Skip to main content

Background Image for Header: Colorful fore edges of books lined up on a shelf

Give

Financial Gifts

You may also be interested in providing  financial support for the WVRHC through WVU Libraries. We welcome financial donations that enable our work to efficiently preserve, process and make collections available to the general public. 

Material Gifts

The West Virginia and Regional History Center at WVU Libraries is always interested in receiving donations of historic documents, maps, photographs, books, and other information resources that fall within the Center's collecting focus and meet the teaching and research needs of the University. Ultimately, the vast majority of the Center's holdings exist today because of the efforts of generations of our loyal Mountaineer alumni, faculty, librarians, and friends who recognized their value and had the foresight to place them here to ensure their survival for posterity. 

We encourage you to consider that you may own or have knowledge of historical materials worth preserving. Please review the following information on what we collect, gift policy and procedures and then contact us to discuss your donation.

The WVRHC adheres to best practices within the archives field, which stipulates that all donations must be done in mediation with an archivist or curator and accompanied by a deed of gift. Any materials that do not meet these conditions will be offered back to the donor or, if the donor is unresponsive, dealt with according to WVRHC procedures.

What We Collect

The WVRHC collects unique and original materials relating to West Virginia and central Appalachia in all written, audio, visual, and electronic formats. In addition to our broad regional context, we also collect those materials that draw connections to the fabric of our national heritage.   

Examples of areas of interest include:

· Papers of political figures of importance to West Virginia and the region

· Correspondence and records relating to business and industry in the state and region

· Literary materials, especially relating to West Virginia authors and regional topics

· Genealogical collections, correspondence, and diaries relating to West Virginia families

· Correspondence and diaries relating to West Virginians in military service

· Materials from WVU students, staff, and faculty related to the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 stories project)

Subjects of special interest to the Rare Books Collection include:

· West Virginia and Appalachia rare books

· Shakespeare, his sources, and his contemporaries

· Mark Twain and his contemporaries

· Isaac Asimov

· Jesse Stuart

· Decorative publishers' bindings

· Illustrated books, especially botanicals and herbals

· Appalachian content and Appalachia depicted on publishers' bindings and dust jackets

· Shape-note hymnals


Donations of collections or single items that directly support or complement our collections should be brought to the attention of the appropriate curator. 

Collection Contact Phone & Email
WVRHC, Main Collections Jane LaBarbara, Head of Archives and Manuscripts

--- 

Grace Musgrave, Accessioning Archivist

304-293-0352 jane.labarbara@mail.wvu.edu 

--- 

304-293-7676
grace.musgrave@mail.wvu.edu

Appalachian Collection and Rare Books Stewart Plein, Curator of Rare Books & Printed Resources 304-293-7531 stewart.plein@mail.wvu.edu
Congressional Archives Danielle Emerling, Congressional & Political Papers Archivist 304-293-2574 danielle.emerling@mail.wvu.edu
University Archives Jane LaBarbara, Head of Archives and Manuscripts 304-293-0352 jane.labarbara@mail.wvu.edu

Gift Procedures and Policies

If you are interested in providing a material gift to the West Virginia & Regional History Center please contact the appropriate subject liaison above.  If possible, we would appreciate a complete description of the items, information about the condition and provenance of the materials and, if books, a list of printed books which includes author, title, date and place of publication.

Please also note that, in many cases, the WVRHC would gratefully accept the chance to scan materials, such as precious photographs, and return the originals to the donor.

Upon acceptance of the whole or partial gift or if further investigation is required to make that determination, we will make mutually acceptable arrangements to examine and/or pick up the gift, or have the gift shipped to WVU Libraries. 

You will receive a letter of acknowledgment and, depending on the estimated gift value, signed deed of gift may need to be executed. If you wish to claim a charitable tax deduction, the IRS requires that gifts valued at $5,000 or more be professionally appraised at the expense of the donor.  Please consult a qualified tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service for additional information regarding tax treatment for material gifts.

Once accepted and acknowledged, gifts become the property of the WVRHC

We are honored that you are considering placing a gift with the West Virginia and Regional History Center, and we look forward to working with you in this process Those who donate are rewarded not only by the thanks of researchers at the WVRHC, but also by the satisfaction of participating in the effort to build the historical record and understand West Virginian and Appalachian history and life.