Blueprints:  Falvey Library

• Proclus' Arguments and their journey towards the 21^st century

• Nurses that made history

• Spend an evening with "Oscar"

• Falvey Library introduces high tech Canon Micro Scanner

• It's tax time again!

• The present (dynamic) state of electronic journal access at Falvey Library

• Also contributing to this issue...
   

By Bente Polites

On February 12, Dr. Helen S. Lang, chair of the philosophy department, was the guest speaker at the Falvey Memorial Library's Faculty Book Talk series. The topic of this book talk was her most recent book "Proclus: On the Eternity of the World (De Aeternitate Mundi)," (University of California Press, 2001).

This book contains the text of Proclus' Arguments II-XVIII in Greek and a parallel English translation. Argument I, which survives only in Arabic, is included in an appendix with an English translation. The translations from Greek to English were made by Dr. Lang and Dr. A.D. Macro, and the translation from the Arabic was made by Jon McGinnis. This book presents the first translation to a modern language of Proclus' Arguments.

Proclus (ca. A.D. 410-485) was born into a wealthy family in Constantinople, and he intended to follow his father into the practice of law. However, Dr. Lang explained that the handsome youth received a calling from the goddess Athena to leave his comfortable life in Byzantium and go to Athens to study philosophy. At the age of 20 Proclus arrived in Athens and began his studies at the Neoplatonic Academy. He studied with Syrianus and Plutarch and, at this very young age, he went on to become the last head of Plato's Academy.  Proclus' intellect was greatly admired by his contemporaries; throughout late antiquity he was generally called "The Great Proclus."

A devout pagan, Proclus left Athens and lived in Asia Minor for one year. Dr. Lang suggested that he might have refused to go underground during the persecutions of the pagans and may have only chosen to return to Athens when he deemed it safe.

Among Proclus' many publications are commentaries on works by Plato, Euclid, and Ptolemy, and he also wrote hymns in verse. The depth of Proclus' philosophical analysis is evident in his eighteen arguments published in De Aeternitate Mundi which are now, for the first time, available to us in English.

Dr. Lang explained that no original manuscript of Proclus' arguments is known to have survived and that we can not therefore be sure how Proclus entitled this work. Ironically, the text of these arguments was transmitted to us by Philoponus who actually attempted to refute Proclus' arguments. 

Philoponus (ca. A.D. 490-570) was a Christian philosopher who taught and wrote in Alexandria several years after Proclus' death. Philoponus' first name is John, which might lead us to believe that he was born to Christian parents (although he also could have converted to Christianity at a later age). Philoponus intended to refute Proclus' arguments in his De Aeternitate Mundi contra Proclum in which he quoted Proclus' arguments one by one in full and discussed and criticized them at great length.

Dr. Lang reminded us that our connection to the past often is very fragile, as in this case where only one single copy of Philoponus' Greek manuscript has survived. Furthermore, this text is still missing Argument I which luckily has been found in an Arabic translation.

Dr. Helen Lang at the Falvey Memorial Library Faculty Book Talk on February 12.

Several translations of De Aeternitate Mundi contra Proclum were published during the Renaissance. A critical edition of the Greek text was edited by Hugo Rabe and published in 1899 by the German publisher Teubner. In this edition we find Proclus' text on 36 printed pages and Philoponus' lengthy commentaries consist of about 600 pages. Dr. Lang and Dr. Macro, who used this edition as the basis for the Greek text of Proclus, found that a number of mistakes and misspellings had crept into the Greek text during its transmission through the hands of scribes and editors.

In each argument Proclus presents proof that the world is eternal, without a beginning and an end. Several scholars have therefore concluded that Proclus was writing against the Christians and that the Arguments might contain a secret anti-Christian coded language to be understood only by other Neoplatonic pagans. Philoponus' work against Proclus is one attempt at a philosophical refutation sometimes thought to be based on the Christian idea that the world is not eternal. Many scholars have concluded that Philoponus' work is to be read as a discussion between pagan and Christian viewpoints. Dr. Lang argued that there is no explicit evidence that we are "witnessing" a pagan-Christian debate. She concludes, based on her many years of research and in working on translating this important piece of Greek philosophical writing, that Proclus was simply stating his arguments based on their own merit.

Thus, Dr. Lang, against what many other scholars have concluded about the text, thinks De Aeternitate Mundi is a superb example of classical pagan Neoplatonic thought rather than an anti-Christian tract. This latest in Falvey's Faculty Book Talks concluded that perhaps Proclus and Philoponus are entitled to be read at face value. Then De Aeternitate Mundi can be understood for what it is - an important window into the final phases of Neoplatonism in late antiquity.

Dr. Lang joined Villanova University at the beginning of this academic year. Previously a professor of philosophy at Trinity College in Connecticut, Dr. Lang has published extensively on Aristotle and on Greek philosophy. 

Bente Polites is a reference librarian and Special Collections librarian and the librarian liaison to the philosophy department.

By Jutta Seibert

March is Women's History Month, a time set aside to remember the achievements and contributions of women. The theme of this year's National Women's History Month is "Women Pioneering the Future."

Falvey Memorial Library joins the celebration with its Women's History Month exhibit, on display in the glass case on the first floor of the library until the end of March. It was prepared by Lorraine Williams (Instructional Media Services), Katy Lee (IMS student assistant), Lisa Pittinger (IMS student assistant), and Jutta Seibert (reference/cataloging librarian).

This year's display features women who made significant contributions to the development of the nursing profession in the United States. The nurses featured in the exhibit are Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross; Dorothea Lynde Dix, superintendent of nurses for the Union army and pioneer in the reform of psychiatric care; Isabel Robb, the first president of the American Nurses Association; Linda Richards, America's first trained nurse; Mary A. Nutting, the first American nurse to become a university professor; Mary E. Mahoney, the first African American graduate nurse; Sue S. Dauser, the first woman captain in the U.S. Navy; and Sister Mary Berenice Beck, who played a significant role in developing the Code of Ethics of the American Nurses Association.

Falvey Library has many books about and by these women in its collection, such as "A History of Nursing" by Mary A. Nutting and Lavinia L. Dock [RT31.N95 2000], "Asylum, Prison, and Poorhouse : the Writings and Reform Work of Dorothea Dix in Illinois" [HV98.I15 D6 1999], and "Reminiscences of Linda Richards, America's First Trained Nurse" [RT37.R5]. Some of these books will be part of the display.

The focus on nurses in this year's Women's History Month display was prompted by the 50^th anniversary (1953-2003) of Villanova's College of Nursing. Villanova admitted the first ten full-time female undergraduates to the new College of Nursing in 1953, effectively implementing coeducation on campus. The first female resident students were housed in the Franciscan House of Studies. In 1957 the nursing program received initial accreditation from the National League for Nursing.

Today, the College is accredited for B.S.N. and M.S.N. programs and is planning to offer a Ph.D. program in the near future.   The picture shows Villanova nursing students wearing the original student nursing uniform.

Come visit us in Falvey Library and join us in celebrating Women's History Month. 
 

By Jacqueline Mirabile

Which movies will get the coveted golden statuette is often the focus of conversations on campus and elsewhere. Falvey Library has a large collection about many aspects of film making.  For background on the Academy Awards, you might consult "65 Years of the Oscar:  the Official History of the Academy Awards" by Robert Osborne (PN1993.92.O82 1994).

Have you ever fantasized about receiving an Oscar, maybe for your screenplay or for your acting? To help make it happen, you might consult "Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made" by Alex Epstein (PN1996.E77 2002) or maybe "Oscar-winning Screenwriters on Screenwriting: the Award-Winning Best in the Business Discuss Their Craft" by Joel Engel (PN1996.E57 2002).

Falvey also has shooting scripts of movies such as "Belle et la Bete," "Black Hawk Down," "Citizen Kane," "Gosford Park," and "Snow Falling on Cedars."  Shooting scripts, the versions that the directors and other production personnel follow, may be of special interest to budding screen writers.

To get tips on acting, try "The Art of Film Acting: a Guide for Actors and Directors" by Jeremiah Comey (PN1995.9.A26 C65 2002) or "How to Be a Working Actor: the Insider's Guide to Finding Jobs in Theater, Film, and Television" by Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers (PN2055.H39 1994). Or maybe you just like to read about film people.

Many actors have written about themselves and their craft.  Among the many books about actors, Falvey has autobiographies by Kenneth Branagh, Alec Guinness, Katharine Hepburn, James Earl Jones, Laurence Olivier, Sidney Poitier, and Vanessa Redgrave,

Perhaps you love reading critical reviews of movies. On the fourth floor, in the PN1995 section, there are collections of reviews by such well-known critics as Pauline Kael, Penelope Gilliatt, John Simon, Anthony Lane and Stanley Kauffmann.

And to help you keep up with recent trends in movie making, Falvey has a number of film journals, such as "Cinema Journal," "Film Quarterly," and "Sight and Sound." Current issues of these may be found in the Current Periodicals room in the PN1993 section. Also, "Senses of Cinema" from Australia is available online. 

For your viewing pleasure, faculty and staff may borrow videos from the Instructional Media Services department. Over 4000 videos are fully cataloged and may be found in VUCat under title and subject. Not all are designed to supplement course work. Videos include American, foreign and documentary films such as "Das Boot," "Butcher Boy," "Camille," "Deer Hunter," "Eve's Bayou," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Paisan," "Red Kiss," "Wag the Dog," "West Side Story," "When the Cranes Fly," and "Winslow Boy."

So pop the popcorn and enjoy a night at the movies.

Jacqueline Mirabile is a reference librarian and the government documents librarian and serves as the librarian liaison to the theatre department.

The art of accessing microfilm and microfiche has taken on a new dimension at Falvey Library. The new Canon Microfilm Scanner 400 now makes it possible for you to read, print, and save scanned images to a floppy disk or CD or to email images to yourself. The Canon Micro Scanner works in conjunction with a Dell PC and Canon ImageScan software. First, the microfilm or microfiche is loaded into the machine, the desired image is identified on the screen and a series of detailed steps are followed to scan that image to the PC desktop. Once the image appears on the desktop, adjustments can be made to the image before saving or emailing. The ImageScan software also offers a tutorial on basic machine usage in English, Spanish or French.

The Canon Microfilm Scanner 400 is located on the main floor of the Library with the existing microfilm machines, near the entrance to the bound periodical stacks. The Periodical department offers assistance in using all the microfilm machines.
 

By Susan Markley

The explosion in electronic journal publishing continues at an accelerated rate. Many more titles are now available online, especially in the sciences and technology. The arts and humanities were slower to make the transition, but now databases such as JSTOR and PROJECT MUSE are providing extensive full-text back files and current issues for a wide variety of subjects. All of these journal titles have links on the VUCat library catalog for easy access.

Besides these smaller, subject-oriented databases, publishers can also make their titles accessible electronically through the popular general aggregator databases like "Expanded Academic Index" and "Lexis-Nexis." Thousands of articles, from hundreds of publishers, many of which are full-text, are searchable by subject. However, these databases are often unstable, with publishers pulling their titles, switching databases at will, or imposing "embargoes" on their most current issues with little or no warning.  Because of this instability, the Library has maintained the print counterparts for journals found in these large aggregator databases.

Another, more stable source for scholarly electronic titles is found in publisher databases, such as those from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Mathematical Society, and the American Chemical Society. These professional societies guarantee access to their most current issues and back files at reasonable prices. Because these publications duplicate their print counterpart in its entirety, the Library has elected to cancel many of their paper subscriptions in an effort to save money. Articles from recent issues must be downloaded  or printed from the network.

Not so reasonably priced are those publications in commercial publisher databases, such as Elsevier's ScienceDirect. With their recent purchase of Academic Press, Elsevier has now cornered the market on many of the most important scientific and technical journals published worldwide. In order for Villanova to continue its electronic access to the publisher's titles we subscribe to in paper, we recently signed a contract with Elsevier which provides electronic access to almost 200 of the 1200+ titles in the ScienceDirect package. Under the terms of our contract, users can view citations to all the titles in the collection, but full-text access is limited to the titles in our subscription plan. Full-text for non-Villanova titles can be purchased on an individual basis by the user. Usage statistics will be monitored by the Periodical department. If a non-Villanova title is consistently selected by our patrons, that title can replace a Villanova title that is not being accessed with any frequency, as long as our pre-determined price level is maintained. This level is based on previous journal subscriptions held in print with Elsevier. To offset the high cost of this new electronic package, the Library will opt for their "E-Choice" plan in 2004 which will cancel the print Elsevier subscriptions in favor of electronic access only.
           
Another major source for online journals available in the Library is from publishers who use a _common platform such as Ingenta or OCLC ECO to display their individual titles. Access to their full-text is free with a registered print subscription. Some of these publishers are now allowing electronic only subscriptions, for a fee equal to the cost of the canceled print subscription, but as of yet, the Library has not canceled any print copies.

The convenience and ease of full-text electronic access directly from faculty offices and residence halls is somewhat balanced by the increasing difficulty and expense in obtaining these journals for our library collection. The expected cost savings never materialized as publishers continue to increase access prices substantially.

Costs for many of the databases have also risen dramatically. In addition, there is a tremendous increase in the difficulty of purchasing and renewing these materials, with complicated publisher/vendor requirements for registering, authorization verification, licensing, payment schedules, and breakdowns between the system and publisher web pages. However, because of current budget constraints and space limitations, the Library will continue to increase our electronic journal collection while continuing a policy of selective print cancellations.

The bottom line still remains: faculty and students have embraced electronic journal access and the Library will make every effort to meet this demand. 

Susan Markley is head of the Periodical department.

Also contributing to this issue of Blueprints: Laura Hutelmyer, Judy Olsen and Jackie Smith. Photography by Donna Blaszkowski.