Library of Virginia

Last updated
Library of Virginia
Library of Virginia-2.jpg
The Library of Virginia at its current location
Library of Virginia
Location Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
Type Government of Virginia
Established1823
Other information
DirectorDennis T. Clark (as of January 25, 2024)
Website http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
References: [1]

The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, two blocks from the Virginia State Capitol building. It was formerly known as the Virginia State Library and as the Virginia State Library and Archives.

Contents

Formally founded by the Virginia General Assembly in 1823, the Library of Virginia organizes, cares for, and manages the state's collection of books and official records, many of which date back to the early colonial period. It houses what is believed to be the most comprehensive collection of materials on Virginia government, history, and culture available anywhere. Its research collections contain more than 808,500 bound volumes; 678,790 public documents; 410,330 microforms, including 45,684 reels of microfilmed newspapers; 308,900 photographs and other pictorial materials; 101.8 million manuscript items and records; and several hundred thousand prints, broadsides, and newspapers. [2]

History of the institution

Although the Library of Virginia was officially established January 23, 1823, [3] its history goes back to the collection of materials acquired for official use by the colonial Council and subsequent colonial and state authorities. The first permanent home of the Library was a small room on the top floor of the State Capitol. The state's books and records eventually outgrew this space, and overflow books and documents were then stored in several rented locations across Richmond.

In an 1851 survey by the Smithsonian, the library was listed as having 14,000 volumes. [4]

In 1892, the General Assembly provided for a new Virginia State Library on Capitol Square in what is today known as the Oliver Hill Building. Over the ensuing forty years, the Library again outgrew that building, and in 1940 it moved to its third location at the edge of Capitol Square between 11th and Governor Streets (today the Patrick Henry Executive Office Building). [5] It shared this space with the State Law Library, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the Virginia Department of Law, and the Office of the Attorney General.

The Library moved to its current location at 800 East Broad Street in 1997. The old library buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and 2005, respectively. [6]

The state library houses one of the most comprehensive collections on Virginia. The collection covers Virginia government, history, and culture. The collection focuses on the varied past of the commonwealth, documenting the lives of important and ordinary Virginians and their deeds. The collections include printed material, manuscripts and photographic collections. The Library also supplies research and reference assistance to state officials; consulting services to state and local government agencies and to other Virginia public libraries; administers numerous federal, state, and local grant programs; publishes award-winning books; provides educational programs and resources on Virginia history; and offers exhibitions, lectures, and book-signings. [2]

Programs and publications

Since 1998, the Library of Virginia and the Library of Virginia Foundation have sponsored the annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards honoring outstanding Virginia authors and books about Virginia in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They also present annually a lifetime achievement award, whose past recipients are Ellen Glasgow (1998), Edgar Allan Poe (1999), Anne Spencer (2000), Booker T. Washington (2001), Mary Lee Settle (2002), Louis D. Rubin, Jr. (2003), George Garrett (2004), Merrill D. Peterson (2005), William Styron (2006), Tom Wolfe (2007), Rita Dove (2008), John Grisham (2009), Lee Smith (2010), Earl Hamner, Jr. (2011), Tom Robbins (2012), Charles Wright (2013), and Barbara Kingsolver (2014). [7] [8] [9]

The Library of Virginia sponsors the annual Virginia Women in History project to honor eight Virginia women, living and dead, who have made extraordinary contributions to the state or to their professions and also the annual African American Trailblazers in Virginia project.

Library of Virginia hosts the Virginia Literary Festival. This event attracts authors, publishers, and residents of Virginia. Attendees get the chance to meet new authors as well as well known authors. The library awards seven different literary awards at their annual event.

Archives Month focuses on institutions and individuals that have made significant impact on the preservation and accessibility of historical records. In conjunction with the Archive Month the Library of Virginia produces posters commemorating archival and special collections repositories throughout the state. Many archives contribute to the celebration by hosting events.

Library of Virginia hosts an ongoing series of Book Talk Series. These book talks feature authors from Virginia and books on the state of Virginia. These are hosted nearly every week and the cover a wide range of topics: from Virginia's role in the founding of the United States to the legacy of the Civil War to the many facets of the civil rights struggle in Virginia. The audience is given the opportunity to listen and interact with a variety of scholars and literary authors.

The Library's Virginia Heritage Resource Center offers a series of lectures by researchers and subject specialists showcasing the contents of the library's collection and its potential as a resource for researchers.

Library of Virginia offers a variety of workshops each year for anyone who works in library services. These workshops and conferences are designed to help hone skills and develop new approaches. These workshops cover topics such as serving special needs patrons, cataloging databases, and reference services.

In 2007 and 2008 work began on the Virginia Memory project, which serves as an extension of the Library of Virginia's online presence. The project launched in 2009 and has four components, the Library's digital collections, online versions of the Library's exhibitions, an online classroom, and a "reading room" that offers a chronology of Virginia events, articles by Library archivists, and "This Day in Virginia History". [10] The Transcribe program is a collaborative workspace for people to help the Library transcribe documents. [11] In August 2015 the project expanded to include the Document Bank of Virginia, which hosts select documents along with historical context for educational use.

State Librarians of Virginia

During the nineteenth century, Secretaries of the Commonwealth usually oversaw the state library as part of their official duties.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Dove</span> American poet and author (born 1952)

Rita Frances Dove is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937–86). Dove also received an appointment as "special consultant in poetry" for the Library of Congress's bicentennial year from 1999 to 2000. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Since 1989, she has been teaching at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she held the chair of Commonwealth Professor of English from 1993 to 2020; as of 2020, she holds the chair of Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ainsworth Rand Spofford</span> American librarian and 6th Librarian of Congress

Ainsworth Rand Spofford was an American journalist, prolific writer and the sixth Librarian of Congress. He served as librarian from 1864 to 1897 under the administration of ten presidents. A great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, he wrote a twenty-one page introduction in Franklin's autobiography, which he edited and published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Civil War Museum</span> History museum in Appomattox, Virginia

The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, and American Civil War Museum at Appomattox. It maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate books and pamphlets, and photographs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Historical Society</span> History museum in Richmond, Virginia

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private, non-profit organization, supported almost entirely by private contributions. In 2004, it was designated the official state historical society of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharyn McCrumb</span> American writer (born 1948)

Sharyn McCrumb is an American writer whose books celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and the author of the Elizabeth McPherson mystery series, the Ballad series, and the St. Dale series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Writer's Center</span> Independent literary center in the district of Bethesda, Maryland, United States

The Writer's Center, founded in 1976, is an independent literary center that is housed in a 12,200-square-foot facility in the arts and entertainment district of Bethesda, Maryland. The organization consists of approximately 2,500 writers, editors, small press publishers and other artists who support each other in the creation and marketing of literary texts. The Writer's Center offers workshops, hosts readings and literary events, and maintains a community of writers, workshop leaders, publishers and audiences for contemporary writing at its Bethesda headquarters as well as in Leesburg, Virginia, Arlington, Virginia, and at other locations around the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Chahoon</span> American politician

George Chamberlin Chahoon was an American politician from Virginia and New York. He was Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 1868 to 1870, and a Republican member of the New York State Senate from 1896 to 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Gregg Swem</span>

Earl Gregg Swem was an American historian, bibliographer and librarian. Swem worked at the Library of Congress and Virginia State Library, and for more than two decades was primary librarian at the College of William & Mary, where the Earl Gregg Swem Library was named in his honor.

The Dictionary of Virginia Biography (DVB) is a multivolume biographical reference work published by the Library of Virginia that covers aspects of Virginia's history and culture since 1607. The work was intended to run for a projected fourteen volumes, but only three volumes were published, the last in 2006. Later articles are published online, some on the library's website, and others through encyclopediavirginia.org. A finding aid is available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Library of Moldova</span>

The National Library of Moldova located in Chişinău, Moldova is the main library of the state which is responsible for conservation, valorization and protection of written cultural heritage. The National Library operates according to the guiding principles of UNESCO referring to this type of libraries, it is part of the European Digital Library. Founded in 1940, it traces its roots to the Gubernatorial Public Library of Bessarabia established in 1832. At present, the National Library is one of the objectives with great value of the national patrimony and presents the treasure written and printed cultural heritage of the country. Library ensures wide public access to its collections for research, study and / or information. The Director General is Elena Pintilei.

Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of the Virginia Foundation for Women and Delta Kappa Gamma Society International; from 2006 to 2020 it was administered by the Library of Virginia. In 2021, it was replaced by the Strong Men and Women in Virginia History program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library of Congress</span> US Congress research library

The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library and research service of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States's oldest federal cultural institution. The library is housed in three elaborate buildings on Capitol Hill. It also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its collections contain approximately 173 million items, and it has more than 3,000 employees. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Library and Archives of Florida</span> Heritage institution

The State Library and Archives of Florida is the central repository for the archives of state government for the state of Florida. It is located at the R.A. Gray Building on 500 South Bronough Street in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida's capital.

Beth Brown is an artist and author living in Richmond, Virginia.

Anna Maria Lane was the first documented female soldier from Virginia to fight with the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. She dressed as a man and accompanied her husband on the battlefield, and was later awarded a pension for her courage in the Battle of Germantown.

The literature of Virginia, United States, is literature produced by, written within or pertaining to the American state of Virginia which is situated on the eastern coast of the US. Including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, letters, travel diaries, logs, drama, belles-lettres and journalistic writing, Virginian literature has evolved and developed from pre-colonial settlement to the modern day. Virginian literature was influenced in its early years by the English establishment of the Jamestown Colony in 1607 in the Chesapeake Bay area. Literature of the region was later characterised by the Antebellum period, civil war, reconstruction, and slavery. Representative authors include James Branch Cabell, Ellen Glasgow, William Hoffman, Lee Smith, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda and William Styron. Literary journals include The Virginia Quarterly Review and The Virginia Normal.

Anna Whitehead Bodeker was an American suffragist who led the earliest attempt to organize for women's suffrage in the state of Virginia. Bodeker brought national leaders of the women's suffrage movement to Richmond, Virginia to speak; published newspaper articles to draw attention and supporters to the cause; and helped found the Virginia State Woman Suffrage Association in 1870, the first suffrage association in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jocelyn Nicole Johnson</span> American teacher and author

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is an American teacher and author.

West Virginia Archives and History is the state agency that collects and preserves materials on the state and makes them available to the public. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, this section of the Department of Arts, Culture and History oversees the West Virginia Archives and History Library, a non-lending research facility, and the West Virginia State Archives, one of the state’s most important repositories on the history of West Virginia and its residents. As of 2019, the agency held more than 16,000 linear feet of manuscripts and state government archives; 1,000,000 photographs, negatives, slides, and digital images; 76,000 books, 33,000 microfilms, 100,000 film stories and video tapes, as well as thousands of maps, state documents, and periodicals. The section currently subscribes to about six dozen West Virginia newspapers.

Mary Belvin "Laughing Dove" Wade was a Native American community organizer and activist.

References

  1. "About Us". Library of Virginia. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "About Us". lva.virginia.gov. Library of Virginia Public Library . Retrieved 2013-09-12..
  3. Correspondence and Subject Files of the Board of the Virginia State Library relating to "The Seals of Virginia", 1903-1911. https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi03321.xml
  4. Richard Edwards, ed. (1855). Statistical Gazetteer of the State of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Richard Edwards. p.  113.
  5. Calder Loth (April 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Virginia State Library" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying four photos
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. "Public Library Workshops". lva.virginia.gov. Library of Virginia Public Library . Retrieved 2013-09-12..
  8. "Finalists and Winners of the Library of Virginia Annual Literary Awards". Library of Virginia. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  9. "Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards". Library of Virginia. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  10. "About Us". Virginia Memory/Library of Virginia. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  11. Library of Virginia. "Virginia Memory". www.virginiamemory.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  12. "Dennis T. Clark is new librarian of Virginia". Richmond Free Press . Retrieved 2023-11-17.

Further reading

37°32′29″N77°26′2″W / 37.54139°N 77.43389°W / 37.54139; -77.43389