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The Library of Virginia e-Newsletter
December 2009


News

Click any excerpt below to read the full article.

Come to the Ultimate Coffee Break at the Virginia Shop on December 10

Looking for the perfect holiday gift? Want to get all of your shopping done during your coffee break or lunch hour? Join us for the Ultimate Coffee Break, with free samples of coffee and Virginia's Finest products, hosted by the Virginia Shop and Great Foods to Go—the Library's new cafe. On December 10 from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM the Virginia Shop will feature discounts of 50-75 percent on books and other inventory clearance merchandise...

Board Members Help with Groundbreaking

Library of Virginia Board members Library of Virginia Board members Marc Leepson and Christopher Clarke participated in the long-awaited groundbreaking for the Gum Spring Library in Loudoun County on November 7. Located in the Stone Ridge community, the new library is expected to open late in 2011 and will be the county’s first two-story facility. It will occupy two floors of the four-story building encompassing 40,000 square feet...

LVA Receives Funding for Scanning Civil War Materials

At its November meeting the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission approved a grant of $262,226 to the Library of Virginia for a digital legacy project that will scan privately held Civil War manuscripts such as letters and diaries...

Every Child Deserves a Home Children's Home Society of Virginia:
Every Child Deserves a Home Exhibition Opens January 4


On January 4, 2010, the Library of Virginia will open a new exhibition, Children's Home Society of Virginia: Every Child Deserves a Home, in its café corner. The exhibition highlights the 2008 donation of the business records of Children’s Home Society of Virginia to the Library of Virginia...

Keepsake from the Library of Virginia Returns from Space Voyage

A Brief Explanation of the Principal Terms made use of in Astronomy When NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129 mission) returned Thanksgiving Day from its 11-day voyage to the International Space Station, it had on board a special keepsake from the Library of Virginia...

Please Consider the Semper Virginia Society in Your Year-end Giving

Like so many of us, the Library of Virginia is charged with doing more with less in these difficult economic times. Our budget to purchase books has been reduced 84 percent in the last year alone. Funding to conserve and restore our treasured collections has all but vanished...

The Land We Live In, the Land We Left: Virginia's People Exhibition Opens January 11

Raising his glass at a July 4th celebration in 1852, a young Irish-American resident of Richmond toasted "the land we live in; not forgetting the land we left." The sentiment reflects the history of more than four centuries of Virginia immigrants, who nurtured traditions from their homelands even as they contributed to the local economy and culture...

"Shaping the Constitution" Highlights Virginia's Role in the Nation's Formation

The story of Virginia is, in many ways, the story of our nation. From the country's beginnings as an English colony to the creation of the United States of America, Virginia—its land and its leaders—has been central to the nation's formation...
Fun & Free at the library in December
Most events are free and are open to the public. For specific locations, times, and details on the events listed below please visit our calendar of events.

How Philosophy Can Save Your Life Wednesday December 9, 2009

How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas That Matter Most
Marietta McCarty, an educational consultant and assistant professor of philosophy at Piedmont Virginia Community College, will discuss and sign How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas That Matter Most. She shows how the heartbeats of philosophy—clear thinking, quiet reflection, and good conversation—are essential ingredients in a well-lived life. McCarty has been introducing philosophy to children and guiding parents and educators to do the same for nearly 20 years. She will explain why children from kindergarten through the 8th grade should be introduced to philosophy in order to help develop critical thinking skills and deepen appreciation for others.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Ultimate Coffee Break at the Virginia Shop
Virginia Shop at the Library of Virginia; Special sale on clearance merchandise, discounts on non-sale items, plus food and coffee samples.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Greetings from Richmond: Early 20th Century Postcard Collections
Tom Ray (collections management coordinator at the Library of Virginia) and Ray Bonis (archival assistant for reference and Richmond history, Special Collections and Archives, Virginia Commonwealth University's James Branch Cabell Library) will discuss and sign their new book, Greetings from Richmond. The book invites you to step back in time to enjoy nearly 250 color postcard views of Virginia's capital city and its architecture as it looked during the first half of the 20th century.

Thursday, December 24 — Saturday, December 26, 2009

Holiday Closing
The Library of Virginia will be closed.

Monday, January 4, 2010 — Saturday, May 1, 2010

Every Child Deserves a Home
The exhibition Every Child Deserves a Home highlights the recent donation of business records from the Children's Home Society of Virginia and marks the 110th anniversary of the agency's founding. The goal of CHSVA is to find permanent homes for all needy children in the state and to provide services to birth families, adoptive families, and adoptees. Since 1900, the nonprofit agency has placed more than 12,500 children into adoptive homes. The agency’s signature program, Partnership for Adoptions, established in 1998, focuses on finding permanent homes for older children in the custody of local departments of social services.

We Were Dancing on a Volcano Tuesday, January 5, 2010

We Were Dancing on a Volcano: Bloodlines and Fault Lines of a Star-Crossed Atlanta Family
Joseph Gatins, former statehouse reporter and editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, will discuss and sign his new book, We Were Dancing on a Volcano. This nonfiction family biography and memoir focuses on a brave grandmother’s work with the French Resistance in World War II, the eventual successful rescue of her son from three-plus years in harsh German POW camps, and the post-trauma that ensued.

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