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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Location/County: Charleston, Kanawha
February 15, 2018
On Thursday, February 15, 2018, West Virginia Archives and History Director Joe Geiger will present “An Introduction to West Virginia Archives and History” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Archives and History collects and preserves all manner of 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,” and that is a perfect description of Archives and History, according to Geiger.
In his presentation, he 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. Among recently processed collections that he will address are 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 explore numerous 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. Overseeing the highway historical marker program, administering the annual History Bowl competition, advising government officials on records retention, assisting county officials in the preservation and management of their records, and organizing History Day are a few of the programs he will cover.
Joe 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).
Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on February 15 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.
For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.