Long before FBI agents were searching digital files to find a match for a fingerprint found at a crime scene, Sir Frances Galton began studying fingerprints as a means of identification. The result was Finger Prints, an 1892 work that included the first fingerprint classification system.

Galton established two major points. First, an individual’s fingerprints are unique – the chance of two people having the same prints would be 1 in 64 billion. Second, fingerprints stay the same as a person ages.

An 1893 edition of Finger Prints is part of the collection that the International Association for Identification is entrusting the WVU Libraries with for the next decade.

The IAI selected the WVU Libraries as the official repository for its library holdings because of the University’s Forensic and Investigative Sciences academic program and the Forensic Science Initiative research and outreach program.

“We are thrilled our library was chosen to receive this collection,” Myra Lowe, Associate Dean of Libraries said. “The materials will be valuable additions to the Libraries’ resources in the subject area and will greatly enhance our ability to support student and faculty research.”

The collection is dedicated to the history of fingerprinting, crime scene analysis, and related sciences. Along with Galton’s landmark effort is a 1901 edition of Sir Edward Richard Henry’s Classification and Uses of Finger Prints.

A pioneer in the field, the British police officer led police in Bengal, India, to use fingerprint to identify criminals. He later become assistant commissioner of metropolitan police in London and then established the Britain’s first fingerprint files in 1901. Soon, the rest of Europe and North America incorporated the practice of using fingerprints to identify criminals.

The collection includes many similar items dating back to the earliest uses of fingerprints in criminal investigations in the United States. The IAI library also includes original notes from the earliest practitioners and developers of fingerprinting, arguably one of the most important tools available to the forensic scientist.

“It is somewhat analogous to having notes taken by Charles Darwin during his voyages on the HMS Beagle prior to his publishing On the Origins of Species,” said Clifton Bishop, Director of the Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program and Chair of the IAI Student Committee.

Bishop is a firm believer in knowing the history of significant developments within one’s field. He considers it critical that students understand why certain conclusions were drawn within their area and not simply accept things on blind faith.

“Often, you find that the questions asked by the early pioneers in a field are, with modifications, the same ones that are being asked today and knowing about their thoughts can make one better informed,” Bishop said.

In addition to the value of the material itself, IAI entrusting WVU with their collection is an important recognition of the University’s forensic program’s status.

“Locating their collection here further strengthens the important bonds between us,” Bishop said. “It is also a statement of IAI’s faith in us and in the continuance of our program that they have entrusted us with this collection.” – Morgantown Times

In the post, she will guide the group which represents librarians and staff from public, academic, K-12, and special libraries around the state.

“It’s very challenging and humbling to be president of this organization,” Pugh said. “The association represents libraries of all types and gives us an opportunity to work together toward common goals, which ultimately serve the citizens of West Virginia.”

Pugh comes aboard with a full agenda already on her plate. The WVLA succeeded last session in securing funding from the Legislature to acquire statewide electronic database licenses for hundreds of libraries.

Nationwide concerns exist about a disparity in access to electronic information. Nearly all public and K-12 libraries lack the extensive electronic resources available at most colleges and universities. College students grow accustomed to a wealth of easily retrievable information while on campus, but then after graduation, find that the information sources are not available outside the academic setting.

Pugh and others in the WVLA leadership see this statewide contract as part of a remedy to this societal problem. The goal now is to encourage the Legislature to continue funding. Pugh’s mission is to convey to state lawmakers the positive impact realized by the number of resources now available at public and school libraries.

“From kindergarten through the rest of your life, you should be able to have access to electronic or digital information,” Pugh said. “This project, being coordinated by the West Virginia Library Commission and funded by the Legislature, is one that I think will stay on the Association’s legislative agenda for a long time.”

WVU Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien called Pugh a devoted advocate for libraries and a knowledgeable professional. She expects 2005 to be a good year for libraries in the Mountain State with Pugh at the helm.

“Penny’s experience has earned her the respect of her colleagues across the state, and she will be very effective in leading collaborative efforts among the different types of libraries,” O’Brien said. “I believe her year as WVLA president will bring significant advances in library service to citizens of West Virginia.”

Myra Lowe, Associate Dean of the WVU Libraries, shared similar praise and optimism. She has supervised Pugh since she joined the staff as a reference librarian in 1989 and highly regards her efforts as a librarian.

Lowe called Pugh a leader at the WVU Libraries in terms of electronic resources, explaining that the libraries rely on Pugh’s judgment in identifying what electronic resources to purchase. She also stressed that Pugh runs a large and diverse department within the Libraries and is able to guide wide-ranging areas of responsibility effectively.

“I see Penny as an excellent leader,” Lowe said. “Her expertise has already been valuable and will continue to be.”

Pugh has previously served as Chair of the Academic Division of WVLA and as a member of the Executive Board. Prior to settling at WVU, Pugh was a librarian and library science instructor at Fairmont State College form 1986-1989. Pugh earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from WVU and her Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. She has been Head of Reference in the Downtown Campus Library since November 2000. – Morgantown Times

- Mountaineer Spirit

Sophie Bogdanski (right), Monographs Unit Librarian for the WVU Libraries, explains Banned Books Week to Shelia Shurina, an education junior, at a display in the Downtown Campus Library Alumni Lobby.

Banned Books Week, a national event that runs from Sept. 25-Oct. 2, has two goals. First, the annual observance is a celebration of the freedom to read. It is also a chance to educate people about the library’s responsibility to collect, provide access, and archive materials on all points of view and on any given topic without censorship.

“The library is a bias-free zone,“ Bogdanski said. “This freedom is essential on a university campus where students, faculty, and staff need to research both sides of controversial issues such as cloning.”

In spite of differing opinions about what is written in a book, people still have the right to read it. This right is embedded in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Since 1990, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has recorded more than 7,000 book challenges from individuals and groups, including 515 in 2002. A challenge is a formal, written complaint requesting a book be removed from library shelves or school curriculum. About three out of four of all challenges are to material in schools or school libraries, and one in four are to material in public libraries.

Along with the display in the DCL, librarians and staff manned an information booth in the Mountainlair from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. during that week.

–Photo and story by Monte Maxwell, WVU Libraries

Until now, someone searching for a mix of resources to research a topic had to check Mountainlynx to find books, films and microfilm, then look elsewhere on the Libraries’ Web site to find available electronic journals.

It’s now one-stop shopping.

“If students and faculty know to go to Mountainlynx, then they can find the electronic journals they need,” said Linda Blake, electronic journals coordinator and science librarian.

Because the electronic journals are in the online catalog, they are treated like the more traditional items in the collection. This means users can search by keyword to find all available e-journals for a particular area.

For example, someone doing a keyword search on “Hemingway” would find 307 listings of materials available at the WVU Libraries, and one is an e-journal called the Hemingway Review.

Searching under the keyword “art” reels in 24 e-journals among thousands of books and other materials, “engineering” finds 390 e-journals, and “oil” recovers 16.

Users can also choose to narrow their search to just e-journals by setting the Quick Limits option on the Mountainlynx page to “electronic journals.” This mode would return only the 390 e-journals for engineering rather than all of the thousands books, videos and other resources.

Another benefit of these catalog listings is quick access to the material. The user simply clicks on the desired listing and heads directly to the e-journal.

Adding these listings to Mountainlynx is the second step in the Libraries’ plan to enhance access to more than 10,000 e-journals.

The first step was getting an alphabetical list of e-journals on the Libraries’ Web site. The next step is using the enhancements to better manage the resources and, in turn, to continue improving offerings to users.

Blake is excited about the possibilities. She heard statistics at a recent conference that show adding e-journals to the online catalog increases usage and expects the same to happen here.

“This trend is not going to stop,” Blake said. “We’re going to end up with more and more electronic journals and less and less print. And we have to manage them.”

–Monte Maxwell, WVU Libraries

As Peter Parker can attest, trust those senses. There is something familiar about the film’s bank robbery scene for anyone who has sat in G-21 of White Hall.

A replica of the Robert Lepper mural covering the front wall of the WVU auditorium adorns a wall of a bank in the latest Spider-Man installment.

The work, considered one of the most important examples of Machine Age Art, depicts industries prevalent in West Virginia during the early 1940s.

“It is flattering to know that a leading Hollywood design studio thought so highly of the painting that they were willing to go to considerable trouble and expense to incorporate it in the film,” said John Cuthbert, curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. “It is simply the best example they could find of the Machine Age movement in American art.”

In 1940, West Virginia University commissioned Lepper to do the painting in the then new Mineral Industries Building. It was “discovered” last year by an art consultant working on the movie.

Jennifer Long, with Film Art LA, had the task for finding a mural that could be copied and placed on the wall of a bank. The set decorator simply told her they wanted something with a WPA feel.

The search lead Long through many artists and finally to the book The Machine Age in America, 1918-1941, where she found a picture of Lepper’s mural at WVU.

“It had all the workings of a WPA mural. The lines and the designs were perfect. It was definitely right as part of the building,” Long said. “For me, more than anything was the kind of feeling of commerce and industry moving forward.”

When she showed the picture to set decorator Jay Hart, he knew he had found the mural for the wall. Hart said the muted colors appealed to him the most because they compliment the marble columns and dark wood in the bank. And, for the Pittsburgh native, it also helped that Lepper had taught art at Carnegie Mellon University.

After director Sam Raimi gave his approval, Long contacted Cuthbert to obtain the rights to use the image in Spider-Man 2. Hart then sent a photographer to campus to take shots of the mural so it could be reproduced.

Back at Sony Studios, a team of five painters then copied the painting onto eight separate pieces of canvas so that it could fit into the available space at the bank. Crews then crafted faux bronze frames to attach to the finished paintings before mounting them in the bank.

The end result is an attractive backdrop that looks like its original to the bank, Hart said.

The mural can be seen during a scene in which Peter Parker and Aunt May go to the bank. It also serves as the background for a fight between Spider-Man and Dr. Octavius.

Cuthbert doubts the average viewer will notice the University’s contribution to Spider-Man 2; however, he is hopeful its placement can increase awareness of this great mural on campus and serve as a reminder of the many wonderful treasures stemming from the University’s intriguing history.

“It is also a fun new addition to WVU trivia,” Cuthbert said. -Dominion Post

The WVU Libraries have launched a new online exhibit featuring an old and fragile book, “Boydell’s Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare.” The illustrations in this rare and delicate book can now be used by scholars and students with access to the Web, and without further wear on the brittle book.

The 1805 book consists of “100 elegant engravings” by several different British artists. The exhibit’s illustrations are accompanied by descriptive paragraphs, with the act and scene, some including brief excerpts of dialog. The exhibit can be viewed at: http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/exhibits/boydell/.

During Phase I, book collections (including reference, new books and oversized) are being moved to prepare for the renovation. Journals published before 1980 are being sent to the WVU Libraries Book Depository http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/depository/index.htm).

Scanned versions of the articles from these journals will be made available upon request from the Web page at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/systems/callslip.

For more information on the library construction project visit http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/library/construction.htm or
call 293-6810.

While in the library, please inquire about new locations for library materials at the HSL Circulation and Reference
desks. The library staff thanks patrons for their patience.

In honor of West Virginia’s 141 st birthday, the West Virginia University Libraries’ West Virginia and Regional History Collection will exhibit the artwork of Mountain State native Richard Kidwell Miller on Saturday, June 19.

Miller is scheduled to attend the exhibit in the James Hornor Davis Family Galleries and present a lecture. The exhibit will open at 5 p.m., and Miller’s lecture will follow at 6 p.m. The galleries are on the sixth floor of the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library, part of the Downtown Library Complex.

Miller was born in Fairmont during the Great Depression. He displayed artistic talent at a young age and earned early release from grade school each day to study at a local WPA arts center.

His first solo exhibition occurred when he was just 16. When his family moved to Washington, D.C., he quickly achieved recognition as one of the area’s most promising young painters.

After graduating from American and Columbia universities in the early 1960s, Miller emerged as a prominent member of the New York Abstract Expressionist School, exhibiting alongside Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler and others.

His work is on display today in several museums, including the Phillips Collection and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

He was honored earlier this year as recipient of the National Academy School and Museum of Fine Art’s Adolf and Clara Obrig Prize.

For more information, contact John Cuthbert at 304-293-4040 ext. 4201.

WVU has taken up digital domain in the Smithsonian Institution.

Links to four WVU Libraries digital exhibits appear on a Smithsonian Institution Libraries Web site. The site, “Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web,” lists nearly 3,000 library-related exhibits from more than 25 countries. In 2003, close to 16,000 people visited the site.

“We’re honored that the Smithsonian has taken notice of our
work in the digital arena,” WVU Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien said. “Electronic resources and archives quickly became commonplace in academic libraries, and we want not only to compete in the field but to make an exceptional offering.”

The Smithsonian provides links to the following WVU Libraries exhibits: “A Devoted Life: Grace Edwards Waters,” “Jesse Stuart Web Exhibit,” “Season’s Greetings: Holiday Cards from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection” and “Vintage
Valentines from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection.”

The Smithsonian site can be found at http://www.sil.si.edu/silpublications/online-exhibitions/online-exhibitions-
intro.htm

WVU Libraries have several other digital exhibits, including one for the Isaac Asimov collection, which has gained international attention. This online display, designed by Web Services librarian Beth Toren, features visuals and descriptions of some of the more than 600 books, games, audio recordings, videos and wall
charts included in the Libraries’ Asimov Collection.

The exhibit received a mention in www.researchbuzz.com, and its guest book has been signed by visitors from Spain and Belgium.

“For me, that’s the whole idea of the Web, to transcend geographic, among other boundaries,” Toren said.

Toren sees great potential in the Internet for libraries because it is a simple way to make voluminous amounts of information accessible to a large audience at any time and any place around the globe.

She pointed to the antique Christmas and Valentine card exhibits as an example. While the cards were stored away in the archives, no one could see them unless they knew to go to the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and ask to see them.

Even if a physical display were created, still only relatively few people would see them. But having something on the Internet opens the gates.

“We have thousands of people coming to our Web site,” Toren said.

A popular new addition of the WVU Libraries’ offerings is
“Changing Stages: 100 Years of Theater,” a commercial video series composed of six 60-minute videos. The online Benedum Lecture Series also quickly became a favorite among researchers and students. The series was originated two decades ago by
then Benedum professors who had an interest in fostering an enhanced intellectual dimension for the University. The Web site provides access to digital recordings of nearly 90 of the presentations.

“The users are definitely demanding more digital resources,” Toren said. “They don’t want just the latest material to be digitized, but historic things to be digitized, too.”

The WVRHC stepped in again to answer that call with an exhibit of 200 historical photos of Storer College, the first African-American college in West Virginia. Established Oct. 2, 1867, in Harpers Ferry to educate former slaves, Storer College existed until 1955 and had two black men serve as president.

Frederick Douglass, a freed slave, abolitionist and author, delivered a speech at Storer College on the subject of John Brown in 1881. Some of John Brown’s captors were said to have been present during the speech. In 1906, Storer College was the site
of the Niagara Movement headed by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois. The Niagara Movement later became the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

New digital projects are currently under way at the WVU Libraries, and Toren expects the focus on posting scholarly material to continue to increase.

“I think not just at our library but at all libraries we’re going to see their primary research materials, the things nobody else has, being digitized and made available, I hope freely, for researchers around the world,” Toren said. “I hope that becomes the model.”

WVU Libraries digital exhibits can be viewed online at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/exhibits

See the article with an illustration and caption in PDF.