By Aaron Rote
Daily Athenaeum Staff Writer

Although most students rarely venture away from the first floor computer terminals in the Downtown Library Complex, Wise Library, the university’s orignial library before adding on, is actually home to a rather impressive selection of books. In addition to the characteristic selection of literature and scholastic texts, the collection is also attractive for those interested in old and rare books from all over the world.

Located on the sixth floor, the Rare Books Room contains a plethora of valuable texts that have either been donated to the library from outside sources or relocated from the main collection.

Read the rest of this entry »

From union miners lining up in Matewan and a World War I pilot showing off his plane to the State Capitol being constructed and Eleanor Roosevelt touring Arthurdale, a glimpse into the past of West Virginia is now only a few clicks of the keyboard away.

West Virginia History OnView, a new digital photograph database launched during Mountaineer Week, provides online access to more than 5,000 historical photographs housed in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. The database is expected to eventually swell to more than 25,000 images.

“The West Virginia Collection has the finest collection of historical photographs relating to West Virginia in existence,” WVRHC Curator John Cuthbert said. “We are now making the best of them available for viewing by anyone with Internet access.”

Read the rest of this entry »