Common Ground Virginia History Book Group

Manuscripts & Special Collections Virginia Authors

Copying History

At the beginning of 2023, the Library of Virginia (LVA) celebrated its 200th birthday. Founded in 1823, what was then known as the Virginia State…

Library of VirginiaNovember 20, 2023

Manuscripts & Special Collections Virginia Authors

Rebuilding Hippodrome History

Downtown Richmond seems to be perpetually under construction. The Library of Virginia has had several buildings downtown during its 200-year history and the 800 block…

Library of VirginiaOctober 16, 2023

Education & Programming Newspapers

“For love and for life, we’re not going back”: LGBTQ+ History Month

"For Love and For Life, We’re Not Going Back.” These words appeared as the banner heading in the October 1987 issue of Richmond Pride above…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemSeptember 22, 2023

Virginia Authors

“Incomplete, Unwritten, Unknown and Unrecorded”

Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby’s joint memoir Cousins is told in the voices of two women—one Black, the other white—with a shared Virginia history.…

Rebecca SchneiderAugust 21, 2023

Digital Projects Education & Programming Newspapers

Making Connections with the Past

Tamika Y. Nunley’s new book The Demands of Justice: Enslaved Women, Capital Crime, and Clemency in Early Virginia explores the impact of Virginia’s judicial system…

Library of VirginiaJune 19, 2023

Digital Projects Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Harboring Memories of Home

Earl Swift’s book Chesapeake Requiem is the Common Ground Virginia History Book Group pick for June 2023. Chesapeake Requiem explores the close-knit community of Tangier…

Library of VirginiaMay 15, 2023

Archives Virginia Authors

Migration of Paperwork

For many entering the United States, bureaucratic paperwork is one of their first encounters with the United States government. Deepak Singh, author of How May…

Library of VirginiaApril 19, 2023

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Prisoners of America

Robert K. Sutton’s Nazis on the Potomac details the intelligence operations that took place in Virginia’s Fort Hunt during World War II, including the interrogation of…

Library of VirginiaMarch 20, 2023

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections Newspapers Virginia Authors

Snakey Noodles

For March 2023, the Common Ground Virginia History Book Group is exploring the history of Southern baking with Rebecca Sharpless’s Grain and Fire. Sharpless explores…

Library of VirginiaFebruary 20, 2023

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

“Pioneers in American librarianship who happen to be Black”

Brenda Mitchell-Powell’s book Public in Name Only explores the history of racial segregation in Virginia public libraries through the example of the Alexandria library system and…

Library of VirginiaJanuary 23, 2023

Virginia Authors

Snapshots of Violence

The Common Ground Virginia History Book Club focuses on approachable books focused on Virginia-centered nonfiction. Most of these books are historical narratives and biographies such…

Library of VirginiaDecember 21, 2022

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

The Astonishing Age of Information Technology

In 1987, the Richmond Times-Dispatch contemplated the future of local libraries thirty-eight years ahead, in the far-flung year of 2025. “There will still be books…

Library of VirginiaNovember 18, 2022

Education & Programming Newspapers Virginia Authors

Preserving Queer History

As the Library of Virginia approaches its bicentennial next year, it is a good time to reflect on what collections the Library holds but also…

Library of VirginiaOctober 21, 2022

Digital Projects

Dress Codes: The Work of Women in World War II

When Liza Mundy’s book Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II was published in October 2017, one…

Library of VirginiaSeptember 23, 2022

Digital Projects Education & Programming

The Right to Ramble

Next month, the Common Ground History Book Group, LVA’s virtual non-fiction book club, will return for a discussion with Kathryn Miles, author of Trailed: One…

Library of VirginiaAugust 26, 2022