WVU Libraries

Beth Royall

The Awards Committee of the West Virginia University Library Faculty Assembly has selected Beth Royall, creative arts librarian, as the Outstanding Librarian for 2016.

The award, presented triennially, recognizes a faculty librarian who has made exceptional contributions toward the delivery, development or expansion of library services or special programs for the constituencies of WVU.

“Beth has a long-standing reputation among her colleagues as a librarian who works hard and is excellent at every task she takes on. She provides excellent service to not just the faculty but to every student she encounters,” said Linda Blake, chair of the Library Faculty Assembly Awards Committee. “It is our great honor to recognize Beth for her talent, creativity and diligence as the creative arts librarian and her wider contribution to the WVU Libraries.”

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“A Legacy of Leadership” Exhibition Highlights Service of Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

By Danielle Emerling, Assistant Curator

Left: Senator Rockefeller speaking at the Pepper Commission press event, 1990; Center: Rockefeller being sworn into the Senate by Vice President George H.W. Bush, 1985; Right: Rockefeller speaking at the Democratic National Convention, 2008.

The West Virginia & Regional History Center announces the opening of the exhibition, “Jay Rockefeller: A Legacy of Leadership,” in the Rockefeller Gallery located in the Downtown Campus Library.

Jay Rockefeller arrived in West Virginia in 1964 as a young VISTA volunteer in the small mining community of Emmons. With the people of Emmons, Rockefeller worked to affect change, from lobbying the school board for a bus stop to building a community center.

The experience was transformative. The young man from one of the wealthiest families in the country found an unlikely home in the hills and hollows of the state and a purpose that drove his fifty-year career in public service.

Characterized as compassionate, conscientious, and tenacious in pursuit of making a difference on issues he cared most about, he spent 30 years in the United States Senate working on some of the most challenging matters of the day.

The exhibition, “A Legacy of Leadership” documents Senator Rockefeller’s early years in West Virginia, his election to the United States Senate, and some of his many accomplishments during his long and distinguished career as a U.S. senator. It draws on staff Legacy Memos, written for Senator Rockefeller’s retirement, to highlight his work in the areas of health care reform; West Virginia’s jobs, economy, and industry; children, families, and education; and veterans’ affairs.

Items on display come from the Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV papers, a treasure among the congressional collections held by the West Virginia & Regional History Center. To learn more about Senator Rockefeller, the archival collection, and the Legacy Memos, please visit rockefeller.lib.wvu.edu.

The exhibit was curated by Danielle Emerling, Assistant Curator, Congressional and Political Papers Archivist. Installation support was provided by Francisco Tovar, Laura Bell, and Casey DeHaven.

By Danielle Emerling, Assistant Curator

The West Virginia & Regional History Center is pleased to announce the opening of the Rockefeller Legacy Memos, part of the Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV congressional collection.

The Legacy Memos provide a comprehensive overview of Senator Jay Rockefeller’s service and accomplishments in several important issue areas in which he worked during his 30-year career in the U.S. Senate, 1985-2015, as well as during his time as Governor of West Virginia, 1977-1985. They highlight major initiatives and legislation, such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); treatment of service related illnesses, such as Gulf War Illness; the Coal Act of 1992; the Public Safety Spectrum Act; and many others.  Read the rest of this entry »

By Danielle Emerling, Assistant Curator, WVRHC

Congress Week takes place each year during the first week of April to commemorate the month in which Congress achieved its first quorums in 1789. It is a perfect time to highlight the extensive collection of congressional papers held by the West Virginia & Regional History Center.  Read the rest of this entry »

Evansdale Library offers drop-in research assistance at Evansdale Crossing on Mondays & Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m., and Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Students and faculty are welcome to stop by Octane during these times throughout April for help with citation formats, locating scholarly resources, and general library questions. Look for the “The Librarian Is In” sign.

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

Many of us have fond Easter memories from our childhoods.  Here’s a look back at the ways we celebrated Easter in West Virginia in the early years of the twentieth century.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

This year, World Storytelling Day occurred on March 20^th.  The day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling.  This year’s theme was “Strong Women”.  The WVRHC’s oral history collection features some amazing women telling their stories.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

March is Women’s History Month and WVU Libraries is celebrating the 125^th anniversary of the first woman to graduate from West Virginia University with a series of events running March 15-17, 2016.  In this post, we take a look at just a few of the women who went first and opened up doors for future women students and faculty at WVU.  Read the rest of this entry »

West Virginia University Libraries, the WVU student organization SPECTRUM, the WVU Commission for LGBTQ Equity and the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies are seeking volunteers for a LGBTQ Read-In on April 14, from 10-11:15 a.m. in the Downtown Campus Library room 104.

“Sharing literature helps us to recognize commonalities that transcend sexual orientation or gender identity. Recognizing ourselves in other’s words broadens and balances our perspectives,” said Beth Toren, Research Services and Media Librarian.

Student volunteers can read passages from poetry, prose and personal narrative. Participants can bring materials with them or select something from the array of books that will be on display at the event. There will be time for discussion after each reading.

“Reading aloud texts with personal significance and discussing our reactions to them creates an intimate atmosphere and supportive and inclusive environment. Something that inspired you may be just what someone else attending might need to hear,” Toren said.

For more information or to participate in the read-in, contact Toren at 304-293-0336 or beth.toren@mail.wvu.edu.

Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

Recently at the History Center, when reviewing inventories of household property in the estate records of the Harrison County Court, I encountered the names of items that were unfamiliar to me, such as “swingle trees” in the 1818 appraisal for the estate of Mary Cunningham:

Estate record for Mary Cunningham, 1818.
Can you find “Swingle Trees and Cleavisses” in the above list?  Read the rest of this entry »

Harriet Lyon

One hundred and twenty five years ago this May, Harriet Lyon became the first woman to earn a degree at West Virginia University. A free symposium hosted by WVU Libraries March 15-17 will explore Lyon’s legacy and the advancements for women since her pioneering achievement.

“We are excited and honored to pay tribute to the people whose commitment to women’s education have benefited generations of students, faculty and staff at West Virginia University,” said Carroll Wilkinson, director of Strategic Library Initiatives forWVU Libraries.

The three-day program, which is free and open to the public, builds upon the work of the celebration of the Centenary of women’s graduation in 1991. Wilkinson collaborated with librarians and library staff to create a lineup of a lecture, a forum, a panel discussion, a workshop, exhibits and a student poster session.

“Along with addressing the achievements and struggles of WVU’s women over 125 years, we will focus on recent achievements and share new perspectives on WVUwomen’s history,” Wilkinson said. “Our hope is this study will help us expand our understanding of our University.”

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Changes are coming to the WVU Libraries website, and you can try it out before it goes live!

The Libraries began offering a new search system called Worldcat on March 7. Beginning the week of March 21, the Books/Media tab on the Libraries website search box will begin searching WorldCat.  This will be the only place to find up-to-date availability for the Libraries’ print materials.

This is the first step toward a full rollout of Worldcat for finding books, articles, videos, journals, and more, which will take place after finals have ended. Worldcat will enable users to quickly search 1.9 billion items including electronic resources and print materials from a single search box.  Users will be able to quickly determine what the WVU Libraries own and seamlessly request materials through Interlibrary Loan for items we do not.

Beginning the week of March 21, Mountainlynx and Summon will no longer have up to date availability for print collections, and Mountainlynx will no longer be available beginning May 31.

For more information about these changes, please visit the Libraries website or contact Jessica Tapia at jessica.tapia@mail.wvu.edu.

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

Recent weather conditions have showered rain and snow on West Virginia with just a few sunny days sprinkled in between.  These bright days let us know that Spring is around the corner, but just how far away is that corner?  While it seems Spring may never get here, we can enjoy the flowers of Spring through the beauty of illustrated botanical and medical texts.  Let’s take a look at some of the beautiful flowers from William Woodville’s Medical Botany that can be found right here in West Virginia.  Read the rest of this entry »

WVU Today

Cheryl Ball

Cheryl Ball, associate professor of English at West Virginia University, has joined WVU Libraries as director of the newly established Digital Publishing Institute. Professor Ball is a leading scholar of digital publishing studies and a member of the Professional Writing and Editing faculty in the department of English.

The DPI is a hub for scholarly digital communications that will support researchers at WVU and abroad in producing journals, e-books and other multimedia-rich, peer-reviewed content, making it available online for free whenever possible.

“Dr. Ball will bring valuable expertise and vision to the Digital Publishing Institute and ensure that WVU remains committed to high standards of excellence and a rigorous peer review process while providing open access to scholarly communication,” Provost Joyce McConnell said. “WVU Libraries and the Digital Publishing Institute will be a model for innovative publishing in a time of enormous change in academia.”

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Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

During the 19th century, factory production and paper lace made paper Valentines more affordable and plentiful, and they continue to be popular even as times change and many people send Valentines digitally.  Some of you will remember an old exhibit of historical valentines that we used to have up on the WVU Libraries website—though that exhibit was taken down, the original Valentine cards remain in A&M 2116, Ephemera Collection.  Come to the WVRHC and take a look; they might inspire you to make a few greeting cards of your own!  Though Valentine’s Day is almost a year away, it’s never a bad time to send a card to someone you care about.  I have included ten of my favorite Valentines below; they date from the early to mid-1900s.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

Van A. Bittner (1885-1949) was a noted United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) representative and labor organizer.  He worked as a miner in the western Pennsylvania coal fields and became president of his local union by age 16. During his long career in the labor movement, Bittner led union drives in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama before focusing his efforts in West Virginia. His early organizing efforts in the state were largely unsuccessful, but he made great gains in the southern coal fields during the 1930s.  Bittner is also known an instrumental figure in the organization of steel workers in the United States.

Van A. Bittner speaking at a miner’s rally in West Virginia, ca. 1920-1929.

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Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

“The life of Mother Jones is a faded memory, a half-forgotten story.”  So begins the 2003 biography of Mother Jones by Loyola University history professor Elliott J. Gorn.

Perhaps no longer.  The recent 26 January 2016 premiere on Public Television of “The Mine Wars” has now brought to national attention the story of coal labor strife in West Virginia, and among the characters highlighted in the documentary is the Irish lady Mary Harris Jones, otherwise known as “Mother Jones” (1837-1930).

“The most dangerous woman in America”:  these were the words federal prosecutor Reese Blizzard used to describe Jones during her trial in 1902 for involvement with strike activity in West Virginia.  Though arrested in Clarksburg and brought to Parkersburg for imprisonment, the jailer and his wife decided to let her stay in their apartment.  She was ultimately acquitted by the judge in order to avoid making her a martyr.   Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

“Not many things I know nor do,
But one;
This my poor heart
so vacant and so frail
can love you
can love you
and dispossess
itself of content
and of strength.”

Fragment of an unpublished poem written on a gardening catalog, pictured above

Today, February 6, we celebrate the 134^th birthday of Anne Spencer, poet of the Harlem Renaissance, civil rights activist, teacher, librarian, accomplished gardener, and West Virginian.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

A lot of archives have what we call “hidden collections”—great materials that aren’t findable online or just aren’t described well.  At the WVRHC, one of our hidden collections is our panoramic photos collection.  The photos are large; the longest is 64 inches long—roughly the height of the average American woman!  I am working on describing and rehousing these photos so that we can put their descriptions online in our Guide to Archives & Manuscripts (check it out at A&M 4167).  In this post, I highlight one of the photographers and share some of his work.

We don’t have any photos of Ribble, but we do believe one of these shadows is him, standing next to his camera with his assistant.  Read the rest of this entry »

Help the West Virginia University Libraries recognize an exceptional librarian by submitting a nomination for a librarian who you think is doing an outstanding job.

The WVU Libraries Faculty Assembly sponsors the Outstanding Librarian Award once every three years to recognize exceptional contributions toward the delivery, development, or expansion of library services or special programs for the constituencies of WVU. Attributes sought in the finalist may include leadership, initiative, creativity, dedication, and exemplary attitude. The award is open to both current and retired WVU Libraries faculty.

Nominations will be accepted from WVU administration, faculty, and staff and must be submitted to Stewart Plein, stewart.plein@mail.wvu.edu, on the official nomination form by February 15. Selection criteria, dates, and the nomination form with submission details can be found on the Libraries’ website.

The Awards Committee includes Linda Blake, linda.blake@mail.wvu.edu, 304-293-0328; Mary Strife, mary.strife@mail.wvu.edu, 304-293-9756; and Jessica Tapia, jessica.tapia@mail.wvu.edu, 304-293-0312.