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Blueprints: Falvey LibraryContents: October 2003
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Article records in a database will now display a rectangular button reading “VU e-link.” Simply click on the button and receive the menu of full- text sources and other options. |
Then click on the desired link, most likely the one providing the needed article in full text; when all is ready, no independent searching in VUCat will be necessary.
SFX also automatically generates an A-Z list of the electronic journals available to Falvey Library. To access the list from the Falvey home page, click on “E-journals by Title.” The list gives titles, the vendor packages from which they receive electronic full text, the span of years for which electronic full text articles are available, and an SFX button to bring up the menu of options. This new list is much more comprehensive than the list the Library used to maintain manually; it includes the contents of several electronic journal packages not previously included, such as Expanded Academic Index and Lexis/Nexis.
Unfortunately, the various database vendors allow different degrees of access to open URL’s. While some electronic full text links take the user directly to the article, others allow only issue access or present you with the electronic journal’s home page: You must then locate the specific article you need.
Also, some vendors persist in displaying the generic SFX button rather than our custom “VU e-link” logo, designed by the Graphics department in IMS. Furthermore, as of this writing, the Library is continuing to format all of its electronic titles for SFX accessibility; for the immediate future, you should still double-check VUCat if SFX indicates there is no online version of an article. Be aware of these limitations as you use this service.
Finally, the look of the menus generated by clicking the SFX button and what options those menus will display has not yet been finalized. Falvey Library welcomes suggestions about the menus and any other SFX related comments.
By Reverend Dennis J. Gallagher, O.S.A.
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The Falvey Memorial Library Faculty Book Talks began the 2003-2004 academic year September 16 with a talk by Rev. Thomas Martin on his new book, Our Restless Heart: The Augustinian Tradition (Orbis Books, 2003). Father Martin indicated that while his main hope was to comment on the book, he felt it important to give a brief background on St. Augustine. Augustine (354-430) lived in a critical period in early Christianity in the West, a culture based mainly in Latin and Greek. Augustine was a servant of God, contemplative monk, preacher, bishop, reformer and also a local judge, presiding over the Episcopal court which was held everyday. Augustine was also a protector of the poor and a diplomat who brought people together. All of his writings amount to six million words, which is remarkable when considering that all ancient books were hand copied.
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The Augustine who was an influential writer belongs to a broader picture. Father Martin noted that Augustine’s voice was authoritative: “It came to be: ‘Augustine said ….’” He was eloquent and dealt with many issues, and he was a controversial debater and had strong convictions. In his lifetime his theological positions and his spiritual vision were not without critics. “Love and do what you will” is one of his favorite phrases.
The initial impetus for Our Restless Heart came from Rev. Paul Graham, the Augustinian English Provincial, who wanted Father Martin to contact Philip Sheldrake, editor of the Traditions of Christian Spirituality series. Sheldrake wanted a book on Augustinian tradition, past and present. Even though initially this project seemed beyond Father Martin’s expectations, he was faithful throughout the project. While the editor requested 30,000 to 40,000 words, the final count in the manuscript was 50,006 words. How can one be succinct with a topic of this scope?
The first chapter of Our Restless Heart deals with Augustine’s journey to his conversion. He memorized texts of the various authors of his times. After his conversion he quotes from the Bible, his spiritual vision deeply rooted in the Biblical scriptures. Christ was at the center of the vision, the vision to the heart. Augustine believed that we are journeying as individuals and community. In the second chapter Father Martin speaks of Augustine the monk who wrote the rule and lived in community. Again, the centrality of love and community is one mind and heart in our way to God.
The next section deals with Augustinianism. Here Father Martin describes the twelfth century canonical reform movement, the reform of the clergy. Bishops formed small communities of clergy, and the clergy were to live in the community and follow a regular life. The Victorines were influential in the canonical movement: Hugh of St. Victor who read Augustine was most organically Augustinian in his thought and Richard of St. Victor was more comprehensive. Both were devoted students of Augustine.
Father Martin also writes about the Order of St. Augustine. In the thirteenth century they were called the Hermit Brothers of the Order of St. Augustine, Order Hermits of St. Augustine or Augustinian Hermits. Chapter five deals with Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Jerome Seripando, Prior General of the Augustinian Order, and the final chapter concerns the modern and postmodern world and the ongoing encounter with Augustine and his spiritual vision. Individuals such as Cornelis Janssen, Rene Descartes, Maurice Blondel and Jacques Derrida are discussed.
Father Martin concludes his book with the question “What is the future of Augustinian spirituality?” For Father Martin, it is both Augustine’s “concern and his unique voicing of those concerns that, I would suggest, will keep Augustinian spirituality vibrant, remarkably relevant and sometimes even controversial! But even when he was most controversial he still had only one aim: What do I want? What do I desire? What do I burn for? Why am I sitting here? Why do I live? There’s only one reason: so that we may live together with Christ."
Father Thomas F. Martin, O.S.A., Ph.D. is an associate professor, theology and religious studies, and founding director of the Institute for the Study of St. Augustine and the Augustinian Tradition. He is the author of many scholarly works on St. Augustine.
The talk took place in the newly designed Popular Reading area on the first floor of Falvey Memorial Library. Father Martin was introduced by Joseph Lucia, University Librarian and director of the Library.
The Falvey Faculty Book Talk series provides a forum for faculty to share their research and publication experience.
Rev. Dennis J. Gallagher, O.S.A., Ph.D., is the University Archivist and librarian co-liaison to the theology and religious studies department.
By Joe Lucia, University Librarian and Director of Falvey Library
You may recall that during the Spring 2003 semester, Falvey Memorial Library participated in a national Web-based survey (LIBQUAL+) on the quality of service in academic libraries. By the luck of the draw, a Villanova undergraduate was winner of the national “incentive prize” from the survey sponsor (the Association for Research Libraries), a Palm Tungsten T handheld “personal digital assistant” (PDA). Five local incentive prizes ($25 Amazon.com gift certificates) were also given to randomly selected undergraduate and graduate student survey respondents.
The design of the LIBQUAL+ survey is intended to provide participating libraries with a snapshot of the service levels users expect, what they actually experience, and what they would like in an optimal environment. The survey covered four broad categories of service performance: access to information (collections); affect of service (interpersonal experience); library as place (the physical facility); personal control (meeting information needs with minimal assistance).
The LIBQUAL+ survey results tell us a number of important things. First, the library staff’s service orientation and professional competence is well-known and highly valued. Beneath this personnel strength, however, there are some causes for concern. The Library’s shortcomings as a physical environment are widely-recognized on campus and must be addressed by a long-term building plan. In the short-term, some reconfiguration and renovation of library space may make the building work better for the current cohort of students.
Perceived deficiencies in the Library collections are a more complex matter. Although we are not a full-scale research library, we try to meet the needs of our faculty. And, we should be able to meet the needs of most undergraduates and graduate students, so the issue here becomes how to determine where the collection falls short, if it in fact falls short, or if the access systems that help users identify and get hold of what we own are in fact where the failure lies. One other possibility relates to user expectation. It is possible, for instance, that undergraduates are looking to the Library for textbooks and similar items that will never be found in our collection.
For the “personal control” and technology weaknesses, there are some clear solutions – better Web design, better retrieval software, improved remote access support, and new PCs in the building. All of these are in the works.
During the coming months, a team of Falvey librarians will be working on follow-up studies, using a number of methods, including on-site questionnaires, user interviews, focus groups, and smaller, narrowly focused surveys. Our goal is to identify clear steps for improving areas of perceived weakness in order to make the services we deliver match as closely as possible to what library users need and value. I look forward to being able to report back to the campus on the results of our improvement efforts over the next year or two.
Also contributing to this issue of Blueprints: Judy Olsen; photography by Donna Blaszkowski.
