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.

The nominees for the 2007 National Book Awards were announced October 10th and the winners will be announced November 14th. The categories are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature. All titles in the fiction and poetry categories are on order for Mullen Library.

The Scotiabank Giller prize nominees for the best in Canadian fiction were announced October 9th and the winner will be announced November 6th. You may find Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero in Mullen Library Stacks (if it’s not checked out) and the rest are on order.

The Social Science Research Network has announced the creation of a network for humanities scholars called the ‘Humanities Research Network’(HRN). The HRN is designed as a online community network for humanities scholars.

The networks currently available include the classics, philosophy, and English and American Literature. More information about the content can be found here.

The main web page for Religious Studies and Humanities has been updated! The main page has been separated into two sections: Religious Studies, Philosophy and Canon Law and the Humanities.

Major changes include:

• a news blog for each section that deal with timely, subject specific topics
• new and revised research handouts
• how to do effective research on the Web
• how to search effectively for dissertations
• how to make donations to the libraries
• updated contact information.

If you have any comments or suggestions for further improvements to our web site, please contact Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Religious Studies and Humanities Services, at 202-319-5088 or gunn@cua.edu.

The Libraries have just added a collection of online encyclopedias and other titles to their collections. The Gale Virtual Reference Library at CUA includes 10 titles: American Decades Primary Sources; Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists; Encyclopedia of American Religions; Encyclopedia of Bioethics; Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice; Encyclopedia of Education; Encyclopedia of Religion; Encyclopedia of Science and Religion; Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics; and New Catholic Encyclopedia. You’ll find all of these titles in the ALADIN Catalog and through the list of Databases. They’re available on campus or off to anybody with a CUA computer account. If you have questions, contact the Reference and Instruction Department at 202-319-5070 or IM cualibrarian1.

Vikipaedia in Latin! A good place to practice your language comprehension and contribute new entries. There is an article in the Wall Street Journal that covers the project.