Posts – Page 10 – The UncommonWealth

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

Mapping the Commonwealth

In the years following the War of 1812, Virginians enacted legislation to develop the Commonwealth’s “internal improvements”: its canals, turnpikes, and roads. Virginians were very…

Cassandra FarrellOctober 21, 2024

Archives

The Library Lost and Found

It isn’t every day that long-lost state government records make their way back the state archives - especially those dating from the 18th century -…

Paige NealOctober 16, 2024

Public Libraries

Collective Curiosity: Exploring Learning Circles for Teens

When I was assigned the task of starting a "Learning Circle" at my library, Prince William Public Libraries (PWPL), I was unsure what it entailed.…

Guest ContributorOctober 14, 2024

Digital Projects The Stacks

Happy Birthday UncommonWealth!

In September of 2019, the Library of Virginia combined two previous blogs to create The UncommonWealth. Over 1,400 posts and 780,000 views later we have…

Library of VirginiaOctober 11, 2024

Archives

Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority

Recently I processed the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority Records, 1954-1983 , documenting the building of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike from 1955 to 1958. The collection is arranged…

Renee SavitsOctober 9, 2024

Archives

Commonwealth v. Witch

I I stumbled across a newspaper article in the September 18th issue of the Virginian Herald, dated September 13, 1822. Its title?I was confused. The…

Courtney ThompsonOctober 7, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Mother Knows Best: A Tale of 2 Brothers

Like Jonathan Ramey of Scott County, Virginia, whose story we previously explored on UncommonWealth, brothers James and William Temple of Bath County joined the trek…

Callie FreedOctober 4, 2024

Archives Digital Projects Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Express Yourself: Virginia Archives Month 2024

October means Halloween, pumpkin spice lattes, and most importantly Archives Month! This Virginia Archives Month we are highlighting the relationship between self-expression and archives with…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemOctober 2, 2024

The Stacks Virginia Authors

New Books – September 2024

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…

Donna PletcherSeptember 30, 2024

Archives The Stacks

Records Room Road Trips: June 2024

My previous Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) Road Trip post covered locality travel for May, so this is June’s travelogue. Back in late April…

Tracy HarterSeptember 25, 2024

Archives

Are You Smarter than a Literacy Test?

In 1920, Cora Cottman joined scores of other American women applying to vote for the very first time following the ratification of the 19th Amendment.…

McKenzie LongSeptember 23, 2024

Newspapers

A Tool for Teachers: NDNP’s Race and Ethnicity Thesaurus for Chronicling America

Sites like Chronicling America, the Library of Congress’s database of over 20,000,000 digitized newspaper pages, and Virginia Chronicle, the Library of Virginia’s digital newspaper database,…

Kelley EwingSeptember 18, 2024

Archives Digital Projects Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Findability: The Role of Catalog Records and Finding Aids

The Library of Virginia has more than 50,000 collections and continues to grow. The Library’s archivists preserve those collections for future generations and then make…

Karen KingSeptember 16, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Visualizing WWII Data: Making History Accessible

When we think of history, we often picture grand narratives and compelling stories that have shaped the world. Yet the way we engage with history…

Maitri PathakSeptember 11, 2024

Public Libraries

Borrow the Outdoors: Camping Gear at the Library

Do you want to go camping or hiking in the Shenandoah Valley? Maybe you have never camped before or want to get your family outside…

Guest ContributorSeptember 9, 2024