Duane Library – Fordham Now

James P. McCabe, Who Revolutionized the Fordham Library System, Dies at 84

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 21:51:07 +0000

James “Jim” Patrick McCabe, Ph.D., Fordham’s former director of libraries who helped to modernize the University library system and develop the William D. Walsh Family Library at the Rose Hill campus, died peacefully in his sleep at the Pines at Poughkeepsie Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on September 15, said his niece Jennifer Carlin. He was 84.

“Jim was a dedicated University librarian and administrator whose can-do spirit served the University well during a period of expansion and growth,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “He brought Fordham from an era of card catalogs to the full splendor of the information age. Thanks to his efforts, our students and faculty may draw from a far deeper well of information in pursuit of learning and scholarship.”

McCabe became the director of libraries on August 13, 1990. Until he retired in 2012, he helped Fordham libraries reach new heights—literally. He was an integral part of the design and construction process for the William D. Walsh Library, a five-floor modern Gothic style building that has housed more than 1,000,000 volumes since it was completed in 1997. The building was classified as the fourth largest library in New York in 2013 and featured in The New York Times.

“Jim McCabe’s strong vision for the future combined with his deep knowledge and respect for traditional practices made him the perfect person to lead the Fordham libraries into the 21st century. But Jim was much more than that,” said Linda LoSchiavo, director of libraries at Fordham, who succeeded McCabe. “A gentle, gracious man, with a quick sense of humor, he was esteemed and admired by his staff, his colleagues at Fordham, and by the academic library community as a whole. The University has lost a quiet hero, and those of us fortunate enough to work closely with him have lost a friend.”

Maryanne Kowaleski, Ph.D., retired Joseph Fitzpatrick, S.J. distinguished professor emerita of history and medieval studies, recalled McCabe’s leadership when Fordham moved its collections from Duane Library, which used to be the main library for the Rose Hill campus.

“Jim McCabe came to Fordham at a crucial juncture, when he oversaw the complicated move to the new Walsh Library and facilitated the transition to electronic resources that we take for granted today,” Kowaleski said. “He was a kind and gentle man who led by example, taking his turn in the labor involved in moving the collection. He also went out of his way to meet and socialize with faculty, working to open up fruitful lines of communication between Fordham’s teachers and librarians.”

‘Let’s Do It’: A Librarian and Leader in the Digital Age

McCabe was a leader in the university library community during a time when technology began to dramatically change the ways libraries worked. At the beginning of the new millennium, he introduced the complete automation system to Fordham’s libraries, which included the electronic catalogue system and the library’s back-office operations. This helped librarians work more efficiently and gave students quicker access to resources. In addition, he helped promote one of the library’s most popular services, the electronic reserve room software. Similar to the BlackBoard Learn system currently used by faculty and staff, the electronic reserve room software was used to help faculty create course pages and upload resources for their students.

McCabe and his colleagues in front of Duane Library in 1992

“The immediate, enthusiastic acceptance of electronic reserves is proof that it is a program whose time had come. It is a fine example of how the Internet can make our lives and work a little easier, and save time and energy,” he wrote in a 2000 piece for Inside Fordham Libraries.

In addition, he served as a link between Fordham and New York Libraries in his role as president of two local library organizations. He served on the Metropolitan New York Library Council’s Board of Trustees, where he helped foster conversations about important library and information issues, and on the Historical Preservation Commission for Westfield, New Jersey, where he helped to preserve the town’s historical sites and landmarks.

McCabe was not only a librarian, but also an author. He wrote Critical Guide to Catholic Reference Books (Libraries Unlimited, 1971), a series of annotated entries on topics related to the Catholic Church, including liturgy, social sciences, and literature.

“[He brought] digital resources of bewildering variety to library users within and without our library buildings. He has done this while substantially increasing the size and scope of our print collections, improving staff morale, increasing the hours and quality of library service to library users, and winning the respect, admiration, and affection of the Fordham community,” read a citation in a 2010 convocation booklet that recognized 20 years of his service to Fordham. “Whenever he encounters an opportunity to provide a new service or improve an old one, his reaction has been, ‘let’s do it.’”

In the early 2000s, he named two hawks that once frequented the Rose Hill campus and the New York Botanical Garden. The first hawk was named Rose after the Rose Hill campus; the second hawk was named Hawkeye Pierce, in honor of the character played by Fordham alumnus Alan Alda on the M.A.S.H. television series.

McCabe at the Walsh Library construction site in the 1990s

‘It Isn’t Raining in Our Hearts’

McCabe was born on May 24, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Felix and Josephine McCabe. His father was a lineman for a telephone company and his mother was a nurse. He graduated summa cum laude from Niagara University in 1963 and earned three graduate degrees at the University of Michigan: a master’s in English literature, a master’s in library science, and a doctorate. For more than two decades, he served as library director at Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales in Pennsylvania, now known as DeSales University, where he oversaw the conceptualization and construction of a new library facility. Right before his appointment to Fordham, he served as the acting library director for Muhlenberg-Cedar Crest Colleges Libraries in Pennsylvania.

McCabe, 1997

His friend for nearly 40 years, Romain Frugé, said McCabe was a beloved member of the theatre community at DeSales University, where he manned the lighting booths during shows and served as an academic mentor and confidant for students. McCabe was also a staunch supporter of students’ work. He flew to London and Japan to watch Frugé perform in several musicals, said Frugé. And no matter where he went, McCabe had a positive outlook on life.

“Whenever it was raining, Jim would say, ‘Well, it isn’t raining in our hearts,’” said Frugé, who was a student at DeSales University, where McCabe worked as library director. “He was always a real positive force.”

McCabe never had children of his own, but he was close to his four siblings and their children. For many years, he spearheaded an annual family picnic in Manhattan, said his niece Jennifer Carlin. He loved everything about the city, especially cheap tickets to Broadway shows, and he walked like a classic New Yorker at 10 miles per hour, said his nephew Felix Carroll. And he always appreciated the little things.

“He gave me a really great piece of advice when I was in my early 20s,” Carroll said. “I was moving all over the place, and I couldn’t settle on anything … He told me to stop and take delight in the world. We can be worried, but we’re supposed to find joy, too, and that’s found in everyday things.”

McCabe is survived by two siblings, Aileen McClure and John McCabe, and numerous nieces and nephews; he is predeceased by two siblings, Francis McCabe and Ann Carroll. A funeral Mass will be held on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Ephrem Catholic Church located at 5400 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, Pennsylvania, 19020. The Mass begins at 11 a.m., but family and friends are invited to gather at the church an hour earlier. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery.

The funeral service will also be streamed, beginning at 10 a.m. on Sept. 24. To obtain the link to view the service, contact Jean Walsh, senior executive secretary at the Walsh Library, at [email protected] by Sept. 23 at 5 p.m., latest. You can view live or at your own convenience.

In lieu of flowers, donations in McCabe’s honor may be made to the book fund at Fordham University Library.

By check: Payable to Fordham University Library

Attn. Linda LoSchiavo
Director of Libraries
Walsh Library, Suite 219
441 East Fordham Road
Bronx, NY 10458

Online: www.fordham.edu/give. Several funds are listed. Click OTHER, then indicate “Fordham University Library, in honor of James McCabe.”

Instagram 2015: Fordham Staff’s Top Pics for the Year

Patrick Verel — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 10:00:29 +0000

This year, we shared nearly 400 pictures and videos on the Fordham Instagram account, and we could have easily shared double that, what with the number of picture-worthy locales and events that take place throughout the Fordham community.

As the year comes to a close, here are a few of our favorites, in no particular order.

Patrick Verel

I have no idea why I thought it’d be fun to make Edwards’ Parade look like Hoth. I guess I was thinking about Stars Wars even back in February.

Crocuses are far and away my favorite flower, because they show up way before anything else is hardy enough to make a go of it.

I just love this kids’ attitude. She’s got future Ram written all over her.

Rachel Roman

Okay, technically NOT a picture, but the drone footage was awesome.

Everything about this photo is beautiful. The fog, the snow, even the bare tree branches. And I usually hate bare tree branches, because they look sad =(

Because who doesn’t love a Pope doll in a Fordham jacket. Can I get one of these for my desk?

Tom Stoelker

I love this shot from Mission and Ministry’s John Gownley. At 1600 likes it was one of the most popular posts of the year and reminded us that Keating isn’t Rose Hill’s only iconic tower.

This shot by Patick Verel is a stunner of Duane Library. We’ve all seen the light stream like this and it never fails to impress.

Love, love, love the pizza nuns shot! Joanna Mercuri tells us that the nuns were singing while waiting in line to see the pope at Madison Square Garden, but when they finally paused for a bite to eat Joanna captured a moment of community both large and small.

Chris Gosier

Somehow, the Ram seems to be standing a little taller for his usual backdrop being blotted out by a snowstorm.

I like this cool angle; you can almost see the flowers pushing upward because of the odd angle with the statue of Dagger John.

Love this shot of Cunniffe House. The photographer seems to have caught it at just the right time of day.

Joanna Mercuri

Because can we ever get enough of fall beauty shots?

Fordham students abroad at our London Centre campus.

Our new home in Martino Hall gives us some pretty awesome views of the Lincoln Center campus.

Gina Vergel

Father Joseph M. McShane, S.J., our president, is a tremendous speaker – in public or in casual conversation. Joanna Mercuri caught him during Move-in Day 2015 and it was great.

This beautiful shot of the candle-lighting ceremony on Edwards Parade during orientation/Move-In weekend garnered more than 800 likes, and shows the sense of community welcome new students receive.

A beautiful shot of a commute so many in the Fordham family know so well.

Illuminating History

Nicole LaRosa — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 15:35:51 +0000

An unusual artwork hanging in Duane Library commemorates America’s independence

When Dora Melina, UGE ’47, was going through a cabinet in her Brooklyn home some years ago, she found a glass-plate negative of a family photo taken when she was 5. But it was no ordinary portrait.

Clad in a white bonnet and a colonial-style dress, Melina is pictured with a female relative posing as Betsy Ross, stitching an American flag draped across her lap. Her dark-haired Italian mother, father, uncle, and an artist friend of theirs complete the scene.

Dora Melina is the little girl wearing a bonnet; sitting above her is her father, Giuseppe Mungo; on the far left, seated on the floor, is her mother, Gemma Mungo; above Gemma to the right is Melina’s uncle, Antonio Mungo.

Though she doesn’t remember sitting for it, Melina said the photo was likely taken to help promote Old Glory, a large-scale illuminated manuscript created by her father and uncle nearly a century ago to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Melina donated the piece to Fordham in 1987, and today it hangs on the top floor of Duane Library on the Rose Hill campus.

A Lost Art Form

“I’m really happy; they did a beautiful job setting it up,” said Melina, 96, who keeps a copy of the piece hanging in her den. “I wanted it to be somewhere where it’s safe,” she said, adding that the piece offers young people a glimpse of a lost art form. “They really don’t know anything about it unless we talk about it.”

Noted artists from Italy who had recently immigrated to New York City, Antonio and Giuseppe Mungo—Melina’s uncle and father—created the work on several sheets of parchment. The music and lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” are elaborately embossed in 24-carat gold in the center panels, which feature early and current (at the time) American flags. Framing the national anthem is a wide gold border, into which the brothers set several painted, miniature scenes of America’s founding, including one of Betsy Ross stitching a flag with a bonneted little girl at her side. At 43 by 63 inches, it is thought to be the largest illuminated manuscript in the world.

Completed in 1926 after 10 years of work, the Mungo brothers’ masterpiece was displayed at Philadelphia’s sesquicentennial celebration but it was never sold. The pair had created similar illuminated manuscripts—a dying craft in which text and miniature illustrations or paintings are decorated with gold or silver—for Tiffany Studios. They also did work for Ames & Rollinson, a Manhattan engrossing studio, where Melina apprenticed with her uncle after her father’s eyesight started to fail.

A Family Committed to Arts Education

An artist herself, Melina had been taking art classes at Pratt Institute, but found it “difficult to be at a drawing board all day and night.” Her husband, Fortuny Robert Melina, FCRH ’41, GSAS ’49, suggested she attend Fordham.

“I was so in love with some of the things he was learning [there],” she said. She began taking night classes at the former Undergraduate School of Education’s home on lower Broadway, near City Hall, during the 1940s and completed her degree at Rose Hill when the school moved there. She taught elementary school in Bedford-Stuyvesant and later became a guidance counselor.

“What I loved about Fordham was the scholastic philosophy,” Melina said. She enjoyed studying literature and the philosophers, especially St. Thomas Aquinas.

Her family was very devoted to the study of art. Together with other artists from Italy, the Mungo brothers founded and taught at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School, known simply as “the Leonardo.” The low-cost school opened in 1923 in the East Village, and counts among its students famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi. It later moved to 34th Street, and closed in 1942.

In 1995, Melina honored her late husband, who died in 1992, by establishing the Fortuny Robert Melina Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund for students of high financial need majoring in the arts.

Illuminating History

Nicole LaRosa — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:16:45 +0000

An unusual artwork hanging in Duane Library commemorates America’s independence

When Dora Melina, UGE ’47, was going through a cabinet in her Brooklyn home some years ago, she found a glass-plate negative of a family photo taken when she was 5. But it was no ordinary portrait.

A Lost Art Form

“I’m really happy; they did a beautiful job setting it up,” said Melina, 95, who keeps a copy of the piece hanging in her den. “I wanted it to be somewhere where it’s safe,” she said, adding that the piece offers young people a glimpse of a lost art form. “They really don’t know anything about it unless we talk about it.”

Above: Dora Melina is the little girl wearing a bonnet; sitting above her is her father, Giuseppe Mungo; on the far left, seated on the floor, is her mother, Gemma Mungo; above Gemma to the right is Melina’s uncle, Antonio Mungo.

Below: Melina in her Brooklyn home, where a replica of Old Glory hangs in her den.

A Family Committed to Arts Education

“What I loved about Fordham was the scholastic philosophy,” Melina said. She enjoyed studying literature and the philosophers, especially St. Thomas Aquinas.

But she took care to note that she is not religious and did not go to church, even as a child. Her family was “anticlerical,” she said, “like most of the artists of that era.”

They were however, very devoted to the study of art. Together with other artists from Italy, the Mungo brothers founded and taught at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School, known simply as “the Leonardo.” The low-cost school opened in 1923 in the East Village, and counts among its students famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi. It later moved to 34th Street, and closed in 1942.

In 1995, Melina honored her late husband, who died in 1992, by establishing the Fortuny Robert Melina Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund for students of high financial need majoring in the arts.

—Nicole LaRosa