We are pleased to announce that Temple University Libraries has joined theCenter for Research Libraries (CRL), a one-of-a-kind consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research libraries.

This will provide Temple’s researchers and scholars with access to a vast, unique collection of over four million resources, many of which are materials produced outside the United States, including publications and archives from many developing nations, and most of which are only available through participation in this program.

For example, the Center holds the only copies in North America of over 800,000 foreign dissertations, some of the earliest African-American newspapers, and the 100,000-plus-page archive of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge security force – all of which are now available to Temple faculty and students.

CRL has many additional collection strengths, including area studies, U.S. regional and ethnic newspapers, foreign government documents, and international journals, 50 percent of which are in the sciences.

All materials in the Center’s catalog are available for long-term loan to the Temple libraries. Materials can be kept for up to 2 years if not requested by another CRL patron.

To find the CRL catalog on our website, click on “Find Books”, then Other Catalogs. Please note that CRL holdings are represented in WorldCat. Anything listed in the CRL catalog can be requested through our Interlibrary Loan services.

CRL is located on the campus of the University of Chicago. Temple scholars visiting Chicago are welcome to visit the Center and use the collections in-house. Faculty and students visiting Chicago should contact the Reading Room at least three business days in advance of their desired visit. The number of the reading room is (773)955-4545 ext.347 and the hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 2:00.
If you have any questions, please contact
Penelope Myers, Head of Access Service at 215 204-0749, pmyers@temple.edu,
Justin Hill, Head of Interlibrary Loan borrowing at 215 204-0752,jhill@temple.edu, or
the librarian subject specialist for your area.

— Penelope Myers

There are strong apocalyptic elements to each of the major Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Among the events prophesied are things like the appearance of a messiah, huge cataclysms, a last judgment, and the end of the world. Given the current awful conflicts in the Middle East–home to these religions–and the religious passions involved, the following articles and books might provide some food for thought.

Apocalypse: An Overview // Eschatology: An Overview // Armageddon, battle of// Millennialism // Mahdi // Messiah // Antichrist // Judgment of the Dead //Revelation, book of // Shia: Imami (Twelver) // Jerusalem in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam // Prophecy // Isaiah
Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism // Left Behind Series // Rapture, Revelation, and the end times // Contemporary Muslim apocalyptic literature // The resurrection and the afterlife // Eschatological themes in medieval Jewish philosophy // The fate of the dead : studies on the Jewish and Christian apocalypses // On the road to Armageddon // The battles of Armageddon

Evangelical Solidarity with the Jews // Ideological Roots of Christian Zionism //The Legend of al-Dajjal (Antichrist) // Eschatology: Some Muslim and Christian Data // Time, Culture and Christian Eschatology // Bin Ladin: The Man Who Would Be Mahdi // Waiting for the Messiah // Romance Between Christian Right, Jewish Establishment Seems to Be Cooling Off // Farrakhan: This is time of doom// Jerusalem in Islamic fundamentalism

–Fred Rowland

Here are some interesting books/articles/databases/web sites on the history and evolution of the book, in no particular order. Thanks to librarian Anne Harlow for pointing me to Book 2.0, the source for the first four entries below.

GAM3R 7H3ORY, by McKenzie Wark

Books In Time, Carla Hesse

On the Future of Academic Publishing, Peer Review, and Tenure Requirements

Institute for the Future of the Book

Book 2.0 (Temple user name and password for the Chronicle is in Journal Finder)

The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, Elizabeth Eisenstein

The Nature of the Book, Adrian Johns

Book History Online (BHO)

Self, Culture, and Self-Culture in Modern America: The Early History of the Book-of-the-Month Club, Joan Shelley Rubin

John Playford and the Stationers’ Company, Nicholas Temperley

Learned Publishing (Temple does not subscribe to this journal, but much of the content is free.)

The European physics publications scene: avant-garde and traditionalism, Claus Montonen

Alternative Futures for Library History, Jonathan Rose

The Great Library of Alexandria Burnt: Towards the History of a Symbol, Jon Thiem
—Fred Rowland