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The Odd Couple Mapping the Commonwealth ArchivesEducation & ProgrammingManuscripts & Special Collections

The Odd Couple Mapping the Commonwealth

The two cartographers responsible for the first official state map of Virginia were very different individuals. One was an older itinerant scholar who undertook many…
John Deal
John DealNovember 18, 2024
Records of a Paper Genocide ArchivesEducation & ProgrammingThe Stacks

Records of a Paper Genocide

Editor's Note: Nora Birchett interned as part of the Library's Transforming the Future of Libraries and Archives Program in the Summer of 2024. She worked with…
Nora Birchett
Nora BirchettNovember 13, 2024
From Motto to Action: Creating ‘A Library for All’ Through Community Partnerships Public Libraries

From Motto to Action: Creating ‘A Library for All’ Through Community Partnerships

Since 1966, the motto of the Lynchburg Public Library has been “a library for all citizens.” It’s one thing to repeat it for nearly 60…
Guest Contributor
Guest ContributorNovember 12, 2024
Building Towards Victory: The WWII Population Boom of Norfolk ArchivesDigital ProjectsManuscripts & Special Collections

Building Towards Victory: The WWII Population Boom of Norfolk

The population in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the greater Hampton Roads area greatly increased during World War II. Individuals and families moved to the area for…
Lauren Caravati
Lauren CaravatiNovember 6, 2024
“The Coat and Breeches that I am now Wearing.” ArchivesDigital Projects

“The Coat and Breeches that I am now Wearing.”

Around the year 1826, the Virginia State Library and Archives (now Library of Virginia) began collecting transcriptions of original papers in the Public Records Office…
Amanda Morrell
Amanda MorrellNovember 4, 2024
“Tenths of an Inch”: Examining a 19th-Century Object on the Eastern Shore ArchivesDigital Projects

“Tenths of an Inch”: Examining a 19th-Century Object on the Eastern Shore

African American Genealogist Selma Stewart can remember the time she came to the Library of Virginia to view the “Free Negro Registers” in person in…
Lydia Neuroth
Lydia NeurothOctober 30, 2024
New Books – October 2024 Virginia Authors

New Books – October 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 Pletcher
Donna PletcherOctober 28, 2024
One Step Up and Two Steps Back: 25 Years of Addressing the Library of Virginia’s Archival Backlog ArchivesConservationManuscripts & Special CollectionsThe Stacks

One Step Up and Two Steps Back: 25 Years of Addressing the Library of Virginia’s Archival Backlog

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Virginia state budget amendment that funded 17 new Library of Virginia positions “to eliminate the 54-year backlog…
Roger Christman
Roger ChristmanOctober 23, 2024
Mapping the Commonwealth Education & ProgrammingManuscripts & 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 Farrell
Cassandra FarrellOctober 21, 2024
The Library Lost and Found 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 Neal
Paige NealOctober 16, 2024
Collective Curiosity: Exploring Learning Circles for Teens 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 Contributor
Guest ContributorOctober 14, 2024
Happy Birthday UncommonWealth! Digital ProjectsThe 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 Virginia
Library of VirginiaOctober 11, 2024
Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority 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 Savits
Renee SavitsOctober 9, 2024
Commonwealth v. Witch 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 Thompson
Courtney ThompsonOctober 7, 2024
Mother Knows Best: A Tale of 2 Brothers ArchivesDigital 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 Freed
Callie FreedOctober 4, 2024
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