Virginia Yearbook Digitization Project

Founding Fathers Fan Fiction

In 1976, America celebrated the Bicentennial, its 200th birthday. Patriotic imagery was everywhere, including Virginia yearbooks. What counts as patriotic imagery? Plenty of red, white,…

Jessi BennettApril 20, 2026

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Ambition: To Be A Success

Ambition: To Be Successful In the 1950s and 1960s it was fashionable to ask high school seniors what their life's ambition was and to place…

Jessi BennettFebruary 4, 2026

Digital Projects

School Spirits

October is full of spooky spirits, good-natured yelling and creepy costumes - but it’s not all Halloween-related. There is also school spirit haunting the stands…

Jessi BennettOctober 20, 2025

Digital Projects

The Denim Decade

In early 1971 students in Nansemond County petitioned the school board to change the dress code, specifically that "the female students be allowed to wear…

Jessi BennettJune 4, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

Winter Magic: Snow Day Photos in Yearbooks

While yearbooks might conjure up thoughts of graduation, summer, and the end of the school year - snow days are a very common topic. The…

Jessi BennettJanuary 13, 2025

Archives Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections Newspapers

A Shoeshine Box of Memories

Editor's Note: This blog came about as staff members explored some of the old gift catalogs in our collection. We know that during the holiday…

Cara GriggsDecember 23, 2024

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

The End is Nigh

As another year winds down many of us may be thinking not only of endings, but also of new beginnings. New Year’s imagery usually includes…

Jessi BennettDecember 4, 2023

Digital Projects Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Harboring Memories of Home

Earl Swift’s book Chesapeake Requiem is the Common Ground Virginia History Book Group pick for June 2023. Chesapeake Requiem explores the close-knit community of Tangier…

Library of VirginiaMay 15, 2023

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections Public Libraries

After-School Hangouts

Each fall, high school students search for a “room of their own.” They seek out places away from teachers and parents where they can process…

Jessi BennettOctober 17, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Senior Portraits: A Fashion Show

We cover a lot of serious and heavy topics on the UncommonWealth blog but every once in a while we like to present something just…

Jessi BennettJune 1, 2022

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Way We Were: Virginia High School Yearbooks

Last Friday we took a look at some of the ways that Virginia high school yearbooks have celebrated their graduates in the past, but there…

Jessi BennettJune 4, 2021

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Please Hold Your Applause Till the End: A Virginia Digital Yearbook Collection Update

The high school classes of 2020 and 2021 will always stand out for their unique senior year experience. We’ve had to invent new ways to…

Jessi BennettMay 28, 2021

Digital Projects Public Libraries

Public Library Spotlight: A Preservation Partnership

This is a post in our new series highlighting the people and programs of the public libraries of Virginia. To view more posts about our…

Jessi BennettApril 13, 2020

Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections

Those Who Served, Those Who Fell: War and the Yearbook

As the holiday season comes and goes, our thoughts turn to those who are away from home and those who will never see home again.…

Rose SchooffDecember 19, 2018

Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Art of the Annual: The Virginia Yearbook Digitization Project

In 2015, I started the Library’s yearbook digitization project to scan yearbooks from all around Virginia on behalf of public libraries. Thanks to funds from…

Rose SchooffApril 18, 2018