Marshall University and West Virginia University have teamed up to provide free online access to publications for courses on the Mountain State’s history.
Titled “West Virginia History: An Open Access Reader,” the project was assembled by Dr. Kevin Barksdale, associate professor of history at Marshall, and WVU’s Dr. Ken Fones-Wolf, professor of history and holder of the Stuart and Joyce Robbins Chair.
From European settlement to mountaintop removal, this collection of previously published essays from the journal “West Virginia History” and other WVU Press publications chronicles the history of the territory we now know as West Virginia.
“By partnering with WVU Press and Libraries, this open access reader will hopefully inspire current and future state historians to advance our understanding of West Virginia’s past and to promote a deeper appreciation of our state’s cultural and historical significance to the larger world,” Barksdale said.
Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert said he sees the value and appeal of the open-access reader.
“Not only will it make these relevant articles about our state’s history available to everyone online at no cost, but it also will promote West Virginia scholars, including the outstanding faculty members we have at Marshall and WVU,” Gilbert said. “I am excited to endorse this collaborative project.”
The reader was launched this month by WVU Press and WVU Libraries and can be accessed at http://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/index.html.For more information about Marshall’s history department, visit www.marshall.edu/cola.