WVU Libraries

By WILLIAM JARRETT
For the Wheeling Sunday News-Register

MORGANTOWN — As the years pass, the condition of memorable pictures in the West Virginia Regional History Collection has declined.

That’s why Regional History Collection Curator and Director John Cuthbert and his staff decided to make the historic pictures available online through a digital photograph database called West Virginia History OnView. The Regional History Collection is located in West Virginia University’s Wise Library.

Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia is underwater because of the huge flood of 1936.
Photo provided by the West Virginia Regional History Collection

The database will consist of the collection of West Virginia and regional historic photographs dating from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century. The photographs vary from scenes of the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to events such as the great Wheeling flood of 1936.

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By Aaron Rote
Daily Athenaeum Staff Writer

Although most students rarely venture away from the first floor computer terminals in the Downtown Library Complex, Wise Library, the university’s original library before adding on, is actually home to a rather impressive selection of books. In addition to the characteristic selection of literature and scholastic texts, the collection is also attractive for those interested in old and rare books from all over the world.

Located on the sixth floor, the Rare Books Room contains a plethora of valuable texts that have either been donated to the library from outside sources or relocated from the main collection.

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From union miners lining up in Matewan and a World War I pilot showing off his plane to the State Capitol being constructed and Eleanor Roosevelt touring Arthurdale, a glimpse into the past of West Virginia is now only a few clicks of the keyboard away.

West Virginia History OnView, a new digital photograph database launched during Mountaineer Week, provides online access to more than 5,000 historical photographs housed in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. The database is expected to eventually swell to more than 25,000 images.

“The West Virginia Collection has the finest collection of historical photographs relating to West Virginia in existence,” WVRHC Curator John Cuthbert said. “We are now making the best of them available for viewing by anyone with Internet access.”

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Construction on Eliza’s, a coffee shop planned for the fourth floor of the Downtown Campus Library, is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 31, at midnight. The project is expected to be completed by mid-February.

A construction crew will be working from midnight-9 a.m. Oct. 31 through Thanksgiving break. During this time, half-walls will be installed to separate the coffee area from the rest of the fourth floor.

Students will be able to study on the fourth floor. However, they may experience some noise from construction.

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The West Virginia and Regional History Collection is now open for research during four additional hours each week. The collection is now open Tuesday evenings from 5pm – 9pm.

They offer full service during this period, including reference and access to restricted materials such as manuscripts, recordings, microfilm, etc.

The new hours are:

Mon-Sat 10am – 5pm
Tues 5pm – 9pm

The West Virginia and Regional History Collection is located on the sixth floor of the Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library, accessible through the Downtown Campus Library. It contains the largest collection of West Virginia materials in existence.

Mountaineer Spirit October 20, 2005
BY JANEY CINK

Sip on this. WVU students and employees will soon be able to enjoy a latte at the library.

Plans are in place to construct a coffee shop, complete with Starbucks products and food items, in the bay window area on the fourth floor of the Downtown Campus Library.

Construction on Eliza’s is set to begin Nov. 1 and should be completed by mid-February, Student Body President D.J. Casto announced during the Oct. 12 student Board of Governors meeting.

The coffee shop is named after Eliza J. Skinner, the first professionally trained librarian at WVU. She served as library director from 1897 until 1902, when she accepted a position with the Library of Congress.

Casto said the area will be large enough to seat 45 people, feature café-style tables and chairs and blend into the library’s existing decor.

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Daily Athnaeum October 13, 2005
By Jessica Soccorsi
Staff Writer

For students who like to spend a few extra hours studying, the Den will no longer be the only source for up-all-night coffee. Soon they will be able to grab a latte at the Downtown Library Complex.

Recently, plans were finalized on the construction of a new coffee shop, which will be added into the fourth floor bay window area.

Due to open in mid-February, the coffee shop, which will be known as Eliza’s, will serve Starbucks products and an assortment of different food items.

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WVU New and information Services
New Release
October 13, 2005

CONTACT: Kristin Margolin, Student Government Association 304-550-2866
D.J. Casto, Student Government Association 304-293-4403

Sip on this. West Virginia University students and employees will soon be able to enjoy a latte at the library.

Plans are in place to construct a coffee shop, complete with Starbucks products and food items, in the bay window area on the fourth floor of the Downtown Campus Library.

Construction on Eliza’s is set to begin Nov. 1 and should be completed by mid-February, announced Student Body President D.J. Casto during Wednesday night’s (Oct. 12) student Board of Governors meeting in the Mountainlair.

“Since June, the Student Government Association has been working with the provost’s office, WVU administrators and library staff to create an area where students could enjoy a cup of coffee in the Downtown Campus Library,” said Casto, noting the shop is the initiative of BOG member Jon Jaraiedi. “The library is one of students’ favorite places to study and relax on campus. I think the addition of Eliza’s will be a welcome enhancement.”

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The Dominion Post Oct. 3, 2005
Eric Slagle, Reporter

WVU library opens monster-themed display in time for Halloween

WVU students considering creepy costumes for the quickly approaching Halloween season can visit the ground floor of the university’s downtown library for suggestions.

That’s where library staff has assembled four display cases of horror-related reading.

The theme of the exhibits actually is monsters, both in literature and film. Titles in the arrangement include classics such as “Jaws,” “Frankenstein,” and the “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.”

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Are you a frequent ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan) user? Whether you’re new to the University and haven’t yet discovered this wonderful service, or your research has already introduced you to Interlibrary Loan, this message is for you!

If you have an ILLiad account, all your information needs to be current, including your mailing and email addresses, phone number, and your WVUID (aka, 700 number). Providing current information guarantees that you will receive your interlibrary loan requests in the quickest time possible. So logon now.

If you’ve never used ILLiad, now may be the time for you to logon and register as a First Time ILLiad User. Interlibrary Loan can provide you with books and articles from journals that are not owned by the WVU Libraries. The Interlibrary Loan staff is able to get items from anywhere in the region or around the world. In the past, materials have arrived from as far away as Australia and China.

Let Interlibrary Loan help you meet your research needs!

-Hilary Fredette

Students on the Evansdale Campus will get a helping hand from the staff of the Evansdale Library when classes start on Monday.   A welcome tent in front of the library will offer assistance to students who need help finding the right building as they make their way to classes on the Evansdale Campus. Directions, information about the library and a refreshing cup of water will be available in front of the library on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Norma Whitaker possesses the most important attribute for book collecting, according to Jack Walsdorf, antiquarian book collector and appraiser. She loves books.

She joined a crowd of more than 60 people standing in line at the Charles C. Wise Library to have their books appraised by Walsdorf, who returned to Morgantown on Sunday with his Book Lovers’ Road Show.

Whitaker enjoyed the afternoon, even though Walsdorf failed to assess either of her books as unearthed treasures.

“I just thought it would be interesting to see what really constitutes the value of a book and what detracts from making one valuable,” Whitaker said. “Maybe I can get some knowledge in case I want to try my hand at it.”

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Worth not necessarily related to tome’s age

By Mary Helen Hinchliffe
The Dominion Post

Cliff Bishop waited anxiously in the WVU Downtown Library Complex with several books in hand to determine if he was holding a collector’s treasure.

Bishop, along with his wife, Sara, and son, Caldwell, 17, were among more than 60 collectors who attended the Book Lovers’ Roadshow on Sunday at the Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library, featuring Jack Walsdorf, an antiquarian book appraiser and collector.

The family, which has several hundred books in their collection, hoped to find out more information about and the value of their books from Walsdorf.

“The main reason for coming is to find out about the books, but also for (Jack’s) views on what condition they’re in and whether or not they would be worth restoring,” Bishop said. “For me it’s intriguing to read the books and wonder about the individuals that have previously owned them.”

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The WVU Libraries are in the process of upgrading all 180 desktop computers in the Downtown campus Library with new models boasting faster processors, larger monitors, but no disk drives – diskette or zip. Instead, users will save their work on CDs, DVDs, and thumb drives.

~ Mountaineer Spirit July 28, 2005

Why aren’t there disk drives in the new library computers?

Floppy disks are obsolete. Diskette drives don’t come standard on computers anymore. This change is for the better, since these computers are new, they reflect this market/technology change. The libraries would not want to waste the students’ technology money on purchasing obsolete equipment (floppy drives).

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Congress-watchers, political junkies, and researchers will find 4 new library resources to satisfy their need for current, unbiased information.

CQ Weekly, a non-partisan news magazine, provides comprehensive legislative news and analysis.

Two special collections, CQ Supreme Court Collection and CQ Public Affairs Collection, provide access to primary source documents, reports and analysis.

The CQ Researcher is an excellent starting point for undergraduate research papers or debate topics. It provides analysis and background information on current social and political issues.

All 4 CQ resources are available via the Web to WVU students, faculty and staff.
Access them on our web site at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/databases/

-Penny Pugh

Students and faculty will start using new user names and passwords to sign on to computers at the WVU Libraries on Friday, July 1. This change comes as the University makes the switch to the new Mountaineer card.

For students, the user name is the first portion of their MIX account address. For example: If an address is jjones4@mix.wvu.edu, the user name is jjones4.

The password is a person’s birthday plus the last four digits of his WVU ID number. For example: If someone’s birthday is July 4 and WVU ID number is 700-12-3456, his password would be 043456.

Students needing help finding their WVU ID number can ask for assistance at the reference desk or access services desk in the library.

For faculty and staff, the user name is their WVU employee number. The number can be found at the Human Resources web site. As with students, they will use a combination of birthday and the last four digits of their WVU ID number for a password.

To prepare for the change, the Downtown Campus, Evansdale and Health Sciences libraries will open at 9 a.m. July 1.

June is Dairy Month – a perfect time to announce the acquisition of a new reference book at the Evansdale Library related to Dairy Science. The Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences is a four volume set containing 427 articles addressing topics related to milk production and dairy technology. In addition to covering all species that supply milk for human consumption, there is also coverage of a wide range of topics beyond production and processing, including nutritional and public health issues and dairy industry economics and trade.

Located in the Evansdale Library Reference Collection:    REF    SF229   .E52     2003

Thursday, June 23 from 2 – 4 p.m. at the Evansdale Library (Room 130)

Marian Armour-Gemmen, Patent & Trademark Reference Librarian, will present an introductory workshop on the patenting process on Thursday, June 23 at the Evansdale Library. Marian will cover the basics of preliminary patent searching including classification and Public PAIR. There will be an opportunity for hands-on instruction in using the U.S. Patent Office’s online database of patents from 1790 to the present. Please bring your WVU ID to be able to log on to computers.

For more information contact Marian Armour-Gemmen at 293-4696 x5106 or at marmour@wvu.edu.

Forget the old adage. Jack Walsdorf regularly judges books by their cover, and the practice often brings broad smiles to those listening to his judgments.

He’s quick to point out if The Old Man and the Sea is a little weathered and dog-eared or if Huck Finn is dirty and looks like he’s taken a few knocks. Such flaws could be costly, Walsdorf is sure to comment. But he is just as quick to declare when The Great Gatsby appears clean and well-kept. The result could mean a fortune.

Walsdorf will share his opinions on books this summer when he returns the WVU Libraries with his Book Lovers’ Road Show. The WVU Libraries will host the book appraiser and collector at 2 p.m. July 31 in the Robinson Reading Room of Wise Library.

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At the Downtown Campus Library, we are happy to offer the Term Paper Clinic this summer for students in undergraduate research-writing courses.

The objectives of this service are to help students:
— choose a focused research topic that fulfills the scope of the assignment
— formulate a research strategy, focusing on the selection, use, and evaluation of appropriate research materials and resources
— organize gathered information into a structured research paper
— document and cite sources properly.

The Term Paper Clinic will be held during Summer I (May 23rd – June 30th) and Summer II (July 5th – August 11th) Sessions. We will be open Monday through Thursday from 2:00 – 3:00 PM.

At this time, we are accepting students on a drop-in basis. Please note that we are not able to provide proofreading.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Diamond – kdiamond@wvu.edu .

-Kelly Diamond