Starting on Monday, June 17th, the library will be migrating to a new system for FAQs.  This is done in part to prepare for the coming migration to Sharepoint, but also because of the added features available in this new system.  This new platform will allow us to integrate FAQs across the library website, research guides and other platforms as well as offer some cool features to our users. 

With this new system users can:

• See potential answers as they type
• Submit questions to librarians directly from the page if we don’t already have a FAQ prepared
• Access FAQs from the library's mobile website:  DePaul University Library Mobile Site
• Email yourself a FAQ

In preparation for the move we have migrated over all of the previous FAQs but for any user who has bookmarked any of the FAQs from the previous system, we recommend that you update your bookmarks.  For the time being we will be redirecting anyone who comes in to the old urls to the new one, but you will have to search in order to locate the new FAQ. 

For anyone who would like to see the new system in action before the change next week can see a preview here: DePaul Library Faqs
 

With finals in full swing and summer break just around the corner, I decided to exclude all academic materials and make this a comedy-themed post. These books should provide much-needed respite from a year's worth of dense, required reading and are perfect for summer leisure-reading.

The first book is Marc Maron’s new memoir, Attempting Normal. For those who may be unfamiliar with his work, Marc Maron is an influential comedian and host of the popular podcast, WTF. In Attempting normal, Maron presents a collection of stories from his life in the typical brutally honest and rant-like manner that he has become famous for. At times painful, sad, and cringe-inducing, the book is ultimately a hilarious account of an imperfect man trying to be a better person. Fans of Maron’s comedy and/or his podcast are sure to love this book, and if you’ve never heard of him, it’s still worth checking out! Attempting Normal can be found as part of the Loop Library’s Unwind the Mind: Popular Reading Collection, Call Number: 792.7028092 M354A2013

The second book in this comedy-themed post takes us back to some of the people who helped pave the way for modern comedic entertainment. In her new book, Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong explores the creation of one of most beloved television shows in history, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. 40 years after the show aired, MTM still holds up; not only does the show remain entertaining but modern shows like 30 Rock continue to borrowing extensively from the groundbreaking comedy (it’s obvious if you think about it: Liz Lemon is a single, career-focused woman living in the city, working in television with a gruff man as a boss…). While the show may seem innocent by today’s standards, it’s still one of the best and fans of television are sure to enjoy reading this book. Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted is part of the Unwind the Mind: Popular Reading Collection and can be found at the John T. Richardson Library, Call Number: 791.4572 A7351M2013

The last book I would like to highlight comes from stand-up comic and actress Jen Kirkman. The title of Kirkman’s hilarious new memoir, I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales from a Happy Life Without Kids, perfectly describes the tone and content of this book. And if you’re anything like me, this book will hit close to home in an at times embarrassing and at time thank-god-I’m-not-alone kind of way. Kirkman is extremely funny and her first book is definitely worth checking out. I Can Barely Take Care of Myself  is part of the Unwind the Mind Popular Reading Collection and can be found at the John T. Richardson Library, Call Number: 792.7028092 K596I2013

   

Our ProQuest databases will be down for maintenance on Saturday night starting at 9PM. The maintenance window is scheduled to last for four hours. 

The following databases will be unavailable during this downtime:

• ABI/Inform
• Dissertations and Theses
• Ethnic Newswatch
• GenderWatch
• International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP)
• International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)
• PAIS
• ProQuest Education Journals
• Telecom
• Sociology Abstracts
• ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source
• ProQuest Digital Microfilm
• Following newspaper content on the ProQuest platform:
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Chicago Defender
  • New York Times
  • Wall Street Journal

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

After hundreds of hours in classes, we’ve arrived at this very moment: summer. Universally, this season marks the end of the old way of life and the beginning of something new. It is as if the feelings associated with “summer” rhyme with the feelings associated with “exploration.” But of all the endless possibilities what is there new to explore? Since we’re searching for something exciting, looking at how DePaul students and Chicagoans spent their past summers may turn up great ideas. In the wake of all the studying, all the homework, and all the tests, a few ideas come to mind: the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lake Shore, downtown Chicago, and in general being outside.

So how then did DePaul students celebrate in past summers? Perhaps the first goal of summer was this: The photograph of students relaxing by the lake was featured in the 1952 DePaulian, and many current students, who take advantage of the nice summer weather and the Quad, would agree on the familiarity of this scene.

What about Chicagoans before the 1950s? You might be surprised to find Chicagoans have been enjoying the Lake Shore beaches as far back as the early 1900s. This image, for example, illustrates the popular branding of the Lake Shore as a staple of Chicago life, given that this image was featured on a 1905 postcard.

Do you recognize the location of this image’s scene? If you’re having trouble remembering, take a look at Edward Kemey’s lions in the foreground of this 1925 postcard. They’re the same lions out front of the Art Institute of Chicago! While the focus of the postcard is the new Straus Building, it is clear that even in 1920s, the lions that guarded the Art Institute were as beloved then as they are now.

But what about local summer activities? Lincoln Park has a longstanding reputation for its zoo, which is located only a few blocks east of campus. While you may not necessarily get the chance to hug a lion, as this 1911 postcard shows, the Lincoln Park Zoo is a fun and free venue for all ages.

Hopefully, there were some ideas that you will adopt for your own summer plans. You might find yourself doing these same things, but if you’re interested in exploration in a different form, whether to inspire other summer ideas or for the enjoyment, celebrate a summer of throwback with us at Special Collections & Archives.  

For additional information on the postcards (from the Chicago & Lincoln Park Ephemera Collection) and DePaul photographs (from DePaulian) used in this blog, contact SPCA at: archives@depaul.edu or stop by Special Collections & Archives in the John T. Richardson Library, Room 314. 

While it's not that unusal for museums to offer high-quality scans of its collection on-line, The Rijksmuseum, the Dutch national art museum, has taken a bold step in offering high-resolution images of its collection free of cost. What makes this even more unusual is that, in addition to simply allowing users to download images for use, the site offers tools to manipulate, crop, or otherwise alter the images. Users can then take an image and have it produced into greeting cards, wallpaper, a phone skin, or even a customized scooter! Images can also be shared via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

 

Create an account, begin searching, and get creative in the Rijksstudio.

 

Les Eloges et les Vies des Reynes, des Rrincesses et des Dames Illustres en Pieté, en Courage & en Doctrine, Qui Ont Fleury de Nostre Temps, & du Temps de Nos Peres; avec l’Explication de Leurs Devises, Emblems, Hieroglyphs, & Symbols, by Hilarion de Coste. Paris: Sebastien Cramoisy et Gabriel Cramoisy, 1647.  

SpC.305.489621 C839e1647


One of the most notable features of Vincent de Paul’s life and ministry was the key role played by women. This in turn was one of the signal characteristics of the Catholic reform movement in seventeenth-century France. The contemporary French Church and French society carefully carved out a prominent, if carefully circumscribed, role for women that creatively pushed gender role boundaries while preserving intact accepted views of the inherent gender differences that posited the inferiority of women to men.

Hilarion (Olivier) de Coste (1595-1661) was a member of the mendicant Order of Minims founded by Saint Francis de Paola in the fifteenth century. De Coste knew Vincent de Paul, who in 1621 had been honored with an affiliation to the order by its general superior.¹

Coste was the author of numerous biographies. In 1625 he had published a work containing biographical sketches of pious men and women. The success of this volume led in 1630 to his publication of the present volume presenting idealized biographical sketches of notable dévot women. A second edition was published in 1647. Coste was a "patient and careful scholar" and although his sketches follow moralistic and didactic conventions they "also yield up interesting and documented details on his subjects’ lives...and also give useful insights into the values and mores of the time."²

Most importantly, from the perspective of Vincentian studies, this work includes an invaluable portrait of Monsieur Vincent’s collaborator: Marguerite Silly de Gondi, the wife of Philippe-Emmanuel de Gondi. This sketch includes an anecdote contributed by Vincent de Paul himself.³ It has been translated with annotation by John Rybolt, C.M. and Barbara Diefendorf.

 

¹Louis Abelly, Life of the Venerable Servant of God: Vincent de Paul, (New York: New City Press, 1987), 2:385.
²Rybolt, John E. C.M., Ph.D. and Diefendorf, Barbara B. (2000) “Madame de Gondi: A Contemporary Seventeenth-Century Life,” Vincentian Heritage Journal: Vol. 21: Iss. 1, Article 1.
³Ibid., 27.

__________

St. Vincent’s Reading List is a recurring blog series exploring texts known to have been read and recommended by Saint Vincent de Paul, those which can be presumed to have been read by him, and works published during his lifetime (1581-1660) illustrating his world. All materials discussed are held by DePaul University’s Richardson Library. The entire series may be viewed here.

 

 

We now have access to four new streaming video collections from Alexander Street Press!

Classical Music in Video

Watch classical music performances, sit in on masterclasses, and see interviews with master teachers.

Filmakers Library Online

See award-winning documentaries on topics ranging from race and gender studies, human rights, global studies, criminal justice, environmental studies, health, political science, arts and literature.

Nursing Education in Video

View videos specifically created for the education and training of nurses and other healthcare workers. 

Silent Film Online

Watch silent features, serials, and shorts from the 1890s to the 1930s.

 

DePaul University Libraries acquired permanent access to these collections thanks to a deal brokered by the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). Two other collections acquired through this deal, Education in Video and Ethnographic Video Online, were already available through DePaul but as subscriptions rather than as owned content.

We hope that you will find all of these collections useful for your research and teaching!

On Thursday, May 23rd, Special Collections and Archives will be closed from 1pm to 5pm.  We hope this will not cause any inconvenience.