WVU Libraries

With support from generous donors, the Libraries have acquired The Civil War: Antebellum Period to Reconstruction, a unique resource for researching and teaching this critical period of 19th-century American history. The new digital collection features more than 150 newspapers from all regions of the United States—plus approximately 50,000 government documents and 4,000 rare broadsides and pieces of ephemera. Together, this diverse collection of primary materials provides remarkable local and national coverage of American culture, politics and society from 1840 through 1877—a tumultuous time that redefined a nation. Connect to the collection at The Civil War. For more information, contact Penny Pugh: ppugh@wvu.edu.

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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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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