Posts – The UncommonWealth

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Richmond: The Cosmopolitan Sensibility of the 1890 Lee Monument

Confederate monuments are often defended on the grounds that they provide an educational function. Both enthusiasts and critics of the Confederacy who take this position…

Donovan SchaeferSeptember 24, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

Do You Want to Join the Gallon Club?

It was well understood during World War II that blood transfusions saved lives. However, prior to the 1930s, one of the only ways to provide…

Lauren CaravatiSeptember 22, 2025

Archives Conservation

Attics and Basements and Bell Towers, Oh My!

The Circuit Court Records Preservation (CCRP) consulting archivists from the Library of Virginia routinely travel across the Commonwealth assisting the state’s 120 circuit court clerks’…

Library of VirginiaSeptember 17, 2025

Tough Times for the Treasury Department

From 1691 to 1776, the Virginia Department of the Treasury was a powerful, independent agency. Following the adoption of the state constitution in May 1776,…

Renee SavitsSeptember 15, 2025

Archives Newspapers

“A Rumbling Disagreeable Noise:” Complaints about Bowling in Alleghany County

Imagine your local bowling alley. The sound of a heavy ball hitting the floor just before the bounce of the pins hitting the floor. The…

Jennifer TaylorSeptember 10, 2025

Public Libraries

Disaster Preparedness Workshops Support Seniors Through Library Outreach

With the support of the Friends of the Library and a microgrant from AARP, the Chesapeake Public Library is launching a three-part disaster preparedness series…

Guest ContributorSeptember 8, 2025

Location is Everything

Location, location, location. Most people associate the word “location” with real estate based on the common belief that it has a direct influence on a…

Sherri BagleySeptember 3, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

A Virginia Untold Update

In today’s blog post, I want to share some new material available in Virginia Untold, the Library’s digital project featuring records of enslaved and free…

Lydia NeurothAugust 27, 2025

The Stacks Virginia Authors

New Books – August 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…

Annie HattonAugust 25, 2025

Virginia’s Minorities in World War II: Armenian American Soldiers & the History of MENA Immigration

My internship is with the Digital Initiatives & Web Presence division of the Library of Virginia, a department responsible for the Library’s digital collections and…

Maria HabibiAugust 22, 2025

Digital Projects Education & Programming

Fugitive Data Portraits: Self-Emancipation in Virginia

Richard Slaughter was born on January 9, 1849, on Eppes Island in City Point, Virginia. He and his family were enslaved by Richard Eppes until…

Tev'n PowersAugust 20, 2025

Education & Programming

House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History

House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History (July 17, 2025 – February 28, 2026) highlights the history of Richmond’s Jackson Ward neighborhood and explores the…

Ashley CraigAugust 18, 2025

Education & Programming

“A Fashionable Suit of Tar and Feathers”

One August day in 1775, Anthony Warwick found himself surrounded by a group of patriots angered by his refusal to stop importing and selling British…

Mari JulienneAugust 13, 2025

Public Libraries

Samuels Public Library’s Party of the Year

What can I say about A Taste for Books? At Samuels Public Library in Warren County, Virginia, it's more than a fundraiser — it’s the…

Guest ContributorAugust 11, 2025

Archives Newspapers

Banditti of Brothers: Irregulars and Plunderers During the Revolution

During armed conflicts, there are some participants who recognize the opportunities for ill-gotten gains. In the upheaval of the American Revolution, combatants from both sides…

Vince BrooksAugust 6, 2025