WVU Libraries

Two fragments of an eight page Civil War letter, authored by Union soldier Sergeant Benjamin Hughes of West Virginia, were recently brought together at the West Virginia and Regional History Center.  From two different donors and two separate donations separated by a span of three years, the restored letter of 12 November 1862 details the political opinions of Hughes during the current Congressional elections for the House of Representatives.  Even then, as now, the incumbent party lost ground as a result of mid-term elections — Lincoln’s Republicans lost 22 seats while the Democrats picked up 28 for a net swing of 27 percent of the 185 seat House membership.  Apparently a staunch supporter of the Union, Hughes expresses his anxiety over Democratic gains due to their peace agenda: Read the rest of this entry »

Some of the WVRHC’s Archives and Manuscripts collections are so large and multifaceted that each visit brings to light something new and interesting.  One such collection is A&M 1561, the Roy Bird Cook Papers.  Cook was a Lewis County native and Charleston pharmacist who, in his role as historian, researcher, and author, was a pioneering and effective advocate for the preservation of West Virginia history.  He collected a wide variety of items on many subjects.  A few interesting tidbits are below.

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The West Virginia and Regional History Center has collected a lot of WVU memorabilia over the years.  Our three main collections of memorabilia, A&M 274, 448, and 1385, contain a wide range of artifacts, ephemera, and publications dating back to 1875.  Below are a few items from these collections.

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The West Virginia and Regional History Center is packed with treasures from the state and beyond. Learn more by visiting WVU Today: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2013/07/10/unearthed-at-wvu-libraries-stories-you-ve-never-been-told-from-west-virginia-s-attic

The West Virginia and Regional History Center strives to acquire, preserve, and provide access to items of enduring value that pertain to the history of West Virginia and the central Appalachian region.  Enduring value is a broad term, which the Society of American Archivists’ glossary defines as “The continuing usefulness or significance of records, based on the administrative, legal, fiscal, evidential, or historical information they contain, justifying their ongoing preservation.”

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Though WVU Libraries will be closed on July 4^th, we can start celebrating Independence Day early with these photos of Fourth of July parades across West Virginia.

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The West Virginia University Libraries and the West Virginia and Regional History Center have organized multiple events to celebrate West Virginia’s 150^th birthday on June 20.

“We plan events to mark every anniversary, but the sesquicentennial – 150 years – is a momentous milestone. We are pulling out all stops to make sure this is a special West Virginia Day celebration,” WVU Libraries Interim Dean Myra N. Lowe said.

Festivities will feature a panel discussion, an exhibit of historical artifacts and documents, a traveling exhibit on President Abraham Lincoln, a Lincoln impersonator well-versed on the 16^th president, a commemorative West Virginia Day poster, and, of course, a birthday cake.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. in Wise Library’s Milano Reading Room with a reception followed by a panel discussion that includes Dr. John E. Stealey, III, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, Shepherd University; Robert Bastress, the John W. Fisher, II Professor of Law, the WVU College of Law; and Dr. Matthew Foulds, Professor of History, Shepherd University.

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The latest issue of the WVRHC’s newsletter is now available on our newsletter webpage. This issue includes a feature article titled “Birth of West Virginia Revealed through the Papers of its Founders,” a schedule of events for our West Virginia Day celebration of 150 years of statehood on Thursday, June 20th, and information on recently accessioned collections.

Remember, our West Virginia Day celebration is open to the public.  We hope to see you there!

Provenance (pronounced prov–uh-nuhns or prov–uh-nahns), a guiding principle in the archives field, refers to the information regarding origin, custody, and ownership of an item or collection.  Knowing the provenance of an item or collection helps archivists assess authenticity and enduring value.  However, we do not always know provenance.  In some cases, donors are unaware of the custodial history of their materials.  In other cases, items are donated anonymously.  One such item with unknown provenance is an interesting piece of art, the history of which is lost.

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The West Virginia and Regional History Center is pleased to announce that the finding aids (collection descriptions) of our Archives and Manuscript collections are now searchable through ArchiveGrid!

ArchiveGrid is a database containing nearly two million archival material descriptions, representing archival collections held by roughly one thousand libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives.  Freely available, it is a great resource for researchers interested in personal papers, family histories, historical documents, or other archival materials.  Though focused on collection descriptions from U.S. institutions, ArchiveGrid has a growing number of contributing institutions from other countries.  Researchers can use ArchiveGrid to search for a specific term or character string across institutions; the list of search results contains links to pertinent collections’ finding aids or catalog records.

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In the midst of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, archives and special collections libraries across the country are gathering their Civil War papers and memorabilia to share with the public.   The West Virginia and Regional History Center is no exception.  The WVRHC holds a vast array of material from the Civil War period, including personal diaries and journals.  The excerpts below give readers a glimpse of what life was like for people in central Appalachia in late May during the war years.

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In the decades before digital photography, how many people took the time to write identifying information on the backs of their photographs?  Those photos are then passed down through the generations, sold, or given away, and the pictures’ identification gets lost.  It is not uncommon for photographs donated to archival repositories to be unidentified and undated.  In some cases, insight into the subjects of unidentified photos can be gleaned from styles of dress, props and accessories, or local landmarks.

Many of the photos held by the West Virginia and Regional History Center are available in the digital photograph database called West Virginia History OnView, and some of them lack identifying information.  One such image is photo number 040438, “Group Portrait of West Virginia Statehood Leaders.”

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On April 17, 1861, the Virginia Convention voted, 88 to 55, to secede from the Union.  Almost two-thirds of those who voted against secession came from northwestern Virginia, where the economic climate and political interests were very different from eastern Virginia.  The passage of the Virginia Secession Ordinance resulted in anti-secession conventions across northwestern Virginia. The largest of these, held in Clarksburg, resulted in a call for a convention to be held to address Virginia’s uncertain political future.  The resulting meeting, held on May 13-15, 1861, would later be known as the First Wheeling Convention.

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Today, the West Virginia and Regional History Center launched its new website.  The new site offers clear navigation, improved searching, and a fresh design that helps to showcase the vast array of material that the WVRHC makes available to researchers investigating West Virginia and central Appalachia history and culture.  It includes all of the information found on our previous website, as well as some new things.  Highlights include:

• a search bar for some of our major collections
• a page that showcases the exhibit currently in the WVRHC’s galleries
• improved displays of our physical and digital collections
• information for new visitors and potential donors

Please take a few minutes to explore the new site.  If you can’t find what you need, or just want to give us feedback, contact us.

The WVU Libraries’ West Virginia and Regional History Collection has a new name.  The letters WVRHC now stand for West Virginia and Regional History Center.

The change is intended to better reflect the nature of the state’s leading historical archives-library.

“Rather than simply a subject area within the WVU Libraries, the WVRHC is, in fact, a complex research organization with distinct reading rooms and galleries, expert staff, and not one, but many collections and units,” said John Cuthbert, Director of the WVRHC.

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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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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.

The WVU Libraries are participating again in a national research project that measures student and faculty perceptions of library service. LibQual is a survey tool developed by the Association of Research Libraries to measure how satisfied users are with library resources and services.

Almost 5,000 students and faculty selected at random from MIX and GroupWise e-mail accounts will receive an e-mail inviting their participation in the online survey.

“The goal of LibQual is to help us understand how our users see our services. The feedback we received from the 2003 LibQual survey was extremely useful,” Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien said.

O’Brien encourages everyone who receives the e-mail invitation to complete the survey. This year, two people who complete the survey will be chosen in a random drawing to receive an iPod.

The online survey consists of 45 questions, and includes a section for comments. Participants are asked about their desired, perceived, and minimum expectations of service from the WVU Libraries.

Two years ago nearly 4,700 students and faculty participated in the campus’s first LibQual survey. The feedback guided the WVU Libraries in enhancements to their electronic journal web pages and other services. More information about LibQual will be available this week in the Downtown, Evansdale, and Health Sciences Libraries. Promotional materials for WVU LibQual were designed by Eryck Webb, a graphic design student.

The survey closes April 29.

The April edition of National Geographic Traveler magazine includes a folded map of Appalachia displaying 356 locations of cultural and historic significance narrowed from a field of 1000 sites nominated by state and local partners.

An interactive map, entitled “Discovering Appalachia,” contains pop-up windows with descriptions and links to Web pages with more information: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/appalachia/. Printed maps are available by calling 1-800-CALLWVA.

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