WVU Libraries

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a traveling exhibition opening at the Erickson Alumni Center on June 20, examines how President Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil War – the secession of Southern states, slavery and wartime civil liberties. The exhibit is presented in conjunction with the WVU Libraries’ West Virginia Day celebration commemorating 150 years of statehood this year.

“Abraham Lincoln was president during a tumultuous time in our country’s history,” WVU Libraries Interim Dean Myra N. Lowe said. “This exhibit provides an opportunity to learn more about the complex issues Lincoln grappled with while fighting to preserve the Union.”

Historians debate Lincoln’s handling of these issues and therefore his place among America’s greatest presidents. While some hail him as a principled leader justly celebrated as the Great Emancipator, others paint him as a calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery.

Rather than offering a clear cut answer, the exhibit encourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln by engaging them with Lincoln’s struggle to reconcile his policy preferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality. The exhibit provides a more complete understanding of Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation’s gravest constitutional crisis.

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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  Freely available, it is a great resource for researchers interested in personal papers, family histories, historical documents, or other archival materials.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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The West Virginia and Regional History Center at the West Virginia University Libraries is already benefiting from a $100,000 donation from WVU alumna Louise Amelia Robinson.

Its first fruit is a thick sketchbook from Joseph H. Diss Debar, the artist who designed West Virginia’s state seal. Inside the cover are page after page of drawings of figures and events that shaped state and world history.

“Louise Robinson’s gift to the West Virginia and Regional History Center has made an immediate impact,” center Director John Cuthbert said. “The Diss Debar sketchbook has far exceeded my expectations. There are numerous sketches relating directly to the creation of West Virginia as the nation’s 35th state.”

The WVU Libraries honored the family of Louise Amelia Robinson in a ceremony in the Wise Library’s Grand Foyer. Pictured from left to right are: Katie McKinney, Adrienne McKinney, Carolyn Robinson Kovach, Nancy Walker, Tom Seiler, Susan Robinson Greaser, Terri Seiler, and Michael Robinson.

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The West Virginia University Libraries have named Jessica Brielle Kawalek the 2013 Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholar.

“Brie did a tremendous job researching her topic and presenting her findings,” said Keith Garbutt, Dean of the Honors College. “She exemplifies the undergraduates at West Virginia University who are engaged in extraordinary research. We are pleased the Libraries are recognizing her for her scholarship and hard work.”

Jessica Brielle Kawalek (center) is the 2013 Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholar. Libraries Interim Dean Myra N. Lowe and Honors College Dean Keith Garbutt congratulate Kawalek on her accomplishment.

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The Health Sciences Library website has moved to a new address:http://lib.wvu.edu/healthsciences. Please update your bookmarks and links to the new address. Our new website has many improved features including:

• Improved navigation that is fully integrated with all of WVU Libraries sites and resources
• A Summon search box on every page
• Ask A Librarian chat links on all pages

Please contact us if you have any questions or to provide feedback on the new site.

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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The WVU Libraries have selected six faculty members to participate in the fifth year of its Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program, an initiative to enhance courses to help students improve their research skills and to become more discerning when searching for and using information.

A collaborative endeavor between the Libraries and the Provost’s Office, the program focuses on fulfilling the University’s 2020 Plan which calls for “engaging undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in a challenging academic environment.” Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and effectively use information.

“We at the Libraries are proud of the integral role we play in every student’s academic pursuits,” said Myra N. Lowe, Interim Dean of Libraries. “We are pleased that the Course Enhancement Program continues to help students to become better researchers and to gain more from the classroom experience.”

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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.

Two WVU librarians will travel to China in May as part of an exchange with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE). Jing Qiu and Martha Yancey will spend two weeks observing operations at the university’s library and discussing their work at WVU.

“Visiting and working in an academic library in China will be a tremendous learning experience for our librarians,” Interim Dean of Libraries Myra N. Lowe said. “We are excited about the insights and ideas Jing and Martha will bring home.”

This trip is the second phase of a partnership that began last fall when two librarians from SUFE, Yu Huang and Deyu Gong, spent the semester learning about operations at the WVU Libraries.

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The Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will remain open for extended hours during dead and finals weeks.

The Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 28, and remain open until 10 p.m. Friday, May 3. Both will be open from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, May 4.

The libraries will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 5 and remain open until 10 p.m. Friday, May 10. They will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 11.

For more information, check out the Libraries’ calendar: www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours

An award from the National Endowment for the Humanities will help the West Virginia University Libraries serve as a bridge between those who have questions about Islam and the Muslim community.

The Libraries are among 843 institutions across the nation to receive the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, a collection of books, films, and an online database assembled to introduce the public to Muslims and the Islamic culture in the United States and around the globe. The bookshelf is part of NEH’s Bridging Cultures Initiative.

“Borrowing from the title of the grant, we want to help build bridges where there are deep misunderstandings, mistrust, and a lack of knowledge,” said Beth Toren, a reference and religious studies librarian.

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf is the first in the NEH’s planned series of Bridging Cultures Bookshelf programs. The NEH, along with the American Library Association, awarded the WVU Libraries with twenty-five books, three documentary films, a DVD of short films, and a one-year subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies Online. The books and DVDs are currently being added to the circulating collection and will be available to be checked out by all students, faculty, and staff. Members of the public are welcome to visit the Downtown Campus Library to use the books.

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Looking for a summer course? Enroll in ULIB300: Film and Media Literacy to earn three credits and fulfill GEC requirements 5: Artistic Expression and 7: American Culture.

Genres include the films of Quentin Tarantino, slasher movies, world cinema, graphic novel adaptations, dark comedy, westerns, gangster films, and Blaxploitation. Students select four from these choices to study.

Students learn film vocabulary, criticism, and movie databases. They watch films on streaming video online or on DVDs at the Library. They join an online learning community in small discussion groups where they discuss film and media, and develop skills to become savvy media consumers.

Visit the website for more information about the course including a complete film list and student comments: http://libraries.wvu.edu/instruction/classes/ulib300/

For more information, contact the instructor: beth.toren@mail.wvu.edu (304) 293-0336.

The WVU Library Faculty Assembly has selected Hilary Oblinger Fredette as the Outstanding Librarian for 2013.

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.

“We applaud Hilary Fredette for her efforts and dedication to significantly improve library services for WVU students and faculty,” said Barbara LaGodna, Chair of the LFA Awards Committee. “She has a record of sustained excellence over many years.”

Hilary Fredette

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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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The Downtown Campus Library of West Virginia University will host a free workshop on grant seeking for nonprofit organizations from 9:30am to noon on April 13th.

The session will highlight the electronic and print resources available for free use at the Downtown Campus Library, which recently became a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center. Established in 1956, the Foundation Center is the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. In its new role, the Library serves as a hub for the Foundation Center’s resources, making them available to nonprofits and social service agencies, as well as the University community.

The workshop, led by Kief Schladweiler, Coordinator of Cooperating Collections with the Foundation Center (www.foundationcenter.org), will provide an introduction to the world of foundation fundraising. It will detail the grant-seeking process, the world of grantmakers, and available tools and resources. It will include instruction on the Foundation Center’s comprehensive online database, Foundation Directory Online Professional. Participants will learn how to create customized searches to develop targeted lists of foundations that match an organization’s funding needs.

To register, contact Penny Pugh at ppugh@wvu.edu (304-293-0334) or Alyssa Wright at Alyssa.wright@mail.wvu.edu (304-293-0337).
For more information, visit http://libguides.wvu.edu/grants.

West Virginia University’s Downtown Campus Library is offering a new service for nonprofit groups and social services agencies seeking grants to serve their communities.

The Downtown Campus Library recently became a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center of New York.  In this new role, the Library will serve as a hub for the Foundation Center’s resources and provide access to detailed information on grantmakers and how to apply for grants.

These materials are open for use by individuals from nonprofits and social service agencies, along with those in the University community.

“The WVU Libraries are excited to join the network of Cooperating Collections,” Penny Pugh, Head of Reference, said. “With looming federal and state budget cuts, the role of philanthropy has never been more important. These resources will better equip nonprofits and social service agencies to secure financial support for crucial programs that serve the people of West Virginia.”

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How do you handle the stresses of daily life? Some thrive on a non-stop schedule. Others take up a hobby, read, or seek out a few quiet moments to escape a hectic day.

A century ago, a doctor might diagnose a stress-laden woman with neurasthenia, or nervous exhaustion, and prescribe her months of isolation and rest. That diagnosis was the case for artist and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Her experience, referenced in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is the topic of a National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibit on display at the WVU Health Sciences Library through March 23. Consisting of six free-standing banners, “Literature of Prescription” is on display in the Library’s lobby.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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An initiative supported by the WVU Libraries and the Provost’s Office will again help up to five faculty members enhance their courses while earning a $3,000 stipend this summer.

The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program is focused on integrating information literacy into the classroom to enrich student learning. The program began as a response to the 2010 Plan and now addresses “engaging undergraduates in a challenging academic environment,” the first goal of WVU’s 2020 Strategic Plan.

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