WVU Libraries

Pearl S. Buck

Chronicling the life and works of Pearl S. Buck, a new website launched by the West Virginia and Regional History Center enables online visitors to explore the Nobel Prize winner’s archives now preserved at West Virginia University Libraries.

“Our website will bring this important collection of original manuscripts by one of the world’s greatest writers to the attention of scholars, teachers and students for the first time,” WVRHC Curator John Cuthbert said. “The Pearl S. Buck Collection is open to anyone who is interested in Pearl Buck and her work.”

The website, pearlsbuck.lib.wvu.edu, includes a guide that details the contents of the extensive collection (nearly 80 archival boxes), which includes manuscripts of Buck’s novels, non-fiction, children’s books and short stories, as well as articles, speeches and other materials.

“While much of her writing may be found in published form, our collection contains the vast majority of her original manuscripts, not only in their final form but in various versions that reveal her creative process and the changes she made as her thoughts evolved when writing,” Cuthbert said.

WVU became caretaker of Buck’s archives in October 2014 after beginning a partnership with West Virginia Wesleyan College and the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation to protect and promote Buck’s legacy. Under the agreement, the WVRHC assumed the responsibility of providing physical care for and access to the Buck Collection. Previously, West Virginia Wesleyan housed the collection. Read the rest of this entry »

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

A key part of the mission of the West Virginia & Regional History Center is preservation of the papers, photos, maps, artifacts and other materials that tell the rich story of our state and its people.  Each year we celebrate Preservation Week to promote awareness of the importance of preservation and to provide information on preservation tips and techniques.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

Four hundred years ago, on April 23, 1616, or thereabouts, Shakespeare died at the young age of 52.  You see, there’s a bit of a mystery surrounding Shakespeare’s birth and death, though both occasions are believed to be on the same day. While the actual date of his death escaped documentation, it is believed he died on April 23, but there again, no one is quite sure.  What we do know is that he was buried on April 25, 1616, and like today, it would have been customary for a couple of days to pass after the death to make arrangements for the funeral services.  So, give or take a few days, we’ve settled on the 23^rd.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Books/Media tab on the WVU Libraries’ website search box is now searching a new system called Worldcat. This is 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 you to quickly search 1.9 billion items including electronic resources and print materials from a single search box. You will also be able to quickly determine what WVU Libraries own and seamlessly request materials through Interlibrary Loan for items we do not.

Mountainlynx and Summon no longer has 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. If you have questions, please contact Jessica Tapia at jessica.tapia@mail.wvu.edu.

Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

Two centuries ago in western Virginia, if you were a settler, your way of life would be very different when compared to the standards of today.  That is definitely the impression one receives when browsing lists of personal property in the Harrison County Court records, as we have recently in the course of our work at the History Center.  Such an impression is, of course, not unexpected for an encounter with records two hundred years old.  Read the rest of this entry »

Enroll in ULIB300: Film and Media Literacy to earn three credits and fulfill GEC requirements 5: Artistic Expression and 7: American Culture. ULIB300 has a service designation as civic engagement for work students do while editing Wikipedia articles on course related topics. The CRN is 51012.

Become a savvy media consumer while studying film vocabulary, criticism, and movie databases. In the context of Quentin Tarantino films, students study gangster films, dark comedy, Blaxploitation, slasher films, westerns, themes of revenge and historical revision. Media and information literacy concepts are practiced in media object analysis and experienced in immersion as Wikipedia editors.

For more information, visit the Libraries’ website. Questions? Contact the instructor: beth.toren@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-0336.

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.”

Read the rest of this entry »

“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.”

Read the rest of this entry »

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.”

Read the rest of this entry »