About e-WV

“All there is to know about West Virginia”

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, a full-featured electronic reference resource, is a product of the Encyclopedia Project at the West Virginia Humanities Council. The Encyclopedia Project published the print edition of the West Virginia Encyclopedia on West Virginia’s birthday, June 20, 2006, and introduced the beta version of e-WV on the same date in 2010. The public launch followed in September 2010.

The content of e-WV is based on the 2,200 articles of the West Virginia Encyclopedia, extensively revised, updated, and expanded. There are now more than 2,400 articles in e-WV. Thousands of multimedia assets—including current and historic photographs, audio and video, as well as interactive features including an extensive mapping function and a 12,000-item timeline—have also been added.

e-WV operates on a proprietary software platform, developed exclusively for the West Virginia Humanities Council by Information Research Corporation of Fairmont, West Virginia. Unless otherwise indicated, all content of e-WV is the exclusive property of the West Virginia Humanities Council, copyright, 2023.

You may contact e-WV by writing to West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Boulevard E., Charleston, WV 25301 or bumgardner@wvhumanities.org or by calling (304) 346-8500.

THE STAFF AND THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is the work of many individuals and is managed by an editorial staff headquartered at the West Virginia Humanities Council in Charleston, West Virginia. The West Virginia Humanities Council is solely responsible for the design, content and operation of e-WV.

Eric Waggoner, executive editor/publisher
Ken Sullivan, content editor
Stan Bumgardner, media editor

The editorial committee

Stan Bumgardner
Ken Sullivan
Eric Waggoner

The development team

W. Gregory Stine, vice-president, Information Research Corporation
Ryan Heath, software engineer, Information Research Corporation
David Hoffmann, technical consultant
Michael Teel, visual design, Progressity, Incorporated
Justin Moore, Information Research Corporation
Daniel Connolly, Information Research Corporation
Kathryn Ehrlich, Information Research Corporation

Our technical support ~ Formed Function LLC, Morgantown, West Virginia

Our hosting partner ~ WVNET, the West Virginia Network, Morgantown, West Virginia

And special thanks to Debby Sonis; Krystle Farman, University of Kentucky; Fred Kameny, Duke University Press; Tina Holmes; Mary Ratliff; Annette Cipriani; Ken Bailey; C. Belmont Keeney; Stan Bumgardner; Bill Hunt, Information Research Corporation; the West Virginia Library Commission; and the hundreds of writers and photographers whose work is credited at individual locations within e-WV.

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia was developed with the generous financial support of our sponsors, including Verizon and others.

LEGAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Copyright 2023, West Virginia Humanities Council. All rights reserved.

Copyright protection

All elements constituting e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, including site layout, look and feel, functionalities, design, text, images, graphics, and audio and video, are protected by copyright and trademark laws. They may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, posted or broadcast without the prior written permission of the West Virginia Humanities Council, except as provided under these terms of use. Some photographs and illustrations, and items of audio and video, are the property of other owners, as credited within e-WV.

Fair use of materials

Fair use of copyrighted material includes the use of protected materials for noncommercial educational purposes and for purposes of review and critical commentary or news reporting pertaining to those materials. The use of text from e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia for such purposes does not require express permission from the West Virginia Humanities Council. By downloading, printing or otherwise using content from e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, users agree that they will limit their use of such material to fair use and will not violate the proprietary rights of the West Virginia Humanities Council or any other party.

Other use of materials

If you wish to use content from e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia for commercial use, publication, or any purpose other than fair use as defined by law, you must request and receive written permission. Such requests may be directed by e-mail to bumgardner@wvhumanities.org or by postal mail to e-WV, West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Boulevard, E., Charleston, WV 25301.

All use of materials, whether fair use or by permission, must credit e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia as the source. We encourage users to post a link to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia or to specific material within e-WV.

EDITORIAL POLICY

Operating under the slogan, “All there is to know about West Virginia,” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia intends to be the best source available for concise, authoritative information on the wide range of topics having to do with West Virginia past and present. All textual and non-textual content is selected or created, and prepared and edited, with that goal in mind.

Textual content is created by e-WV editorial staff and by hundreds of freelance contributors. In all cases, accuracy and clarity of expression are the main criteria. e-WV takes no editorial stance as regards the subjects, issues and events presented here, and discourages the expression of opinion on the part of its freelancers.

e-WV welcomes comments, criticism, and corrections. Errors of fact will be promptly corrected, and challenges to the interpretation or presentation of material will be carefully considered.

CONTRIBUTOR GUIDELINES AND STYLE SHEET

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia welcomes freelance contributions. All contributions are subject to acceptance and to editing. Contributor guidelines and a style sheet are available from Stan Bumgardner at bumgardner@wvhumanities.org or by calling him at (304) 346-8500.

PRIVACY POLICY

It is the policy of e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia and the West Virginia Humanities Council to collect the information necessary to manage and improve our Web site and to facilitate your use of the site and our communication with you.

Collected information may include the name of your domain; an IP address; the type of browser and operating system; whether you accessed e-WV directly or from another Web site, and the address of that site; the pages visited within e-WV; and the links made from e-WV to other Web sites. Information will be analyzed as to the overall volume of use of e-WV, the geographic origins of traffic to our site and by time or date, the usage of particular elements of e-WV, and for similar analytical purposes. User responses to the Opinion Poll and any similar features are aggregated for display.

We collect as well the information requested of you when you become a registered user of e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. This information includes your name, postal and email addresses, and phone number. This is used in the management of your account as a registered user. e-WV or the West Virginia Humanities Council may also contact you by postal mail, email or telephone. Your contact information will not be shared with others.

ACCESSIBILITY

The West Virginia Humanities Council is committed to making e-WV accessible to all, including people with disabilities. e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia complies with best practices and standards as defined by Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act (www.section508.gov), and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative (www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20).