jack B. Yeats. Falvey Library's Special Collections has all of these broadsides as well as the later series, published in 1935, and many of these broadsides are displayed in this exhibit. Between 1908 and 1946 the Cuala Press continued to be an important publisher of leading Irish writers of the early part of the century. In this time period, the press published sixty-six titles in limited editions by, among others, W. B. Yeats, Douglas Hyde, AE, Lady Gregory,  J. M. Synge, Lord Dunsany, John Masefield, Oliver St. John Gogarty, Frank O’Connor and Patrick Kavanagh. Elizabeth Yeats died in 1940 and the press was continued by William Butler Yeats' widow, but the publication of books was suspended in 1946.

Cuala continued to produce hand-colored prints and greeting cards, and it was not until Mrs. W. B. Yeats' death in 1968 that her children, Michael and Anne, decided to revive the publication of books. Thomas Kinsella and Liam Miller were also on board as directors. Only a few titles were published before the final publication in 1979.

Books published by the Dun Emer Press and the Cuala Press were printed on a Demy Albion hand press built in 1853. The text type used throughout all the work produced at the Press in Caslon Old Face in fourteen point size. Almost all publications bear a pressmark or a device and in some cases more than one. 

A color reproduction of the watercolor “Memory Harbor” by Jack B. Yeats from W.B. Yeats’ Reveries over Childhood and Youth (Cuala Press, 1916).

Many titles published by the Dun Emer Press and the Cuala Press are on display in the exhibit, which can be visited on the second floor of Falvey Library. A complete collection of limited editions titles published by the Dun Emer Press and the Cuala Press are held in the Special Collections Room of Falvey Library where interested readers are welcome Monday, Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 am to noon, or by appointment (610-519-5182).

  Bente Polites is the Special Collections librarian and a reference librarian.

By Michael Hoffberg

Dr. Len Shyles, guest speaker at the Falvey Library Faculty Book Talk on March 11, presented a very informative talk and led a spirited discussion on his new book, Deciphering Cyberspace: Making the Most of Digital Communication Technology, to an audience of students, faculty and staff Deciphering Cyberspace explores the modern digital information revolution in order to throw light on digital communication technology through an investigation of cyberspace from the three perspectives of technology, markets, and policy. Scholars in areas of sociology, psychology, law and media provide chapters offering an inclusive view of the technical nature of cyberspace, its social impact and legal significance.

Dr. Shyles elaborated on the genesis of writing his book and having it published. Although conceptually he knew what he wished to achieve, Dr. Shyles faced the quandary of choosing the best method before putting pen to paper. After considering a number of possibilities, he deliberated writing a massive tome well beyond its current 415 pages, or possibly writing a series of books on the subject; however, he chose to create a work that consisted of his research for the book’s component on technology, and to assemble and edit writings from scholars within the areas of markets and policy. Dr. Shyles next produced a proposal and attempted to contact the editor from his previous book, only to discover that she had moved from that publishing house to Sage Publishing. Finally, he secured a contract with Sage.

Dr. Shyles discussed the impending reality of digital communications ultimately affecting virtually everyone. The world of analog technologies has been evolving into a totally digital realm, in which all communications are interwoven and connected. Rather than referring to the "Internet" as an entity, Dr. Shyles prefers the term "digital communications platform." In time, there will be a seamless link between email, cell phones, television broadcasting, radio transmission, government, transportation, work and home and, finally, every aspect of life. The double edged sword of digital development has presented extraordinarily challenging issues in the areas of privacy, cognitive thinking, public attitudes and behavior, and information overload.

The printed word, telegraph, telephone, film, radio and then television led to vast social changes, starting at a very slow pace over the centuries through an increasingly faster period of time through the 20^th century. Over the past decade, cyberspace has made forward progress at lightning speed, causing a revolution in changes to our private and public culture.

The audience discussion touched on a range of observations and concerns. Technology gives the illusion of infinite freedom, as it continually erodes privacy. As digital formats change, and operating systems, software and hardware evolve, intellectual history may begin fading. Valid sources of scholarly information are being blurred amid easily accessible information put forth on the web by anyone with a web site. Also, students are beginning to show shorter attention spans. As cyberspace moves ahead at an increasingly faster pace, we can expect a number of positive outcomes, as well as an unpredictable measure of negative consequences.

Dr. Shyles, associate professor, communication department, has been on the Villanova faculty since 1989 and teaches courses such as Mass Communication, Mass COM in the Digital Age, and Communication Research. Other books written by Professor Shyles include Video Production Handbook (1998) and The 1,000 Hour War: Communication in the Gulf (1993).

Michael Hoffberg is assistant director of Falvey Library and head of Instructional Media Services.
 

By Louise Green
 

If you are a lover of words (a logophile) and can’t image functioning professionally and personally without a dictionary you might enjoy reading the history of The Oxford English Dictionary in Simon Winchester’s book The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (NY: HarperCollins, 1998).

In 1857 the Philological Society of London proposed the production of a dictionary that would include all words of the English language with their various pronunciations, meanings and illustrative quotations from English authors based on the principles put forth by Dr. Robert Chenevix Trench that “a dictionary was simply an inventory of language and decidedly not a guide to proper usage” (Winchester 103-4).

The project was stalled until 1878 when James Murray was named editor of the New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. He advertised for volunteers to read from assigned areas of English writings and to provide quotations that illustrated various shades of meaning. In the 1880s one of the advertisements showed up in a book or magazine in the cell of Dr. William Minor, an American inmate at the Broadmoor Asylum of the Criminally Insane outside of London. He responded to the ad and for nearly 20 years he was among the most prolific volunteers (Winchester 113-4).  The first edition was published in 10 volumes in 1928, had 15,490 pages with over 400,000 word forms and 1.8 million quotations.

In 1984 a decision was made to convert the first edition and the supplementary volumes to electronic text and to publish a 20 volume second edition in paper. In 1992 the OED was published on CD-ROM with greatly enhanced search capabilities. It became possible to search quotations by author and key words, and to search for words by a subject label, such as botanical, musical or nautical. In 2000 the Oxford English Dictionary became available for searching online. It contains the text of the second additions and its supplements and is now being updated quarterly. If you have not had occasion to use this online version give it a try. Here you will find the very old and the very new; the esoteric and the _common; the proper and the improper. In addition to learning "what is is" you will find such words and phrases as bad hair day, chad, full monty, generation x, power dresser, snailmail, trophy wife and xantippe.

To use the Oxford English Dictionary Online, go to the library homepage, select Databases A-Z, and click on the letter O. To search for a term to describe a lover of words, select the "Advanced Search "option. Type "lover" in the first box and select "Definitions" from the drop down menu. Type "words" in the second box and again choose definitions from the drop down menu.

Several years ago, a student asked one of the reference librarians if she could take the OED with her to Cancun on spring break. At that time it was a 20 volume work so we had to tell her it just couldn’t be done. Today the OED is available to our students anywhere that an internet connection can be made.

Louise Green is assistant director of Falvey and head of the reference department.

Also contributing to this issue of Blueprints:  Jacqueline Mirabile, Judy Olsen and Jacqueline Smith. Photography by Donna Blaszkowski and the Public Relations staff.