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 20th. 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 125th 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.”
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.”
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.
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 134th 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.
Blog post by Ashleigh Coren, Resident Librarian, WVU Libraries.
The Rare Book Collection in the West Virginia & Regional History Center recently acquired Ohioan Paul Laurence Dunbar’s (1872-1906) When Malindy Sings, an illustrated book of poems and photographs published in 1903 by Dodd, Mead and Company. While the Rare Book Collection is home to a variety of wonderfully illustrated rare books, the six Dunbar books in our collection: Howdy, Honey, Howdy; Poems of Cabin and Field; Candle-Lightin’ Time, Folks from Dixie, Li’L’ Gal, and now When Malindy Sings, are in a category of their own. Dunbar, who Darwin Turner hails as “a symbol of the creative and intellectual potential of the Negro,” died at the early age of 33. The six decorated books in the Rare Book Room showcase the wonderful marriage between text and image that was prevalent in the 19th and early 20th century. The Dunbar collection is a great example of what booksellers and bibliophiles refer to as decorated Publishers’ Bindings. Read the rest of this entry »
Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.
At first glance, Puck may not be what you might consider one of the jewels among the collections in the Rare Book Room, however, it is an important publication that deserves its place in those rarified surroundings. In its day, Puck was known as a magazine that satirized American politics and politicians, reporting events, sports and fashion trends throughout its run during the latter nineteenth and early twentieth century. Read the rest of this entry »
Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.
I wanted to write another blog post combining two things I love, food and history, and my fellow blogger Lori recommended a recently published book that has exactly what I’ve been looking for. Serving Up History: Savor the Flavors of Early West Virginia Cookery 1776-1860 was written by Martha and Richard Hartley, who researched part of the book here at the WVRHC. (We are ordering the book for our collection, so check the shelves soon!) The cookbook is a companion to their earlier book, The Frontier Table: A Treatise & Source Book on Western Virginia Foodways History 1776-1860, and contains over 100 historical recipes with modern translations. It also has “Cook’s Notes” that contain useful tips or recipe variations, and “Historic Insights” to help modern readers understand the original recipes. Out of all the fantastic recipes it contains, I chose to make Hasty Pudding, Lemon Pudding, and A.P.s. Read the rest of this entry »
