“Research libraries are “rapidly developing publishing services,” according to a report released in March by the Association of Research Libraries.” [more]

The Bodleian Library in Oxford and Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC “plan to reproduce online all 75 editions of William Shakespeare’s plays printed in the quarto format before the year 1641.” [MSNBC, Bodleian, Folger]

“Michael (Michał) Heller, a Polish cosmologist and Catholic priest who for more than 40 years has developed sharply focused and strikingly original concepts on the origin and cause of the universe, often under intense governmental repression, has won the 2008 Templeton Prize.” [text]

Father Heller studied at many universities including The Catholic University of America.

Assistant Professor Sarah Ferrario of the Greek and Latin Department has received a $6,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project title is Athens the Great? The Ascendancy of the Individual in Classical Greek Historical Thought. A complete list of award winners can be found here.

“The research process, by its very nature, can be both complicated and complex. For students it presents a gap between the known and unknown. They get a research assignment, usually broadly defined by the instructor, and then need to identify a topic without necessarily knowing much of anything about the subject. Then to further complicate matters….” [Read more]

Some issues discussed at the Annual MLA Conference, December 27-30 in Chicago.

“The now-burgeoning field of the study of the book is one response to that debate. Yet technology also promised a way to reduce costs and close considerable gaps of distance between scholars and the materials they study. And the ethos of the technological revolution — openness and access — is closely aligned with that of the humanities and its stance on knowledge.

So how is this difficult transition playing out in archives, classrooms and tenure committees? A panel on Open Digital Communities , organized by the MLA’s Committee on Information Technology, offered a few glimpses into the process.”

The Modern Languages Association released their survey results this week. There is a 12.9% increase in the study of languages in the last five years. A summary of the results can be found in Inside Higher Education.

The IMPAC Literary Award finalists (137 novels) were announced on Monday. The short list will be announced April 2nd, 2008 and the winner on June 12th, 2008.

The 2007 ScotiaBank Giller Prize went to Elizabeth Hay for her novel Late Nights on Air.  An overview of the book and an interview with Hays is available here. Late Nights on Air is on order for Mullen Library.

The November issue of Inside CUA has an excellent article on the addition of the Hartke Collection to the Archives. CUA alumna Mary Jo Santo, author of Father Hartke: his Life and Legacy to the American Theater (two copies in the Mullen Library stacks, PN2287 .H314 S36 2002), donated the personal letters, photos, videos, and audio recordings of Father Hartke. You may contact The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives for further information.