WVU Libraries News » 2006 » December

WVU Plays Key Role in Marshall Film

momaxwell@wvu-ad.wvu.edu — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:39:23 +0000

West Virginia University played a key role in helping Marshall University rebuild its football program after a plane crash took the lives of 75 football players, coaches and community members in 1970. WVU again played an important role in the retelling of the saga in the upcoming movie We Are Marshall.

Charged with the task of training a team composed mostly of new players, MU coaches Jack Lengyel and Red Dawson turned to then WVU Football Coach Bobby Bowden for guidance.The pair made a trip to Morgantown to learn the veer offense from Bowden. Lengyel and Dawson sat in an office at the old Mountaineer Stadium and watched black and white game films to study the plays.

When the encounter replays on the big screen, audiences will be viewing a clip of actual game footage of the Mountaineers. The footage was provided by the WVU Libraries, who have archived more than 400 game films from about 1940-1970. To secure a few minutes of vintage Mountaineer action, film producers worked with John Cuthbert, Curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection; Randy Jenkins, Library Media Supervisor; and Shea Browning, Assistant General Council for WVU. Rodney Adlington and Cheryl Clark, both from the Library Systems Department, performed the technical work.

Cuthbert worked directly with Lengyel to find a portion of film showing the veer offense, while Browning and others read over a three-page section of script to make sure WVU is depicted accurately. That part of the script earned the University’s approval.

“WVU looks good in the movie. Basically, it shows us as the big guys helping out the little guys,” Browning said.

Bill Bissett, Director of Public Relations for Marshall University, has already seen the movie twice and expects WVU fans to be touched by the camaraderie the sequence creates.

“The coaches and players of WVU helped Marshall in its darkest hour in rebuilding this football program,” Bissett said. “It definitely portrays Bobby Bowden and West Virginia University in an excellent light.”

Overall, Bissett believes the movie has unifying theme that everyone in the Mountain State will appreciate.

“In this film, you really see West Virginians helping West Virginians,” Bissett said.

We Are Marshall is the second major motion picture that the WVU Libraries have contributed to in about a three-year span.

New Electronic Journals in Criminology

ppugh@wvu-ad.wvu.edu — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:17:20 +0000

The Libraries recently added the Sage Criminology Collection, 23 e-journals covering the subjects of criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, correctons, penology, policing, forensic psychology, and family and domestic violence. Some of the journals have content back 23 years.

A sample of the titles include: Child Maltreatment, Feminist Criminology, Homicide Studies, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Youth Justice.

A complete list of titles and access to the journals is available on the Library Electronic Journals page at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/ejournals.

Upgrade Shuts Down Library Computer Access Tuesday Morning

momaxwell@wvu-ad.wvu.edu — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:28:20 +0000

There will be no access to the WVU Libraries Web site or to Library computers Tuesday morning because of work to upgrade the WVU Libraries’ network switches.

The Libraries will remain open during the upgrade, however users will not be able to log on to library computers. Also, there will be no remote access. Frances O’Brien, Dean of Libraries, expects the work to be finished by early afternoon.

Wise Library History Available Online as E-Book

momaxwell@wvu-ad.wvu.edu — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 20:36:40 +0000

Readers who want to peruse the newly published history of the WVU Libraries can now flip through the pages online.

The WVU Libraries’ Web Team has created an E-Book version of The Charles C. Wise Library: A Retrospective by WVU Law student Luke Boso. The digital book is available through Mountainlynx or at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/history/wise.pdf.

The book, published in 2006, presents the fascinating story of the “tremendous setting for learning” and contains beautiful photographs documenting the Library’s growth from 1931 to 2006. The author, a Morgantown native, earned a degree in English at WVU.

In this reverent tribute, Boso compiles information from 53 sources, ranging from the Daily Athenaeum articles published in 1930 to interviews in 2004 with librarians and Provost Gerald Lang after the latest renovation was completed. The book features interesting facts, such as the cost of the historic library buildings and their capacities. For example, the original library in Stewart Hall cost $116,000 and was built to house 20,000 volumes and 150 readers.

The Wise Library, originally costing $450,000, was rededicated in October 2003 after the extensive renovation project. Renovations included restoration of 1930’s wood furniture but with a twist – data ports enabling students to connect to the Internet are hidden in the tops of antique wooden reading tables in the Milano and Robinson Reading Rooms.

In the digital format, the 32-page book is easy to click through in the Adobe Acrobat Reader and has beautiful black and white and color photos on 8” x 8” pages.

Libraries Extend Hours for Exam Week

ppugh@wvu-ad.wvu.edu — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:55:00 +0000

This weekend, the WVU Libraries will remain open on Friday and Saturday evenings and will open early on Sunday.

On Friday, December 8, and Saturday, December 9, most Libraries will be open until 11 PM. They will reopen at 9 AM on Sunday and remain open until 2 AM Monday morning.

You can find a complete list of Libraries and hours at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours.

Best wishes from the Library faculty and staff for a successful exam week and a great semester break!