Posts – Page 13 – The UncommonWealth

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

Archives Highlights

Records of the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774-1776 Now Online.

The first set of records from the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774-1776 collection are now available on the Library of Virginia’s Digital Collections Discovery site. The…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 7, 2024

Archives Newspapers

Law Enforcement in the Wild Southwest

When I received a request to find information in newspapers about a game warden in Wise County during the 1920s, I didn’t expect to find…

Annie HattonFebruary 5, 2024

Public Libraries Virginia Authors

Virginia Library Staff Best Reads of 2023

It can be a challenge to find new books, and so we often look to friends, colleagues, bestseller lists, and other sources for ideas when…

Barry TrottJanuary 31, 2024

Virginia Authors

New Books – January 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 PletcherJanuary 29, 2024

Archives

Records Room Road Trips: The End…For Now

On a map, the destinations of my recent CCRP travel appear somewhat scattershot. The 2024FY CCRP grant cycle opened back in August, and a few…

Tracy HarterJanuary 24, 2024

Archives

Identifying a Ledger: A Noteworthy Business Record at the Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia started accessioning business records in 1911. State Librarian Henry Read McIlwaine recognized the importance of such records. “From this source by…

Kenneth ForestJanuary 22, 2024

Archives

Faxtual Information

Archives are full of old examples of different methods of storing and sharing information whether these be frakturs, index cards or poll books. Each present…

Jessi BennettJanuary 17, 2024

Digital Projects Highlights Newspapers

4.2 Million Pages of News!

Virginia Chronicle, the Library of Virginia’s database of digitized newspapers, has reached a page count of nearly 4.2 million! Since October, many new titles, spanning…

Kelley EwingJanuary 10, 2024

Public Libraries

Go Traveling at Your Library

Public libraries offer many services to their communities. One of the more unique services available to some patrons via their library is U.S. passport application…

Guest ContributorJanuary 8, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Red Cross Women and Donuts in World War II

The American Red Cross had over seven million volunteers during World War II and provided many services and supplies that impacted the war and troops1.…

Lauren CaravatiJanuary 3, 2024

Virginia Authors

New Books – December 2023

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 PletcherDecember 22, 2023

Archives

“Arrest of A Yankee Kidnapper”

On the morning of July 23, 1856, ship mate Joseph Chadwick was sitting on the rail of the schooner Danville when he heard a strange…

Lydia NeurothDecember 20, 2023

Manuscripts & Special Collections

“Easy to observe, difficult to explain and next to impossible to do”: The Locker Writing Method

On December 25, 1955, the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an article titled “Decline of Penmanship.” An Associated Press piece by Arthur Edson, the article bemoaned “this…

Jessi BennettDecember 18, 2023