• I need to find letters written by German aristocrats in the late nineteenth century.

• Where would I find a primary source related to the conquest of Mexico?

• Are there any original pamphlets or posters I can look at from the Civil Rights Movement?

What are primary sources exactly? Well, it really is open to interpretation and your instructor should set the parameters of what is and is not acceptable. Generally, primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. They are original documents, such as a treaty, legislation or artifacts, instead of articles or books that provide secondary analysis.

Primary sources can also reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Undergraduate students are sometimes allowed to use a broader definition of primary sources, which might include diaries, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers.

It's a question of content rather than format--primary sources might be republished, digitized or preserved on microfilm.

DePaul's Special Collections and Archives can be a wonderful resource for primary sources, especially those pertaining to the University, the Lincoln Park neighborhood and Vincentian Heritage. Other repositories in the immediate area worth exploring include the Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library; additionally the National Archives in Washington, DC has an extensive selection of digitized documents. For more advice on how to identify and locate primary sources, click here.

http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/index.html?dod-date=714

The new search box on the library's website will help you easily find a specific database.  It's located toward the middle and left of the library's homepage.  Just type in the name of the database you need, such as JSTOR and a list of resources will come up.  The database name will be at or near the top of the list.  Click right in and start searching.  If you're off-campus, you'll be prompted for your campus connection username and password before you can search the database.  The new search box, it's quick and easy.  We think you'll like it!

DePaul has streamlined the process for ordering articles by switching from our old interlibrary loan system to ILLiad.  This means that ordering articles is now much easier and faster.  The turnaround time is generally one week but we have seen articles delivered in a matter of hours.  The delivery time depends on how quickly the lending libraries send the material that you've requested.  We hope you enjoy the new service!!

Many have pondered, protested, and embraced DePaul’s Blue Demon name, yet where did it come from? The history of our athletic title and mascot has been a frequently asked question throughout the life of the University and the answer lives in the archives on the third floor of the John T. Richardson Library.

Here is the story:

In 1907 when St. Vincent’s College became DePaul University, the sports teams wore red uniforms with large ‘D’s on the front. During a game, in the early 1900s, an announcer referred to the players as the “D-men”. This name stuck with the team and evolved into the Demon we have today. The ‘blue’ component is thought to have developed from the attempt to distinguish the players from DePaul University from those of the DePaul Academy (a high school a part of the University at the time). It was for this reason that the Academy took to wearing blue uniforms with red ‘D’s and the University adopted red uniforms with blue ‘D’s; thus solidifying their title as the Blue ‘D’-men or what we know them as today: The DePaul Blue Demons!

So next time you are out cheering for the red and the blue remember to cheer for our Demon too!

*Football Team 1912, University Archives. DePaul University Special Collection and Archives.

DePaul belongs to I-Share, a consortium of over 70 libraries in Illinois.  It's a great system because it allows DePaul users to borrow books from any of the I-Share institutions.  So if there's something you need that we don't have, see if it's available in the I-Share catalog and request it to be sent to a DePaul library of your choice using your library borrower I.D. (on the back of the DePaul I.D. above the barcode).  If you need something immediately, you can stop by a local I-Share library and check out a book in person with your DePaul I.D (some of the local I-Share libraries include Roosevelt, Columbia and University of Illinois at Chicago).  When you're done with a book, simply drop it off at any of the DePaul University Libraries and we'll return it for you!

Now, about your textbook question, I-Share is a great option for getting books not readily available at DePaul, but we highly discourage students to use it for textbooks.  Often, our students need the latest edition, which is not always available in I-Share.  Even if the correct edition is available, it can be recalled at any time so there is no guarantee that you will have a textbook as long as you need.  We often see students get stuck without a textbook mid-way through a quarter and would hate for this to happen to you! 

So, to wrap it up, I-Share is good for ordering books, but is not recommended in place of purchasing textbooks.  Remember, you'll need those textbooks the entire quarter! 

*Gadl. Les Cavernes Aux Livres. <compfight.com>.

Firework celebrations go back to 1000 A.D. China, where the firework was developed from military rockets and explosive missiles. The use of fireworks to celebrate military victories spread to Europe during the Middle Ages and persist to this day.¹ The colonists brought the tradition to America and since 1777, pyrotechnics have been used to commemorate the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.  The first organized celebration was held in Philadelphia in 1777 and resembled contemporary celebrations.  During the celebration, cannons were fired, one round for each state in the union.  There was ringing of bells, a dinner, music, toasts, a parade, fireworks, and draping of ships in the harbor with the colors of the American flag.²  Have a happy 4th of July! 

1) "Independence Day." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 3 July 2008. http://search.eb.com/.

2) Heintze, James R. "A Chronology of Notable Fourth of July Celebration Occurrences."  Fourth of July Celebrations Database. American University. 3 July 2008. http://www.american.edu/heintze/fourth.htm#Notable.

* Flora, Jim. The Day the Cow Sneezed. Harcourt Brace: New York, 1957.

Also known as the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer is the longest day of the year, and usually occurs on June 20th or 21st. This means that the North Pole is titled towards the sun, which happens only once a year (the opposite happens on December 21st when the South Pole is titled towards the sun, called the Winter Solstice).

  *

In the United States, there will be about 14 1/2 hours of daylight today, so get out there and make the most of it!

-------------------------- 

* Van H. English, "Solstice," in AccessScience@McGraw-Hill, http://www.accessscience.com.

Afraid to go out of the house this Friday?  You're not alone, many people suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia, a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.  Others are affected by Triskaidekaphobia, the fear of 13. Not to worry though, June the 13th is the only Friday that falls on the 13th this year!

Now, on to your question, "Why is Friday the 13th so unlucky?"  The belief that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day is derived from two long-standing superstitions, the fear of the number 13 and a negative association with Friday itself. The two superstitions are part of a long and fragmented history making it difficult to pinpoint their origin. 

The unlucky 13 seems to have ancient origins giving room for plenty of speculation as to why the number came to be considered unlucky.  Some theories argue that there are mathematical reasons for the fear of 13, others believe that 13 came to be associated with unlucky events.  Whatever the reasons, it is clear that 13 shows up time and time again as the object upon which people have historically projected fear and uncertainty.  One of the first texts to reflect this view is Work and Days written by in 700 B.C.E. in which the Greek poet Hesiod mentions the 13th day of the month as an unlucky day for sewing seeds.  Unlucky 13 is incorporated in the story of the Last Supper at which Judas was the 13th guest.¹

Negativity towards Fridays can be traced as far back as the 16th century in western literature.  The term "friday-faced," meaning sad-looking, and "friday-look," meaning a solemn look, surfaced as early as the the late 1500s.  In 1592, Greene wrote, "The Foxe made a Fridayface, counterfeiting sorrow."  The expression was used again in 1681 by Robertson who wrote, "What makes you look so sad, and moodily? with such a Friday face."  Early in the next century Rowley spoke of a "plague of Friday mornings!" in Match of Midnight.²  Why there's a negative association with Friday is subject to speculation.   

It's unclear when the bad luck of 13 and supertitions of Friday coincided.  One historic event is often cited.  On Friday 13, 1307, members of the Knights of Templar were arrested and their leader was killed.  It came to be recognized as an unlucky date in the calendar.  However, according to Lachenmeyer, Friday the 13th didn't show up in lists of unlucky days until the 20th century.³ 

I hope this cursory history gives you just a taste of the superstitions surrounding this auspicious date.  If you're interested in learning more about the theories of the origin of Friday the 13th, check out 13: The Story of the World's Most Popular Superstition by Lachenmeyer.  It's located in the Lincoln Park Stacks at 133.3359 L137t 2004.  You can find other books on superstitions located in our library catalog. 

1)  Lachenmeyer, Nathaniel. "The Origins of Unlucky 13." 13: the Story of the World's Most Popular Superstition. Thunder Mouth's Press: New York, 2004.

2) "Friday." Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2008.

3) Lachenmeyer, Nathaniel. "The Rise of 13." 13: the Story of the World's Most Popular Superstition. Thunder Mouth's Press: New York, 2004.

*Hiironniemi, Mika. Stand. 2005. <http://www.flickr.com>.

First of all ... congratulations to this year's graduates!

The good news:

With your DePaul Alumni ID, you can still use most of DePaul’s online resources such as Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, LexisNexis, etc. However, you need to access them from the library computer labs, located near the reference desks at the Lincoln Park and Loop campus libraries. [Need directions? Hours?] You may also check out books, videos and music, renew online, and get the same great reference service (if we do say so ourselves...ahem). 

The even better news: 

You are automatically enrolled in the DePaul University Alumni Association upon graduation. All you have to do is get an Alumni ID; to do this, contact Alumni Relations:

• Online: [Requires DePaul alumni username and password]
• By telephone - (800) 437-1898

If you’ll be relocating to another city, most public libraries provide remote access to library databases. Also, bear in mind that many public universities allow on-site public access to online resources, since they are funded by taxpayers.

More information about Alumni library privileges is available at the Library Web site.

Once again, best wishes for a happy and prosperous future to all 2008 graduates, and we hope to continue to see many of you around the library!