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The Library of Virginia e-Newsletter
January 2012


News

Click any excerpt below to read the full article.

Library of Virginia to Honor 2012 African American Trailblazers in Virginia History

In observance of African American History Month in February, the Library of Virginia is honoring eight distinguished Virginians as the 2012 African American Trailblazers in Virginia history for their contributions to Virginia and the nation. Those being honored this year include an anthropologist, an athlete, an entrepreneur, a filmmaker, political leader, civil rights activists, and a religious leader...

New Web Site Offers Parents Helpful Advice and Learning Activities for Children

If your New Year's resolution is to help children succeed and be ready to learn when they begin school, the Library of Virginia has a new online tool to help. DaybyDayVA (www.daybydayva.org) is an online family literacy calendar, activity guide, and resource center. Each day the Web site suggests short—but fun—activities to help develop pre-reading skills, features an electronic picture book from the TumbleBook Library, and offers a short animated video for families to watch together. The site also lists other Web sites to explore. For parents and other caring adults, there is information on health and safety, craft ideas, suggestions on reading, and links to free e-books for children. Coming soon are links to your community public library and other family-friendly activities...

LVA Provides Onsite and Remote Access for Two New Databases

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, is the world's largest digital library of education literature. The Proquest version provides "deep indexing" for tables and figures, which creates metadata for the vital research data that often remains hidden in tables and figures within journal articles. ERIC includes some links to full-text content, but primarily offers indexing of journal articles, conferences, government documents, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, and books. It includes thousands of Virginia-related entries with coverage extending from 1966 to the present...

Technology Petting Zoos Lead to Better-Trained Staff

Staff in the Library Development and Networking Division of the Library of Virginia spent part of 2011 touring the state with a van full of technology gadgets: e-readers, iPads, pocket video cameras, and more—thanks to a grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services. Cindy Church, continuing education consultant, and trainer Lisa R. Varga conducted training sessions called Wow, That’s Cool! What Is It? in libraries around the state. Approximately 350 library staff members were trained during these sessions. The second phase of the process is now being deployed, with training sessions under way in regional technology centers...

Deadline to Nominate Books Is February 11

The deadline to nominate books for the Library of Virginia’s annual literary awards is February 11, 2012. Books eligible for the awards must have been written by a Virginia author or, for nonfiction books, have a Virginia-related theme. A Virginia author is defined as a writer meeting one or more of the following qualifications: a native-born Virginian, an author living in Virginia, or an author whose permanent home address is in Virginia. Entries can be submitted in the following categories: fiction, nonfiction, or poetry...

Acclaimed Poet Eleanor Ross Taylor Dies at 91

Eleanor Ross Taylor, who won the Library of Virginia’s literary award for poetry in 2000 for Late Leisure, has died at age 91. Born in Norwood, North Carolina, she lived in Charlottesville from 1967 until shortly before her death. Taylor was the widow of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Peter Taylor...

2012 Symposium to Decide "Person of the Year 1862"

In 1927 Time magazine began its annual tradition of selecting “Person of the Year.” On February 25, 2012, the Museum of the Confederacy and the Library of Virginia continue the highly successful format from last year to give you the opportunity to select the “Person of the Year”—not for the year 2012, but for 1862. The symposium will be held in the Lecture Hall of the Library of Virginia...

Localities Receive Grants to Preserve Local Court Records

The Circuit Court Records Preservation Program, funded through a $1.50 of the clerk’s recordation fee, provides resources to help preserve and make accessible permanent circuit court records. The program awards grants to the commonwealth’s circuit court clerks to help them address the needs of the records housed in their localities...

National Archives to Release 1940 Census Online in April 2012

The National Archives and Records Administration will place the entire 1940 Census—more than 18 terabytes of data—online, free of charge, for viewing and download by page or enumeration district beginning Monday, April 2, 2012, at 9 AM EDT. Individual census records are confidential by law for 72 years. The 1940 census was taken April 1, 1940...

Visit Your Local Library for the 2012 "Snuggle with a Book" Winter Reading Program

For the fourth year in a row the Library of Virginia is pleased to offer the Snuggle with a Book Winter Reading Program. Designed for young children from infants to five years old, the program aims to instill a love of reading by encouraging parents and other adults to read aloud to children...
Fun & Free at the Library
All events are free and take place from noon until 1 PM in the conference rooms at the Library of Virginia unless otherwise noted.

The Reservoir Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Reservoir
Author John Milliken Thompson's first novel is a story of lust, betrayal, justice, and revenge based on a true story. On an early spring morning in Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1885, a young pregnant woman is found floating in the city reservoir. It appears that she has committed suicide, but there are curious clues at the scene that suggest foul play. A book signing follows the talk.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Closed
The Library will be closed Saturday, January 14, so that our reading rooms can be open on the Lee-Jackson (Friday, January 13) and Martin Luther King (Monday, January 16) holidays. Administrative offices will be closed on both the Lee-Jackson and Martin Luther King holidays.

Second Impressions Wednesday, January 25, 2012

"Books on Broad" Featuring Ava Farmer: Second Impressions
Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
Place: The Virginia Shop
If Jane Austen had lived longer than her all-too-brief one-and-forty years, this might have been the sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Written in the idiom of Austen’s time, Second Impressions is a story of the Darcy family, their friends, and relations. It has been ten years’ time since that happiest of days when Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters. What does Elizabeth do all day at Pemberley? What has happened to Mr. and Mrs. Bingley? Has Lady Catherine been allowed to visit? Have Mr. and Mrs. Wickham become, as Jane predicted, steady and rational? What about England’s most eligible daughter, Georgiana Darcy? Light refreshments (wine and cheese) will be served (5:30­–6:15 PM), followed by author talk (6:15­–7:15 PM), and book signing (7:15­–7:30 PM).

Brown's Battleground Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Brown's Battleground: Students, Segregationists, and the Struggle for Justice in Prince Edward County, Virginia
In 1954, when the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education was announced, Prince Edward County abolished its school system rather than comply with the Supreme Court's ruling. Hear author Jill Titus tell the story of the seismic changes brought on by the court's decision and Virginia's move to resist desegregation. She illustrates the ways that ordinary people, black and white, battled, and continue to battle, over the role of public education in the United States. A book signing follows the talk.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Closed
The Library will be closed so that reading rooms can be open on George Washington's Birthday holiday on Monday, February 20, 2012.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

2012 African American Trailblazers Program and Reception
Time: 6:00–8:00 PM
Place: Lecture Hall and Lobby
Free but reservations required. Seating is limited. Call 804-692-3900 by February 16 to RSVP.
Eight honorees—from the past and present—who have had a significant impact on the history of Virginia will be honored at this celebration. A reception follows the program. Sponsored by Dominion, with media sponsor the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Symposium
"Person of the Year: 1862"
Time: 9:30 AM–4:00 PM
Place: Lecture Hall
Fee: $35 for Museum members and Library donors and $50 for others (including a box lunch). Reservations and pre-payment are required. For information, contact John Coski, 804-649-1861, ext. 31, or jcoski@moc.org

Scrapbook of Secrets Wednesday, February 29, 2012

"Books on Broad" Featuring Mollie Cox Bryan: Scrapbook of Secrets
Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
Place: The Virginia Shop
Virginia author Mollie Cox Bryan, best known for her Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant cookbooks, will discuss and read a selection from her debut novel, Scrapbook of Secrets, the story of an investigative scrapbooker in Cumberland County, Virginia. Light refreshments (wine and cheese) will be served (5:30­–6:15 PM), followed by author talk (6:15­–7:15 PM), and book signing (7:15­–7:30 PM).

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