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Collections

Row of Appalachian Books

Appalachian Collection

The Appalachian Collection is on the third floor of the Wise Library in the Milano Reading Room. Here you will find much of the Library's outstanding collection on the 13-state Appalachian Region including Literature and material in the Social Sciences and Education.

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old manuscript

Archives & Manuscripts

The Archives and Manuscripts division of the West Virginia and Regional History Center contains more than 4,000 collections regarding West Virginia's founding and political development.

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Painting of field

Digital Collections & Exhibits

The West Virginia and Regional History Center provides public access to an array of objects digitized from our collections. Our digital collections include a variety of documents, photo collections, ephemera, and more.

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acoustic guitar

Folk Music

The West Virginia and Regional History Center possesses the finest collection of early field recordings of folk music in existence. The earliest recordings date back to the 1930s and 1940s when field sound recording was in its infancy.

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map in a book

Maps, Atlases, and Gazetteers

The West Virginia and Regional History Center has a variety of maps available in an extensive collection of individual maps, Archives & Manuscripts collections, atlases, and history books.

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Collection of Microfiche

Microfilm and Microfiche

The West Virginia and Regional History Center has an extensive collection of materials on microfilm and microfiche. These materials focus on a variety of topics such as education, science, West Virginia Statehood, county history, and labor organizing.

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Us capitol building

Modern Congressional and Political Papers Collection

The Modern Congressional and Political Papers Collection preserves the papers of members of Congress, political parties, and state and local political actors in the 20th and 21st centuries.  

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Flat top monitor newspaper

Newspapers

The West Virginia and Regional History Center holds an extensive collection of historical West Virginia newspapers dating from 1791 to the present.  The WVRHC has a large collection of microfilmed newspapers, physical newspapers, as well as digitized newspapers available online.

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recording equipment

Oral History

The West Virginia and Regional History Center possesses a large and diverse collection of oral history recordings documenting the culture and history of West Virginia and the surrounding region. Most interviews were conducted and recorded from the 1940s to the 1980s. 

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pearl s.buck

Pearl S. Buck

The Pearl S. Buck Literary Manuscripts collection includes the great majority of manuscripts comprising Buck's literary works, including her novels, non-fiction, children's books, and short stories, as well as articles and speeches, among other material. 

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Old picture of family on porch swing

Photographs

The West Virginia and Regional History Center contains a wide range of photos, some of which have been digitized. Our largest searchable database of digitized photos is West Virginia History OnView. 

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Letterpress advertisement by cliff harvey

Printed Ephemera

The West Virginia and Regional History Center preserves the largest collection of printed ephemera related to West Virginia in existence. Estimated to contain more than 100,000 pieces, primarily from the late 19th century to the present.

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ledger

Public Records

The West Virginia and Regional History Center has early Virginia county records, the Historical Records Survey, West Virginia County Court Records, and federal census records from 1810-1930 available on microfilm and/or soundex. 

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collection of rare books

Rare Books

The Rare Books Collection, located on the sixth level of the Wise Library, contains old and rare books from 1300 to the present. The collection is particularly strong in the areas of literature, history, religion, philosophy, and natural history.

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Old Mountaineer football field

WVU Archives & Records

The West Virginia and Regional History Center is the home of WVU's University Archives. The University’s permanent records include administrative files, publications, photographs, audiovisual material, faculty papers, and memorabilia that document all aspects of campus life and the operations of WVU.

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Row of West Virginia books

West Virginia Books

The West Virginia and Regional History Center contains the most comprehensive collection of books and periodicals relating to West Virginia in existence. Subject areas of special strength include state and local history, the Civil War, biography, economic and industrial history, genealogy, literature and the arts.

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portrait of 2 women

West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection

The West Virginia & Regional History Center is developing the WV Feminist Activist Collection to capture the voices and stories of native and transplanted West Virginians who have worked to affirm the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.

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Flowers in wooden pot

WV Folklife Collection

The West Virginia Folklife Program Collection is an ongoing archival collection consisting of materials generated by folklife fieldwork and programs conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council, beginning November 2015. 

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