This year is the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry. On Oct. 16, 1859, Brown and a band of followers seized control of the Harpers Ferry Armory in a plot to build an army to overthrow the South and free the slaves.

John Brown on trial. Sketch by David Hunter Strother.

“John Brown’s Raid is one of the most poignant events in American history,” said John Cuthbert, curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. “Perhaps more than any other single act, it led to the outbreak of the Civil War. John Brown has been cited as the person who contributed more than any other to the start of the Civil War.”

A speaker and exhibit will help attendees better understand the abolitionist, his actions, and the complexities of the issues that divided a nation.

Activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with a reception in the Milano Reading Room. At 10 a.m., Paul Finkelman, a professor at Albany Law School and a specialist in American legal history, race, slavery, and the law, will talk about legal issues and public sentiment surrounding Brown’s trial. Finkelman, an often-cited legal historian, has authored more than 100 articles and 20 books, including “His Soul Goes Marching on: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid.”

There will be a question-and-answer period following Finkelman’s presentation.

At noon, an exhibit focusing on David Hunter Strother’s sketches of Brown’s Raid and the aftermath opens in the J. Hornor Davis Family Galleries on the sixth floor of the Wise Library. The 2009 West Virginia Day posters will be distributed at that time to all present.

Strother was one of the most outstanding primary resources in terms of eyewitness accounts. Arriving in Harpers Ferry within 36 hours of the raid, Strother saw Brown and some of his co-conspirators lying wounded on the floor of a makeshift jail, before they received medical attention.

Even before authorities had the chance to extensively question Brown, Strother talked with him about his failed plot. Strother also made many sketches of Brown and co-conspirators at that time and then later during Brown’s trial and execution.

“David Hunter Strother was a gifted writer and a gifted artist,” Cuthbert said. “If you wanted to find one person to document what happened there, I don’t think you could find a better person than Strother.”

All events are open to the public.

“These students did remarkable work. There is a tremendous amount of scholarship in these theses,” said Keith Garbutt, Dean of the Honors College. “This award recognizes and rewards it.”

Chelsea Derlan and Kelly Trimble are the first to be named Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars.

The WVU Libraries and the Honors College of WVU established the Robert F. Munn Undergraduate Library Scholars Award to honor Dr. Robert F. Munn, Dean of Library Services from 1957-1986.

The award goes to a graduating Honors student or students for outstanding research in the humanities or social sciences that is done in the WVU Libraries and results in an exceptional thesis. Writing a thesis is a graduation requirement for Honors students. Along with receiving a $1,000 award, the scholar’s name is added to a plaque in the Downtown Campus Library.

“I was really honored that everyone found my thesis worthy of the award,” Trimble said. “I’m very grateful.”

Along with a full schedule of classes, she spent the past academic year researching and writing her winning paper, titled “Women’s Conflict Journals: World War II through the Yugoslav Wars.”

“It wouldn’t have been possible to have done all the research without the Library,” she said.

Derlan said she was amazed and honored to learn that her research efforts were recognized. Her paper is titled “The Significance of Parenting Stress, Substance Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, and Other Potential Risk Factors on Treatment Outcomes and Adherence for Child Maltreatment.”

She began preliminary work on her thesis upon entering the McNair Scholars Program, the summer after her sophomore year, and also spent a lot of time in the Library. Derlan believes being named a Munn Scholar will help her as she makes the transition into graduate school.

“It’s going to help me so much to be able to demonstrate that I can do research,” Derlan said. “Professors in graduate school don’t expect a lot of undergraduates to do research. So having this opportunity has been amazing.”

Trimble heads to the University of Michigan this fall to pursue a master’s in Russian and Eastern European studies and eventually sees herself as a professor. Derlan is still considering her graduate school options but wants to study in an urban area. Her goal is to be a professor and to focus on ethnic minority issues concerning children and families.

It was at a similar juncture in his life that Dr. Ken Martis, who spoke at the ceremony, met Munn. Martis shared his memories about meeting Munn when he came to WVU in 1976. Although Martis felt intimidated by the Library Dean at first, Munn encouraged him and provided valuable direction that aided Martis in publishing a book.

“I want you two to know how special Dr. Munn was,” Martis said. “He gave 30 years of his life to this Library and made it the beautiful institution that it is today.”

Arriving at WVU in 1952, Munn rose to head the library in 1957. Over the next three decades, he directed the expansion of the Library from a modest centralized facility into a campus-wide system of Libraries with holdings in excess of a million volumes.

Munn also had a profound impact on WVU as a whole. He served as provost under three presidents and as an advisor and confidant to several more. A scholar and author of numerous articles and several books relating to various topics including Appalachia and the coal industry, Munn was dedicated to promoting scholarship and literature especially regarding West Virginia subjects. As a vehicle to publish manuscripts of merit chiefly of state and regional interest, he founded the WVU Press in 1981.

Munn’s contributions were not limited to WVU. He had an international reputation in the field of librarianship, served on boards of several leading foundations, and assisted in the establishment of libraries in developing countries around the world.

Several alumni and current and former faculty who knew Munn have voiced their appreciation of the Libraries for establishing an award in Munn’s name.

“We now have an honor that is appropriate for someone who devoted his life to the University and to the Libraries,” said Myra Lowe, Associate Dean of Libraries.

John Hagen, Program Coordinator for ETDs, will receive the ETD Leadership Award, which recognizes members of the university community whose leadership and vision has helped raise awareness of the benefits of ETDs, and whose efforts have improved graduate education through the use of ETDs.

“Over the past decade, John’s commitment to ETDs at WVU has resulted in a program that serves as a model for many other universities,” said Christine Jewell, NDLTD Board Member and Awards Committee Chair. “John has led regional and international workshops for the NDLTD, and he has hosted many visitors who come to WVU to learn about the ETD program. John has become recognized internationally for his ETD implementation and open access advocacy.”

Dr. Shirley Stewart Burns, who earned her Ph.D. in history from WVU, won the Innovative Learning Through ETDs award, which recognizes a student whose professional life has been enhanced by the ETD process.

“Shirley’s ETD, ‘Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities’, has allowed her to accomplish her goal of raising the public consciousness and discourse about mountain top removal,” Jewell said.

Burns’ dissertation, published in book form, went on to be a bestseller for the WVU Press.

Kelly C. Barkhurst, who earned her Masters of Fine Arts from the College of Creative Arts, won the Innovative ETD Award for her work titled “Design Taking Action: A holistic approach to design problem solving applied to disease education.”

The NDLTD will present the awards at the ETD 2009 Symposium to be held June 10-13 at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information about the conference, visit http://www.library.pitt.edu/etd2009/.

ETD2009: Bridging the Knowledge Divide, the 12th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD), runs June 10-13 at the University of Pittsburgh.

“The goal of the ETD2009 Conference is to provide a congenial and engaging atmosphere through which participants can learn about electronic thesis and dissertation programs and other areas of scholarly communication,” said John Hagen, Program Coordinator for ETDs. “Our aim is to live up to our motto of “Bridging the knowledge divide.”

WVU has been a pioneer in the scholarly communications world since 1998 when it became only the second university to require students to submit their master’s theses and doctoral dissertations electronically. Today, anyone can go online and browse more than 83 percent of the university’s over 4,000 ETDs; some ETDs maintain restrictions because of copyright sensitive content.

ETDs are popular among academics, private sector researchers, and the general public. The research, much of it state- or federally funded, impacts communities locally and around the globe.

For example, since 2005, people downloaded Shirley Stewart Burns’ online dissertation about mountaintop removal more than 100,000 times. The Wyoming County native went on to publish a revised version of Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal Surface Coal Mining on Southern West Virginia Communities, 1970-2004, and the title became a bestseller for the WVU Press.

WVU is also a leader in Institutional Repositories (IR), the newest frontier in scholarly communication. An IR contains ETDs, Electronic Honors Theses by undergraduates, and faculty research. All of the content is freely accessible online.

Conference organizers expect researchers and librarians from more than 30 nations will participate in ETD 2009 to share their knowledge about digital library collections or to gain insight into how to establish a program at their institutions.

WVU will be well-represented at the event. Daniel Ferreras, an associate professor in the Foreign Language Department, and Patrick Conner, Eberly College Centennial Professor, are on tap as featured speakers.

Conference participants will also come from WVU’s Office of the Provost, Office of Graduate Education, Honors College, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, WVU Libraries, and Office of Information Technology. Interim Provost E. Jane Martin will welcome attendees on behalf of WVU.

ETD2009 is organized by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) and co-sponsored by WVU and Pitt. For more information, visit the Conference Web site: www.library.pitt.edu/etd2009/

Back in the old days, someone may have shared their thoughts for a penny. But today, for two students and a professor, sharing their thoughts is worth a whole lot more. As an incentive for completing WVU Libraries’ LibQual survey this spring, three randomly selected participants received iPod nanos. Myra Lowe, Associate Dean of the Libraries, presented the prizes during Finals Week. Pictured are Wanmei Wang, a statistics graduate student; Mollylin Best, a forensic and investigative science graduating senior; Lowe; and John Penn, associate professor of chemistry.

The libraries will remain open continuously from 9 a.m. Sunday, April 26, until 8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and from 9 a.m.-6 pm. Saturday, May 2. For Finals Week, they will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 3, and remain open continuously until 8 p.m. Friday, May 8. They will be open from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 9.

For more info, check out the Libraries’ calendar: www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours

Doors will close after finals week on May 10 and reopen before the start of the fall semester. In the interim, the WVU Libraries will work with users in retrieving needed materials housed at Evansdale.

Students and faculty will be able to request books through the Libraries’ Book Express service. Items will be retrieved within 24 hours and will be available for pick up on the lower level of the library. Users will be able to obtain journal articles by requesting them through ILLiad, the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan service. Materials will be digitized and delivered via email.

“We expect the end result of this renovation to outweigh the temporary inconvenience,” said Mary Strife, Director of the Evansdale Library. “Students will have a library for the 21st century that is aesthetically pleasing, equipped with the latest technology, and more conducive to studying, doing research, and working on group projects.”

Plans call for reconfiguring the first floor to create a space that is bright and open.

Clusters of study and computer carrels will replace a large block of shelves on the right of the floor. Near the rear windows, a flexible study area will allow students to easily move tables, chairs, and whiteboards to fit a group project or tutoring session. A leisure reading area with lounge seating will offer a quiet corner to study or read for pleasure.

The microfilm room will make way for a lounge with upscale vending machines, café seating, and a video screen possibly showing CNN. New computer stations, with carrel walls for privacy, will replace the current arrangement.

And there’s no need to fear if you have any questions. Finding help will be quicker and easier for library users thanks to a new desk that centralizes circulation, reference, and technical services in one location.
New carpeting, wallpaper, a fresh coat of paint, and a Flying WV tile inlay near the entrance will tie together the floor.

“Students played a big part in our planning of this makeover. We listened to their recommendations,” Strife said. “I’m eager to see them filling the new space once we’re done.”

We have the class for you.

Film and Media Literacy (ULIB300 CRN53044) is taught online. 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. These rooms have 42” plasma screens and high quality sound systems to deliver an optimal atmosphere for viewing films. Students also have the option to watch films at home if they rent them.

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/.

Study hard.

Good luck and best wishes from librarians and library staff.

The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program, a collaborative effort between the Libraries and the Provost’s Office, is focused on fulfilling the University’s 2010 Plan, www.wvu.edu/~2010plan, for information literacy to become a curriculum component across all disciplines by 2010.

“We needed a way to show WVU what more can happen when librarians and faculty work together in the 21st century information environment,” said Carroll Wilkinson, WVU Libraries’ Director of Instruction and Information Literacy. “I am grateful to Dr. Martin and Dean O’Brien for making this project possible.”

Stepping up for this pioneer effort are Assistant Professor Gonzalo Bravo, Sport Sciences Department, School of Physical Activity and Sport; Assistant Professor Lisa Hardman, School of Nursing, Health Sciences Center; Professor Fred Jacoby, Arts and Humanities Division, Potomac State College; Assistant Professor Rhonda Reymond, Art Department, College of Creative Arts; and Professor Tim Warner, Geology and Geography Department, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

They were chosen from among 23 applicants who submitted detailed proposals for integrating information literacy into their classrooms.

Faculty will work with Wilkinson and their library liaisons (Linda Blake, Virginia Bender, Barbara LaGodna, and Beth Royall) to create discipline-specific active learning assignments that address information literacy concepts. For example, there may be research assignments in the course already which can be reworked to include practice in resource evaluation or ethical application of the information found. Participants will learn together as a group, and they will work in smaller collaborations with their library liaison and the program coordinator. They will also each earn a $3,000 stipend.

“This project will help us learn from each other for the students’ benefit,” Wilkinson said. “Following completion of the enhanced courses, I am hopeful that the students will have new power to analyze, synthesize, and present information in multiple contexts for many different audiences.”

Expectations are for the faculty to begin teaching the revised courses during the fall 2009 or spring 2010 semester and to take part in a Showcase of Information Literacy Learning Progress Forum during the academic year.

Courses to be enhanced include intermediate, discipline-specific, and graduate courses in the WVU curriculum. They are: Effective Public Speaking SPA 270 (Potomac State); Sport in the Global Market SM 375; Introduction to Remote Sensing Geol/Geog 455; Great Universal Expositions of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries ARHS 494; and Scientific Underpinnings, Nursing 715.

The course enhancement grants will be offered again in the spring of 2010.