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Blueprints: Falvey LibraryContents: November 1999
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Winston S. Churchill, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, during a lighthearted moment in his Falvey Memorial Library Distinguished Lecture on Oct. 8 when he was asked, "Would a political union between the United States and Britain be feasible sometime in the future? His response, "Don't forget we already tried that and it didn't work," brought laughter and applause. Mr. Churchill, a member of the House of commons from 1970 to 1997, spoke to an audience of nearly 250 about his memories of his grandfather as well as his own views on the political scene in the United States and Britain. |
 Reacting to Mr. Churchill's comments are panelists Dr. Marc Gallicchio, associate professor of history, Dr. Colleen Sheehan, associate professor of political science, and Dr. James L. Mullins, University librarian. |
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He detailed Sir Winston's love of the United States and his pride that he was one-half American through his mother Jennie Jerome Churchill. Winston S. Churchill signed copies of The Great Republic: A History of America (Random House, 1999), the book he edited from his grandfather's multi-volume, Nobel prize winning work, A History of the English-speaking Peoples. Mr. Churchill included in the book several of Sir Winston's memorable war time speeches given before Congress. The history and political science departments co-sponsored the lecture with Falvey Memorial Library. |
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by Jacqueline Mirabile
Students comment on staff helpfulness and climate control concerns.
Falvey Memorial Library's recent survey of student satisfaction affirmed the results of the library's continuing effort to provide better services and facilities to support the University's academic program. More students, 55 percent, come to the library now on a weekly basis in contrast to 40 percent reported in a previous survey done in 1996. While finding information on the Internet is now their top activity, there is no decrease in the use of traditional materials.
During the textbook buy-back week last May, Falvey Library's VQI Enhancement Team, conducted, with staff volunteers, a student satisfaction survey similar to a previous survey done in the spring of 1996. Students completed the surveys in two locations: Falvey Library with 216 participants and outside of the bookstore with 370 participants. The 586 respondents in the 1999 survey mirror the enrollment pattern of the student body. The 1999 survey questions are similar to those of the 1996 survey, with questions added to reflect changes in facilities and in services, especially electronic access to Web resources.
The major difference between the survey results of the two locations showed that respondents in the library were more likely to report that course assignments required library research and also that they were more likely to use not only Falvey Library resources but also other area libraries as well as Internet resources.
Comparing questions on library facilities, resources and services, the ratings from these two locations are very similar. Although the overall satisfaction ratings were higher in 1999 than in 1996, the numbers continue to show a lukewarm endorsement of physical facilities such as lighting and adequate seating at tables and carrels. Most students voice dissatisfaction with the lack of temperature control, as in the previous survey.
Since 1996 the creation of six group study rooms and more comfortable seating on the upper floors improved those conditions. However, the ratings indicated that these improvements are not enough.
Generally, the library is perceived as having an atmosphere conducive to study although students indicate that their peers do not always respect the need for quiet.
Regarding students' perceptions of the library staff, the 1999 ratings of the staff's helpfulness, courtesy and responsiveness are higher than in 1996. Most of the ratings are at or near 4 on a 5 point scale, and many written comments indicate appreciation of the staff's helpfulness.
The most frequently cited reason for going to the library is to study alone; next is to do research, access FLASH databases, borrow books, use reserve materials or study with a group.
While in the 1996 survey the most _common activity in the library was photocopying, now it is finding information on the Internet. Other activities that also ranked high are the use of FLASH databases from the library and from remote computing sites, use of full-text electronic journals and electronic reserve materials. Traditional library materials usage remains unchanged from 1996.
Nearly 90 percent of the students report being able to find what they need in the library on a routine basis. Although few reported difficulty finding their way around the library, more than 60 percent feel that some type of instruction would be helpful but no one method was selected by a majority. Over 60 percent feel well-informed about technologies available in the library compared to 30 percent in 1996.
Despite the length of the survey, over 100 students took the time to write comments in response to these questions: What is the one most important improvement to the existing services and resources you think Falvey should make? What is the one most important service or resource you think Falvey Library should provide but does not now offer ? What would encourage you to use Falvey Library more often? The most frequent responses include improved climate control, improved study space for individuals and groups, more computers on each floor, more training sessions, enhanced computer systems, extended hours, more journals in print and full-text, free printing, better photocopiers and more books and staff.
ET members responsible for the student satisfaction survey were Luisa Cywinski, Bernadette Dierkes, Laura Hutelmyer, Jacqueline Mirabile and Kathleen O'Connor, and OPIR assisted with writing and interpreting the survey.
The full report is available in the director's office, the Reserve Room, and at the Reference desk.
Jacqueline Mirabile is Reference / Government documents librarian.
Dr. Mary Desmond spoke to a standing room only crowd at the first Falvey Memorial
Library Faculty Research Talk on Oct.27. Dr. Desmond, professor of biology, discussed her
research in developmental biology focusing on growth patterns in the embryonic vertebrate
brain.
Her research, spanning 25 years, has succeeded in identifying several basic mechanisms of vertebrate embryonic brain growth, which include the occurrence of spinal cord occlusion in the embryo. According to Dr. Desmond, "These discoveries about pressure driving early brain growth and the role of occlusion in this process are now being cited by prominent pediatric neurosurgeons trying to correct hydrocephaly, a major birth defect. |
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She also noted that scientists are now looking at the relationship between schizophrenia and brain growth patterns.
Dr. Desmond's research team, housed in Mendel Hall, includes both graduate and undergraduate students conducting studies utilizing sophisticated techniques. Formerly her research used a chick as an experimental model and a human as a descriptive model. Now these studies also use transgenic mice to examine how genes control cell proliferation in the embryonic brain and involve measuring brain regions using computer imaging and detecting cell proliferation by assessing DNA synthesis.
Noting the high expectations placed upon her students, Dr. Desmond cited their expertise and their diligence.
Her research collaborators include scientists from various universities and institutions across the United States.
Complementing the Falvey Library Faculty Book Talk series, the Faculty Research Talks will provide a forum for Villanova faculty publishing in scholarly journals, according to James Mullins, University librarian.
By Linda Saboe
Walk on down the stairs and around the back, just around the corner from the Holy Grounds coffee bar, you will find the Reserve Room. This is where students come to access material placed here by their instructors.
Despite its ground floor location, the Reserve Room is open and sunny with two walls of large windows. Looking out on one side you see the St. Augustine Center and on the other side, the striking statue of Mendel.
Srinivasa Thota reads a book placed on reserve while Madhavi Burla accesses her reading assignment electronically. |
The room is a quiet study area for students, with seating to accommodate 60. Students can browse the open shelves for books placed here by their instructors, or they can request photocopies and other material held behind the service counter. We typically have about 6,000 items in the Reserve Room each semester. You can find certain Villanova documents and publications that are of interest to the Villanova community, including the Belle-Air yearbooks, CATS, course syllabi, surveys and strategic plans. |
The types of material placed here by faculty include library books, photocopies of articles, book chapters, reports, solutions manuals and binders, sample exams, specified journals from the Periodical department, and personal copies of faculty books. We've even had blueprints on reserve.
Faculty can place books and other material on reserve for their students by bringing the material to us, sending their request via campus mail or by using the online request form found on Falvey Library's homepage (http://library.villanova.edu/forms/resform.htm) which works for library books only.
Other reserve collections are not attached to courses. These items include library books that various departments or the library have decided should be accessible to students at all times. These books are considered part of the Permanent Reserve Collection. So, the New Jerome Biblical Commentary is a permanent item for the theology collection, and Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is always here for nursing students.
The Reserve Room also functions as the designated place where patrons can
use restricted materials from Falvey's special collections and Villanova theses. When
committees need to review supporting material for rank and tenure, faculty research and
Lindback Awards, those materials are sent to the Reserve Room. The Reserve Room is a
secure, yet convenient, place for restricted or confidential material.
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Our newest service to our students is electronic reserves. The Reserve Room offers this service to a limited number of faculty per semester. This fall, 50 faculty are utilizing the service. This number may grow in the future as demand and capacity increase. At present, faculty should call the Reserve Room and register to use electronic reserves. |
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Guidelines for submitting readings for electronic reserve can be requested from the Reserve Room. (For information regarding electronic reserves call Linda Saboe at 519-6390.)
So, it's true, you can get almost anything you want in the Reserve Room, but there are exceptions. We don't have videos (call IMS for those), and you can=t "reserve"@ the room. We don't have the answers to students' final exams, but we'll do our best to make sure they can find what they need to be successful in their studies.
To contact us, please call the Reserve Room at 519-4278 or write to us at Linda.Saboe@villanova.edu, or Elizabeth.Murphy@villanova.edu.
Linda Saboe is Reserve Room supervisor. This article continues the series highlighting Falvey=s departments.
By Ruth Lewis
With the millennium just around the corner, it's not too early to start planning for the Anew you@ to begin the new century. If you've been thinking a new job will help create this new you, just pull up a comfortable chair and fire up your computer. In a "FLASH," the world of online job hunting will be available to you. In the past few years, job-hunting has gone high-tech, and literally thousands of vacancies are posted online. Through its online information system, Falvey Library is helping job-seekers and career-changers navigate this "brave new world.@
To begin your online job hunt, start at Falvey's homepage. Click on the heading E-Resources by Subject, then Career Opportunities. From this screen you may search a number of databases for articles on the desired career area. For World Wide Web links to selected job-related websites, click on Selected Websites.
The first group of websites is multi-purpose or meta-sites. Having already searched, evaluated and organized a multitude of job-related websites, these serve as "indexes" to online job searching. Frequently meta-sites offer a broad range of career information including career planning, online resume information, career resources, job search advice, lists of job vacancies and links to many other career sites. Two of the most well-known meta-sites are "The Riley Guide@ (http://www.dbm.com/jobguide) by Margaret Riley, author of The Guide to Internet Job Searching and "Job Hunter's Bible@ (http://www.jobhuntersbible.com) by Richard Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? (Both of these books are available in Falvey's reference collection.)
Among the single-purpose websites is an online version of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook (http://www.bls.gov/oco/). This popular resource provides profiles of many different types of jobs, their educational requirements, a job outlook for the future, and sample salary ranges for each job. (A printed copy of this handbook is available in Falvey's reference collection.)
Another very useful website for those considering relocation is "The Salary Calculator@ (http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html) which allows you to compare the cost of living in other U.S. and international cities.
A third group is a list of selected job-posting or resume-posting websites. These sites list actual job openings and allow you to post your resume for scanning by prospective employers. Some sites are limited to specific career fields, but many are searchable by keyword, geographic location or type of job. Included here are "America's Job Bank@ (http://www.ajb.dni.us), a joint effort of 2,000 government agencies and state employment offices and "Job Hunter@ (http://careers.philly.com/), a searchable list of job advertisements from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.
Not only does the FLASH system link you to the online job-hunting world, but VUCat, the library's online catalog, will retrieve over 400 job-related titles available in Falvey's book collection. Return to Falvey=s homepage, and click on the heading VUCat. Typing RESUMES as the subject in VUCat=s basic mode will find 38 books on writing resumes. By typing "VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE" AND PSYCHOLOGY in VUCat's Boolean/command mode you will find, for example, 25 titles dealing with careers in psychology.
Recently many of the books about careers, job searching, resume writing and interviewing have been collected and shelved in a new section of the Reference area designated CAREERS COLLECTION. Here you will find printed lists of books in Falvey's collection which provide information on careers in science/technology, liberal arts/education, health care, social sciences/government, business and communications. In addition, there are special lists for books on internships and international jobs. For your convenience, you may request any of these lists be sent to you by campus mail.
For assistance or questions about career materials in Falvey Library, please phone (610) 519-4273, email (ref@villanova.edu), or stop by the Reference desk.
Ruth Lewis is a reference librarian.
Also contributing to this issue of Blueprints: James Mullins, Lee Murphy, Judith Olsen, Sue Ottignon and Jacqueline Smith. Photography by Bernadette Dierkes and Steven Dixon.
