The UncommonWealth – Voices from The Library of Virginia

By Mary Ann Mason, They/Them In Archives

Life, Death & Archives

The primary purpose of an archive is to act as a center for memory. This memory can be preserved in…

A Subterranean Story Time

This summer, libraries across Virginia held programs and events tying in with the theme “Unearth a Story”. For patrons of the Shenandoah County Library in…

Your Local Public LibrarianOctober 12, 2026

Archives Education & Programming

The Marquis de Lafayette and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Revolutionary War

The Marquis de Lafayette's farewell tour of America in 1824–1825 inspired an unprecedented outpouring of affection for the aging hero of the Revolutionary War. During…

Lee Ann TimreckOctober 7, 2026

Records Management

Clearing the Clutter: How to Host an Email Deletion Party

Deleting emails is often a mundane task everyone dreads doing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This article explores ways to make email…

Emily JohnsonOctober 5, 2026

Finis: The End of the House of Burgesses

Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Issue No. 2, 2026. One of the…

Greg CrawfordSeptember 30, 2026

The Stacks Virginia Authors

New Books – September 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 HattonSeptember 28, 2026

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Cutting Edge Art: Fore-Edge Paintings in Special Collections

Fifteen books in the Library of Virginia’s Special Collections are hiding a secret. Underneath their gilded pages hides a fascinating type of book art: a…

Amanda AllgoodSeptember 23, 2026

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