Feb. 6, 2018
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Joe Geiger, director of Archives and History for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History (WVDCH), will present “An Introduction to West Virginia Archives and History” in the Archives and History Library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. The program will begin at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Archives and History collects and preserves materials that document the state’s history—photographs, manuscripts, yearbooks, films, current and rare books, state documents and more. Virgil Lewis, West Virginia’s first state historian and archivist, said that his ambition was to “so arrange this department that in the future it will be a great store house rich in material for the history of West Virginia. That is a perfect description of Archives and History, according to Geiger.
Geiger will discuss the collections of the State Archives, as well as staff efforts to preserve them, and the ways in which materials are made available to the public. He will talk about some recently processed collections, including the earliest county records from Lewis and Doddridge counties, the Senator Jennings Randolph Collection and the collection of Tanner J. Livisay, who worked from 1941 to 1968 for the West Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.
Geiger will also discuss other activities in which Archives and History is engaged. “Collecting and preserving the state’s history is an awesome responsibility, but today we do much more,” Geiger stated.
Geiger has worked for Archives and History since 1998, serving as historian, webmaster, assistant director and acting director before being named director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in history from Marshall University. Geiger is the author of several scholarly articles and two books: Civil War in Cabell County, West Virginia, 1861-1865 (1991) and Holding the Line: The Battle of Allegheny Mountain and Confederate Defense of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike 1861-62 (2012).
For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
Patrons may park behind the Culture Center after 5 p.m. on Feb. 15 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. The bus turnaround is open, and handicapped spots are available there. Visitors parking there should enter at the front of the building.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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