West Virginia University, Library, West Virginia Collection, Records
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 1974
This collection contains administrative records of the West Virginia and Regional History Center. The material includes correspondence, monthly and annual reports, visitor and acquisition statistics, Center policies and procedures, and records of preservation activities. There are also records regarding renovations and additions to WVU Libraries, and other general library documentation.
Organization:
This collection is organized into four series.
Series 1. Correspondence, 1950s-2020s (boxes 1-5): Internal memos and external communications related to the operation of the West Virginia and Regional History Center. Topics include exhibits, professional development, policy updates, and collaboration with other institutions, including the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the West Virginia State Archives.
Key correspondents include Deans of West Virginia University Libraries, Ruth Jackson and Robert Munn, and West Virginia Collection Curators, George Parkinson, Harold Forbes, Charles Shetler and John Cuthbert.
Series 2. Business Records, 1938-2025 (boxes 6-20 and 24): Administrative documents such as reports, budgets, television and radio advertisements, collection statistics, staff meeting minutes, and special project documentation, including records of the West Virginia Newspaper Project. The series also includes records of renovations and additions to West Virginia University Libraries, including floor plans and other records relating to the renovation of Colson Hall in preparation for the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. The WVRHC closed in Colson Hall and reopened in Wise Library in 2003.
Other highlights include the Works Project Administration's 1936 Survey of Historical Records (box 10), and records and correspondence related to the Center's attempts to obtain the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) records, including a copy of the UMWA Archives Proposal, 1975-1991 (box 13).
Series 3. Miscellaneous Papers (box 21): Research, notes, and other records of unknown origin and unknown relation to the West Virginia and Regional History Center. Topics include the American Civil War, West Virginia symbols, and the toy manufacturer, Louis Marx and Company.
Series 4. Digital Media and Microfilm (boxes 22-23 and 25): Digital and microfilm copies of material as described above in Series 1 and Series 2. Much of this material has not been reviewed and may contain duplicates of physical items in the collection.
Per West Virginia & Regional History Center policy, special access restrictions apply.
Due to the possibility of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), microfilm in box 23 will be restricted for 75 years after the date of record creation, but users may complete the Agreement for the Use of Sensitive Materials to request access to these materials prior to the expiration of the restriction.
Please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center at in advance to request access to the above-mentioned records.
Researchers may access digitized and born digital materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at .
Some audiovisual materials in boxes 22 and 25 are unprocessed and must be digitized for research access. They also may contain restricted materials.
Please contact the Center in advance to request access to the above-mentioned records.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
The West Virginia and Regional History Center (formerly the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, and the West Virginia Collection) is the foremost historical archives library in West Virginia, preserving the finest gathering of archives and manuscripts pertaining to the history of West Virginia and the central Appalachian region in existence. The Center dates back to 1930, when the University Library accepted the responsibility of preserving the papers of Senator Waitman T. Willey, a founding father of West Virginia. The papers of other key political and industrial leaders soon followed, including those of Francis H. Pierpont, governor of the Reorganized Government of Virginia (1861-1863), and capitalist titans Henry Gassaway Davis and Johnson Newlon Camden.
The West Virginia University Board of Governors formally authorized the Library's growing "Division of Documents," as the Center was initially known, in 1933.
For more information, please see the About Us page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
14.67 Linear Feet (14 ft. 8 in. (16 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (5 record cartons, 15 in. each); (1 notecard box, 12 in.); (1 hinged lid microfilm box, 4 in.))
53.1 Gigabytes (1,403 files (primarily .jpg, .pdf and .tif) in 131 folders.)
English
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Transfer from WVU. Library. West Virginia Collection, 1967-2024.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository