Posts – Page 14 – The UncommonWealth

Records Room Road Trips: Winter Circuit

And so, with my final week-long travel stay in Salem in August completed, my fellow traveler, Tracy Harter, and I settled into the post-frenzied-travel, winter…

Eddie WoodwardMarch 27, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Acts of Valor in World War II

On March 25th, we commemorate National Medal of Honor Day, providing an opportunity to explore the stories of the fifteen Virginians who were honored with…

Lauren CaravatiMarch 25, 2024

The Centennial of the Law to Preserve Racial Integrity

March 20th marks the centennial of Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle signing the Racial Integrity Act (RIA) into law. In simplistic terms, the RIA required every…

Ashley CraigMarch 20, 2024

Virginia Authors

New Books – March 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 PletcherMarch 18, 2024

Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Newly Available Archival Accessions, October 1-December 31, 2023

The Library of Virginia maintains the most comprehensive collection of information about Virginia’s history, culture, and government. We hold more than 200 million manuscript items,…

Trenton HizerMarch 13, 2024

Public Libraries

This Library’s Knitting Program is Killing It

On a bone-chilling Wednesday evening in February, the Century Room on the lower level of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s Gordon Avenue branch is set up…

Guest ContributorMarch 11, 2024

Archives The Stacks

Description for All Virginians: Inclusive Description Efforts at the Library of Virginia

Since its establishment in 1823, the Library of Virginia has been managed and staffed largely by white, middle class, cisgender people. Consequently, the collections stored…

Library of VirginiaMarch 6, 2024

Archives Newspapers

No Sham Sales! Fashion Ads in Newspapers Over the Years

Occasionally we have researchers who want to know what fashion was like in a certain place in Virginia during a certain time. It might be…

Ginny DunnMarch 4, 2024

Archives Conservation

The Winners of $3.2 Million in Court Record Preservation Grants for 2024!

The Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) Grant Review Board met on 13 February 2024 at the Library of Virginia to evaluate 124 records preservation grant…

Greg CrawfordMarch 1, 2024

Stolen Coats, Stolen Freedom

In July 1813, a Black man named Roger was charged in the Richmond City Hustings Court with stealing a “Sourtaurt great coat.” I was not…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 28, 2024

Virginia Authors

New Books – February 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 PletcherFebruary 26, 2024

Archives Conservation

Records Room Road Trips: Rounding Out Summer 2023

In mid-August I began what might be termed the final leg of my summer CCRP travel schedule. Throughout the course of the spring and summer,…

Eddie WoodwardFebruary 21, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Lost Records Localities Digital Collection Gets a New Look

Regular readers of The UncommonWealth, as well as seasoned local records researchers, are likely familiar with the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection. We have covered…

Vince BrooksFebruary 14, 2024

Public Libraries

The Friends and Advocates Network (FAN): A Collective Impact Model of Advocacy

In the way back yonder year of 2020, the Fairfax County Public Library’s (FCPL) Board of Trustees accomplished something nearly unprecedented. In the County’s advertised…

Guest ContributorFebruary 12, 2024

Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Great Escape

On February 9, 1864, Colonel Thomas E. Rose (1830-1907) led 108 other imprisoned Union officers in a daring escape from Libby Prison. Rose, colonel of…

Trenton HizerFebruary 9, 2024