The UncommonWealth – Voices from The Library of Virginia

By Guest Contributor In Public Libraries

Hikers’ Corner at the Waynesboro Public Library

The Waynesboro Public Library is located just three miles from the Appalachian Trail, placing us in a unique position to…

The Stacks

Copy That!: Reproducing Documents in the Pre-Digital Age

One of the little things that anyone born in the last 60 years has come to take for granted is the ease and convenience of…

Vince BrooksJuly 9, 2025

Newspapers

Oh Say, Can You Sing?

"Difficult, impossible, and beautiful” is how The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem, was described in a 1986 USA Today Opinion piece.1 It is a long-held…

Jessi BennettJuly 2, 2025

The Stacks Virginia Authors

New Books – June 2025

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…

Jessi BennettJune 30, 2025

Freed From the Archives: The Life of Emanuel Jones of Surry

In January 2025, Mr. Thomas Baxter reached out to Virginia Untold Project Manager Lydia Neuroth to share about research he had conducted on an enslaved…

Guest ContributorJune 25, 2025

Newspapers

Rolling into Richmond

When you work with old newspapers, to say you stumble across a lot of bizarre stories is an understatement. Headlines like “Dog Shoots Man,” and…

Kelley EwingJune 18, 2025

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Picturing Family

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Issue No. 1, 2024. Whether displayed on household…

Dale NeighborsJune 11, 2025

View More Posts