The UncommonWealth – Voices from The Library of Virginia

New Books – July 2026

The Library of Virginia's first-floor lobby and Exhibition Gallery are open Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The second-floor Reading Rooms are open Tuesday-Friday, 9:00…

Annie HattonJuly 27, 2026

Archives Digital Projects

Ann Brooks: Piecing Together a Life Hidden by History

Editor's Note: Brianna Oxford is a rising senior at Hampton University studying Criminal Justice. She is interning with Virginia Untold this summer through the Library’s…

Brianna OxfordJuly 22, 2026

Newspapers

Reading on Company Time: Virginia Corporate Newspapers in Virginia Chronicle

Virginia Chronicle, the Library of Virginia’s freely-accessible digital newspaper database, has recently added something new to its archive—corporate newsletters. These newsletters are vital records about…

Kelley EwingJuly 20, 2026

Archives Education & Programming Newspapers

“Call us men and brethren, and all the tears shed in the past will be forgotten”

Riddle me this. What is the connection between an African American sheriff and postmaster in Essex County, Virginia, a Freedmen's Bureau teacher in Tappahannock, and…

Lee Ann TimreckJuly 15, 2026

Public Libraries

A Purr-fect Library Program: From Seven Cats to 1,800 Votes

What happens when a group of cat-loving librarians starts wishing for a library cat? In Alexandria, Virginia, they turn that simple idea into a beloved…

Your Local Public LibrarianJuly 13, 2026

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

A Smoking Gun: Library of Virginia Documents Shed Light on A Murder

It was a bloody, excruciating ending for the amiable 22-year-old merchant. Walter Henry Pleasants was shot January 30, 1838, in his room at Richmond’s Columbian…