Timeline of “The Story of Biology”

When we were presented with this assignment for the COPLAC course, I was initially very excited.  Being a science major, I was hoping to search the library at the college and find a science based book that I could structure this assignment around.  Since UVA Wise as an institution is so young, so small, and is in an area that is part of the bible belt, I was very curious as to what scientific literature would be available in the library.  When I had found “The Story of Biology” and opened the front cover and saw the label indicating that this book was from the collection of C.K. Davenport, a professor at the University of Virginia at one time, I was very excited.  However, as I was searching for information on the book itself and the professor that had owned it, it proved to be very frustrating.  While I did find out that Charles Davenport did have an extensive book collection, unfortunately this was all I was able to find out about him. I was also unable to determine when exactly the book had come into possession of the UVA Wise library.  This left me frustrated, and made me wish that the generations before me had been more meticulous recordkeepers.  Throughout the book, I saw evidence of writing in the margins; I’m not sure if this was the work of Professor Davenport himself, or of one the few that had checked this book out.  As I thumbed through the pages, I saw what was the schedule of a “Devona Powers” from the year 1971, and I was amazed that it had remained there all this time.

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