Fr. Zusy, O.P. Philosophy Library

Today the Fr. Zusy Philosophy Library will be dedicated as the newest addition to the Cardinal Stafford Library.

Fr. Zusy, who died in 2000, was the first Philosophy professor at Saint John Vianney Seminary. Because of his love for the Seminary, Fr. Zusy asked that his books be kept for everyone to use and a small Philosophy Department library was created.

With the prompting of Sister Prudence Allen, the collection has been moved to the Cardinal Stafford Library and will be formally dedicated at 3pm today. Members of the local Dominican community, of which Fr. Zusy was a member, will be in attendance, including their Vicar Provincial for Ministry, Br. Edward Van Merrienboer, O.P.

Please come and join us if you can, or feel free to visit the collection which is located on the lower level of the stacks.

Happy All Saints Day!

Happy All Saints Day! Yesterday was Halloween, and here at the library we costumed ourselves as saints (ones that had particularly Halloween-y stories). For example, we have St. Lucy. She rejected her soon-to-be bridegroom, and he denounced her as a Christian in the early 4th century Italy. Legend has it she had her eyes torn out before she was martyred. St. Stephen, the first martyr for the Church, was stoned to death in approximately 33 AD. Last, but not least, we have St. Olaf. A Viking pirate, he was King of Norway in the early 11th century. He was exiled from his kingdom, and martyred on his attempt to retake his throne.

Newly Renamed Cardinal Stafford Library

J. Francis Cardinal Stafford came to visit the Archdiocese of Denver on the occasion of his 75th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. As part of his visit, the Archbishop Vehr Theological Library was renamed in his honor. We are now the Cardinal Stafford Library. Pictured are your fearless library staff with His Eminence Cardinal Stafford. The library owns a number of the writings of the Cardinal, notably when he was the Archbishop of Denver. These include pastoral letters, videos, and also profiling his work when World Youth Day was held here in Denver in 1993. Much of his work can also be found on the Vatican website.

Banned Books Week

The week of September 29th through October 6th is Banned Books Week and we have a display in the Library on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. To read more about the Index, try Wikipedia or stop by the library see which classical authors and philosphers were prohibited at one time.

The Index was abolished in 1966 but many books in our collections still bear the following stamp :

RESTRICTED
The Archbishop of Denver concedes permission to read books on the Roman Index whenever, in the judgement of the professor, such reading is necessary or useful for class procedure. A student must obtain his professor's approval for the reading of this book


and a fascinating look inside the Index was revealed in 2005.

TLAPD 2007

Avast ye landlubber library users - this be Talk Like A Pirate Day in the Library and yer bloodthirsty crew be ready to meet yer needs!
Remember, Dead Men Tell No Tales

24/7 Reference Assistance

The Vehr Library recently joined the AskColorado Reference Project. You can chat live with a librarian anytime, not only during the library's open hours (which are at the top of the blog page), about any research project you're working on.

The service is only closed on major holidays, and is open to anyone, but especially if you are a seminarian at St. John Vianney or Redemptoris Mater. Just click here to get started!

Tutoring

Students in need of help in writing and composition skills can stop by the library for tutoring assistance from Fiona Turnbull. Tutoring is available on a drop-in basis in the Columba Room as follows:
Monday and Wednesday 2pm - 4pm
Tuesday and Thursday 11 am - 12 noon

Other hours are available by appointment - just check with Fiona or send her an e-mail at fiona.turnbull@archden.org