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 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.

It does pay to speak your mind. As an incentive for completing WVU Libraries’ LibQual survey this spring, two randomly selected participants received iPads. Pictured are Dr. Michael Klishis, Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator, Safety Management; Myra Lowe, Interim Dean of the Libraries; and Caroline Hunger, a senior studying criminology and investigations.

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.

Dickens is receiving some special attention this year as libraries and universities worldwide are celebrating the 200^th anniversary of his birth. The WVU Libraries are marking the occasion with a group of exhibits currently on display in the Downtown Campus Library.

The exhibits focus on his serialized novels and his influence on contemporary culture, and provide a timeline of events happening around the globe during his life (1812-1870).

It might be difficult to imagine reading a serialized work today. Many people stood in long lines to buy the latest Harry Potter novel, dashed home, and read it over a weekend. The same happened with fans of the Twilight and Hunger Games series.

However, early fans of Oliver Twist starved for their next helping. Publishers dished out chapters in 26 monthly installments. Bleak House and David Copperfield were also published as serials. The Libraries’ Rare Book Room houses an original full run of each of these novels.

The complete serial run of David Copperfield is among several works by Charles Dickens that are housed in the WVU Libraries’ Rare Book Room.

Serialization kept the author and his work in the public eye for a longer time. Word would spread and interest in the next chapter would grow.

Also, the system provided a platform for advertising. Ads for diet aids, bedding, clothes, and other items appeared inside and on the back cover of the bound installments.

“People have always wanted to make money, and they have always used writers and artists to make money,” Diamond said. “It was a good arrangement for Dickens.”

Serials served as a great vehicle for advertising in the 19th century. Publishers placed advertisements like this one throughout each installment.

Another interesting component of the library exhibits is a timeline chronicling events that occurred during the author’s life. Most would probably be surprised to see Dickens connected to West Virginia, the Cincinnati Reds, and Neptune, as the timeline shows.

“When people think of history, it gets very compartmentalized. We think of Victorian England and we think of the American Civil War, but we don’t think of them happening at the same time,” Diamond said.

Dickens has even made it to “where no man has gone before.” The section on Dickens’ contemporary influence mentions a traveling A Christmas Carol play that is delivered in Klingon, an alien race encountered in the Star Trek series.

Along with being remade several times on television and in theaters, A Christmas Carol has served as inspiration for holiday episodes of many television shows.

“Dickens’ themes resonate still,” Diamond said.

The exhibit will remain on display through the spring semester in the lobby of the Downtown Campus Library.