Notes from the Walter Ong Collection

Just in time for the Media Ecology Association’s tenth annual convention here at SLU, Pius Library has launched a new and improved website to showcase the Walter J. Ong papers in our collection.  The site, which will be known as the Walter J. Ong Archives at Saint Louis University, is available at the following URL:

http://libraries.slu.edu/special/digital/ong/index.php

The new website features an improved design and a copy of the archival finding guide to Fr. Ong’s papers.  In addition, there are digitized materials from the collection, including papers, photos, and audio recordings.  More material will be added soon, so please check back or subscribe to our RSS feed for regular updates.

Drew Kupsky
Digital Resources Librarian
Pius XII Memorial Library
Saint Louis University

ST. LOUIS — As e-mail, text messaging and blogging become increasingly part of our everyday lives, Saint Louis University is launching a new center to focus on the work of a scholar who practically predicted the age of the Internet.

Funded through a $1 million University initiative, the Walter J. Ong, S.J., Center for Language and Culture honors the work of Ong (1912-2003), an internationally renowned scholar who spent his nearly 50-year career teaching and researching at SLU.

“The founding of this new center is especially important considering Ong’s pioneering theories of change in language and human communication, which have become more relevant today than ever before,” said Sara van den Berg, Ph.D., chair of the English department and director of the center. “Technology is changing the way we communicate and relate to each other, and the center will give scholars a place to study this rapid revolution.” [Read more.]

Just so it’s clear, the Ong Center itself did not get any where near $1 million dollars from Saint Louis University, but it has been funded by SLU and by ICF Foundation. I mention this on the off chance that someone looking for a new favorite charity reads the $1 million number and thinks the Center’s rolling in money.