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.”

Biblia Clerus is a website created by the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy that offers many useful commentaries, reference tools and full text sources. The contents include: bible verses with theological commentary and exegesis by the Fathers of the Church and the Roman Catholic Church, conciliar documents, papal encyclicals, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum. Scripture texts are from the New American Bible, the Revised Standard Version, the Vulgata and the Novum Vulgata. The website also contains the 1917 and 1983 Codes of Canon Law and the Codex Orientalis (1990), including commentaries. At this moment Biblia Clerus is available in six languages with an option to download the entire website’s content with updates for personal computers.

Pope Benedict XVI’s new Encyclical ‘Spe Salvi‘ on Christian hope, was made public November 30th.

Nicholas Denysenko, PH.D. candidate in the School of Theology and Religious Studies, has two articles published. The first article, ‘The Soteriological Significance of the Feast of Mary’s Birth,’ is in the December, 2007 issue of Theological Studies. The second article, ‘The Revision of the Vigil Service,’ can be found in the volume 51, number 2-3, 2007 issue of St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly. Both issues can be found on the current periodicals shelf in Room 314 of Mullen Library.

An article in the Saturday, November 24th Washington Post covers the Latin Mass in the DC area. As a reference librarian, I have noticed that this is a popular topic among students and scholars. We have a non-circulating copy in the Religious Studies and Philosophy Library (Room 314) with the call number BT 4291 1996. Also, you may download the entire Missale Romanum (79 MB) at the Sancta Missa website.

The Vatican Information Service provides a daily newsletter sent by email on the events, pontifical acts and nominations at the Vatican. The VIS provides a listing of the past week’s services as well if you don’t want to subscribe to the newsletter.

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.

In addition to the New Catholic Encyclopedia being available through Article Databases & more, we now have online subscriptions to the following databases:

Encyclopedia of American Religions; Encyclopedia of Bioethics; Encyclopedia of Religion; Encyclopedia of Science and Religion; and the Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics.

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.