WVU Libraries

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, maybe literature is in the eye of the reader or viewer.

An upcoming exhibit at the Downtown Campus Library will showcase a relatively new literary genre called electronic literature. “Electrifying Literature: Affordances and Constraints,” the 2012 Media Art Show curated by the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO), will run in conjunction with the ELO conference in Morgantown from June 20-23.

“Electronic literature is as old as the computer,” said Sandy Baldwin, an English professor in the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the ELO conference. “As long as there have been computers, there have been people using them to do creative things.”

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Three Honors graduates have been named Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars. Abigail Cioffi, Miriah Hamrick, and Jared Jones received the award at a ceremony in the Charles C. Wise Library during Commencement Weekend.

“These students did a tremendous job researching their topics and presenting their findings,” said Keith Garbutt, Dean of the Honors College. “They are excellent examples of the undergraduates at West Virginia University who are engaged in extraordinary research. We are pleased these students are being recognized for their scholarship and hard work.”

The WVU Libraries and the Honors College established the Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars Award in 2009 to honor Dr. Robert F. Munn, Dean of Library Services from 1957-1986.

The award goes to one or more graduating Honors students for outstanding humanities or social sciences research that is done in the WVU Libraries and results in an exceptional thesis. Writing a thesis is a graduation requirement for Honors students. Along with receiving a $1,000 award, the scholar’s name is added to a plaque in the Downtown Campus Library.

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As part of Faculty Academy, the WVU Libraries are spotlighting their Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program (ILCEP) and its participants.

This year’s showcase will be held in the Milano Reading Room, Wise Library, on May 7 and will include professor/librarian teams for the 2011-12 academic year. Poster sessions are scheduled from 8-9 a.m. and 10:30-11 a.m. There will be a presentation and panel discussion at 9 a.m. in Room 104, Downtown Campus Library. It is titled “What Have We Learned from Three Years of the Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Project?”

“The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program has grown remarkably since its inception in the summer of 2009,” said Carroll Wilkinson, WVU Libraries’ Director of Instruction and Information Literacy.

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Wanted: WVU students who love movies and like online courses

We have the class for you.

Film and Media Literacy (ULIB300 CRN52267)

The course is an eCampus course and does not meet in a classroom. Students watch films independently in the private viewing rooms in the Media Services Department of the Downtown Campus Library, online, or at home.

Here are some quotes from students that took the course:

“This was also one of my first web classes and I felt it was better than other web classes I have taken this semester.”

“I really enjoyed this course and would like to take more classes like this.”

“This was my favorite class throughout all of college.”

In this class, you will choose four of eight genres to study. The choices are: Blaxploitation, Slasher, Gangster, Westerns, Dark Comedy, the Films of Quentin Tarantino, Graphic Novel Adaptations, and World Cinema. You will then select two of the fours genres to focus further on and watch five more films that capture the development of those genres. Finally, you will research and choose a film from lists in your selected genres to critique for your final assignment. You will also study media literacy, film criticism and vocabulary, and film databases.

For more information and a complete film list visit the course web page at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/instruction/film/.

The Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries will remain open for extended hours during Dead and Finals weeks.

The Downtown Campus Library will open at 9 a.m. Sunday and remain open until 10 p.m. Friday, April 27. The Evansdale Library will open at 9 a.m. Sunday and remain open until 8 p.m. Friday, April 27. Both libraries will be open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturday, April 28.

The Downtown Campus Library will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 29, and remain open until 10 p.m. Friday, May 4. The Evansdale Library will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 29, and remain open until 8 p.m. Friday, May 4.

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

Beverly Shumaker (right), historian for the WVU Campus Club, presents two copies of her book, A Century of Support for “Our Girls,” to Myra N. Lowe, Interim Dean of Libraries.

The book chronicles the history of the Campus Club, the oldest continuous organization on campus. The group marks its 100^th anniversary this year. To celebrate, members welcome the University community to join them for refreshments at 3 p.m. April 18 at Elizabeth Moore Hall.

When initially formed in 1912, the club provided financial support to female students. Today, both male and female undergraduates benefit from the organization’s scholarships. The group’s membership includes active and retired faculty and staff.

Long before any children attended Hogwarts, visited Narnia, or met a vampire, a scrawny nine-year old boy raised his empty bowl and asked for more food.

He had no wand, magic spell, nor lion to protect him. Yet the orphan set fear aside and stood up to authority. That literacy moment has inspired millions since Charles Dickens first penned the classic tale Oliver Twist, serially published, 1837-1839.

“We all appreciate stories in which the little guy fights against the powers that be. That’s a theme with broad appeal,” said Kelly Diamond, a librarian at the Downtown Campus Library.

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The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association recently named Susan Arnold, Director of the WVU Health Sciences Library, its Librarian of the Year.

Jana Liebermann, chair of the MAC awards committee, said the award reflects Arnold’s accomplishments over the past few years. Liebermann praised Arnold’s involvement with the library’s move into the new Health Sciences Learning Center in 2007, the migration from print to electronic resources, and a phenomenal increase in the use of the Libraries’ electronic resources.

“Being recognized by a group of colleagues from regional institutions means a lot to me,” Arnold said. “I am really honored and humbled.”

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Diane Mazzella, WVU Today

The mystery began more than 500 years ago in England.

But it surfaced in recent months in an unlikely place – the Rare Book Room in West Virginia University’s Charles C. Wise Library.

It remains unsolved.

Was Elizabeth Dacre’s poem an academic exercise in copying the style of love?

Or was the erotic poem telling her own story?

Even with these unanswered questions, the discovery goes beyond a captivating tale and points to the practical concerns of today’s research University: the need for research in every discipline, the importance of gifts to a University and the sheer surprise of what might hide around the next corner or on the next page.

But that is jumping ahead of the story.

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Where do you look for information when you start a new assignment? Do you look for books or journals first? Has anyone written about this before? Is there a dissertation? Did your professor mention something about a documentary?

Don’t panic. Just summon the information.

Summon, a new research tool available on the WVU Libraries’ website, www.libraries.wvu.edu, is a powerful search engine that scours a very large database covering all types of materials and every academic subject. It is sometimes called a “discovery” service because it allows library researchers to use a single search box to discover material of all sorts.

“Summon reveals what is available at the WVU Libraries and offers fast access to content such as e-journal articles and digitized information, usually with a single click,” said Penny Pugh, Head of Reference for the Downtown Campus Library.

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A visit to the WVU Libraries has already paid off for three freshmen. They are beginning the semester with some new electronic gear.

Robert Frevel, from Baltimore, won an iPad, Katelyn Amato, from East Liverpool, OH, went home with a Sony Reader, and Jayshawn Thomas, from Annapolis, MD, is now listening to music on an iPod Shuffle.

Their names were picked in a drawing of students who participated in “Discover! WVU Libraries,” part of the 2011 First Year Academy. The Libraries sponsored the event to introduce students to the library in order to assist them through their academic endeavors at WVU.

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The WVU Libraries have received a $266,000 grant from National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize 100,000 pages of newspapers published in West Virginia from 1836 to 1922.

“I was thrilled to hear that we received this grant because it represents an opportunity for us to take our unique holdings in this area and transform them into a resource that’s easy to use,” said John Cuthbert, Curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection.

The WVU Libraries’ effort will be part of the National Digital Newspaper Program. The NEH and the Library of Congress are partnering with libraries and institutions from around the country to provide enhanced access to historical United States newspapers.

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The Dominion Post
August 17, 2011

Fans aren’t the only ones counting on the WVU football team to put a lot of points on the scoreboard this season: The University’s libraries are banking on the Mountaineers as well.

Frances O’Brien, dean of the WVU Libraries, and WVU sports marketing director Matt Wells unveiled the Mountaineer Touchdown Challenge, a joint initiative between the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the libraries, on Tuesday. The program allows fans to pledge a donation for every touchdown the Mountaineers score this season, with all of the proceeds going directly to WVU’s libraries.

“A great university needs a great library,” O’Brien said. “And it made sense to us that when fans cheer for the Mountaineers and support the team, they could put some of that energy into supporting every school, every academic department, every student, every faculty member and every researcher here on campus.”

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WVU Today

The West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is teaming up with the WVU Libraries to launch a fundraising campaign to benefit the Libraries.

The Mountaineer Touchdown Challenge is a new initiative that enables alumni and fans to support the Libraries while cheering for the Gold and Blue.

Challenge participants pledge a certain dollar figure per touchdown the Mountaineers score during the 2011 season and in any subsequent bowl game. Funds raised will go to establish the Mountaineer Athletics Library Fund, which will benefit students.

“We are all anticipating an exciting football season as the Mountaineers transform under head coach Dana Holgorsen’s high-speed offense,” said Athletic Director Oliver Luck. “Making a pledge in the Mountaineer Touchdown Challenge is a great way to show one’s support for all of WVU.”

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Imagine being perfectly prepared for a long road trip. You have an up-to-date map; detailed directions that identify the best roads, fabulous restaurants, the cheapest gas stations, and alternate routes you can take if needed; brochures for dozens of attractions; a digital camera with 10 gigs of memory; and your favorite caffeinated beverage.

Now, imagine what it would take for a student to get off to a good start on his or her academic voyage.

The West Virginia University Libraries want to help. As part of the 2011 First Year Academy, the Libraries are sponsoring “Discover! WVU Libraries” to support the University’s initiative to enhance the First Year Experience program.

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Penny Pugh, Head of Reference for the Downtown Campus Library, has received national recognition for work benefiting the libraries at WVU and around the state.

LYRASIS, an organization for librarians and information professionals that serves more than 6,000 institutions, has named Pugh its Excellence Award winner for 2011 based on her dedication to libraries of all kinds and for her work with the statewide database program, as well as her enthusiasm, vision and dedication to forwarding the success of libraries.

“One of the reasons we selected Ms. Pugh is the breadth of the impact she has had and the transformational work she has done,” said Kate Nevins, LYRASIS chief executive officer. “We were able to see the positive effects she has had at WVU and statewide.”

Penny Pugh

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BY ALEX LANG
The Dominion Post

Thanks to WVU, the telegrams exchanged between generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee prior to the surrender that led to the end of the Civil War can be viewed online.

“I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Va on the following terms to with Rolls of the all officers and men to be made in duplicate,” Union Gen. Grant telegrammed Confederate Gen. Lee hours before the Appomattox, Va., surrender.

Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post Civil War-era telegrams and a telegraph machine are on display in WVU’s downtown library. The telegrams have been uploaded to a public website.

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BY ALEX LANG
The Dominion Post

A grainy black-and-white photo on the sixth floor of WVU’s downtown library shows a much different High Street than is seen today.

Rows of men, holding their guns, line up across the street from the courthouse.

They were Union recruits in 1861.

The photograph is one of dozens of Civil War-era artifacts on display at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection which opened Monday. Other items included weapons, letters and music.

The collection’s debut was part of WVU Library’s West Virginia Day celebration. It was one of several local events marking the state’s 148th anniversary.

Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post
Nikki Cannon looks at an advertisement authorized by Gov. Pierpoint wanting 1,010 brave men. On the wall is a photograph of men ready to fight in the Civil War lined up on High Street.

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Broadsides tacked on buildings and telegraph poles spoke to the fierce debate swirling around western Virginia at the start of the Civil War in 1861. While one poster rallied citizens to follow their brothers in Richmond and join the Confederacy, another called for people to remain loyal to the United States and stand firm against their treasonous eastern brethren.

“When Virginia’s Richmond leaders decided to join the Confederacy, citizens who were loyal to the United States were faced with a dilemma,” said John Cuthbert, Curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. “They didn’t want to be part of a Virginia that was not going to be part of the United States.”

A broadside posted in Morgantown by Gen. James Evans at the start of the Civil War.

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