Posts – Page 4 – The UncommonWealth

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections Newspapers

Navigating Methods of Map Making: A Feud Between Surveyors in the Enquirer

In February of 1816, the Virginia General Assembly approved an act for the overdue, expensive and laborious endeavor of creating the first state-funded Map of…

Kelley EwingApril 21, 2025

Education & Programming

Happy Birthday, Edna Lewis

“…the asparagus and wild greens and quail and tomatoes on the vines and little peas in spring and half runners in early summer and all…

Anne McCreryApril 16, 2025

Public Libraries

A Community’s Need Becomes a Community Opportunity

For a public library, summer is possibly the busiest time of year. It’s when some version of a summer reading program is offered. Aimed at…

Guest ContributorApril 14, 2025

Conservation The Stacks

Are Your Records Disaster Ready?

Psst...April is Records and Information Management Month! Records and Information Management (RIM) Month is celebrated during the month of April to shed light on the…

Teshawna ThreatApril 9, 2025

Archives Newspapers

George Green: A Self-Made Man

"He is a woman!” The voices of James McLaughlin, Jesse Barnes, and R.J Hardy rang out on March 21, 1902 in Ettrick, Virginia.1 Close friends…

Casey ClaubergApril 2, 2025

The Stacks Virginia Authors

New Books – March 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…

Donna PletcherMarch 31, 2025

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Rounding Out the 2024 Road Trips

In her latest CCRP Records Room Road Trips blog my fellow traveling consulting archivist colleague and friend, Tracy Harter appeared to suggest that I had…

Eddie WoodwardMarch 26, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

Documenting the Pandemic

Editors Note: Yesterday, March 23rd, marked the five-year anniversary of then-Governor Northam's closure of in-person education due to Covid-19. We've chosen to take this time…

Roger ChristmanMarch 24, 2025

Digital Projects The Stacks

Chatting With AI About History

Throughout the ten plus years of our crowdsourcing project, Making History: Transcribe, we have had many conversations with our volunteers about emerging technologies and whether…

Jessi BennettMarch 19, 2025

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Bibliography of a Map

"You will moreover as to be so good to see Mr. Patterson from August and inform him that I have not yet received the plat…

Cassandra FarrellMarch 17, 2025

Newly-Available Archival Accessions, October 1-December 31, 2024

The Library of Virginia maintains the most comprehensive collection of information about Virginia’s history, culture, and government. We hold more than 200 million manuscript items,…

Trenton HizerMarch 12, 2025

All Preparations for a Colony: The Saxon Colonization Project

So, a Bavarian immigrant, a Prussian nobleman, and a Revolutionary-War-hero-turned-debtor walk into a bar…. At least that’s probably the way this would start if it…

Vince BrooksMarch 10, 2025

Education & Programming

Virginia Roots Music: Creating and Conserving Tradition

Editor's Note: This blog post contains information from a previous Library of Virginia exhibition (2002–2003), Virginia Roots Music Creating and Conserving Tradition, developed by Barbara…

John DealMarch 5, 2025

An “Express Intention:” Marriage and Divorce Before the Loving Decision

Looking up at the justices of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals sitting behind their dark paneled bench, Richard and Mildred Loving heard the words…

Library of VirginiaMarch 3, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

“Getting no intelligence of them”: Stories of Fugitives from Slavery

In the summer of 1826, Nelly and her two daughters Harriet and Juno took advantage of a rare opportunity. While their enslavers, Notley Williams and…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 26, 2025