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R. T. Smith to Receive 2013 Weinstein Prize
R. T. Smith, writer-in-residence at Washington and Lee University, editor of W & L's literary journal, Shenandoah, and author of 13 books of poetry, is the recipient of the 2013 Carole Weinstein Prize in Poetry. Among Smith's works are Messenger and Outlaw Style, both recipients of the Library of Virginia's literary award for poetry.
His book In the Night Orchard: Selected Poems is due from Texas Review Press in 2014. His work has also appeared in Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, Best American Mystery Stories, and three volumes of the Pushcart Prize anthology. The National Endowment for the Arts, the Alabama State Arts Commission, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts have granted him writing fellowships. In 2008 Smith received the Virginia Governor's Award for the Arts for his editing work at Shenandoah. Smith lives in Rockbridge County with his wife...
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Festival Celebrates Virginia's Literary Heritage
Taking place October 15–19, the 2013 Virginia Literary Festival celebrates Virginia's rich literary resources with a series of events aimed at diverse literary audiences. The varied events include a writing workshop for teens, a movie screening, a book launch by a literary lifetime achievement honoree, an elegant luncheon featuring a three-course meal prepared with the cookbook Cooking with My Sisters and hosted by Adriana Trigiani and her family, and the annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards Celebration. The programs are offered at a variety of venues and most are free...
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Anne & Ryland Brown Teacher Enrichment Fund Supports Professional Development
Twenty-seven teachers convened for the 4th annual Brown Teacher Institute at the Library of Virginia on July 22–23 to learn how to integrate primary source documents from our archives into their classrooms. This year the institute focused on maps, prints, and photographs and provided teachers with a forum to network, develop lesson plans, and learn from Library staff about our rich resources. Colleagues from the National Park Service, Library of Congress, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts also led sessions and shared their expertise. One of the participants summarized the experience this way: "I often felt as though I was giving the students too many answers. Now I have a better idea on how to help THEM do the work."
This August, the Library's Education department will take its show on the road. Many school districts simply can't afford to send teachers to Richmond for professional development—so we are going to them. On August 13, Library staff will be in Tazewell County in southwest Virginia...
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Dr. John Philip Colletta to Speak at Slatten Lecture on September 28
Join the Friends of the Virginia State Archives on September 28 to welcome Dr. John Colletta as speaker at the 14th annual Richard Slatten Lecture to be held at the Library of Virginia. Based in Washington, D.C., Colletta has conducted workshops for the National Archives, taught courses for the Smithsonian Institution, and lectured nationally before genealogical, historical, and ethnic group societies since 1985. He has published articles in both popular and scholarly journals and magazines and contributed the chart "How to Find Your Immigrant Ancestor's Ship" to a permanent exhibition on Ellis Island. His publications include They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record and Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans. His book Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and Its Aftermath depicts the fatal adventure of one of Colletta's own...
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Database Spotlight: Mountain People – Life and Culture in Appalachia
Myths regarding the isolation and customs of Appalachians have endured since the late 19th century. Writers' accounts have often focused on the sensationalistic aspects of the region's culture, portraying its inhabitants as uneducated and prone to violence, rather than presenting a balanced and comprehensive view.
Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia serves students of American history, industry, education, religion, and more. The database comprises the microfilm collection First Three Centuries of Appalachian Travel in its entirety. In addition, a small number of selected titles are included from the microfilm collections Travels in the Old South ...
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Libraries Offer Health Care Resources
With enrollment for the Affordable Care Act beginning on October 1, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the American Library Association (ALA) have partnered with OCLC's WebJunction to provide resources for libraries that will prepare them to assist citizens with questions relating to the act's new Health Insurance Marketplace. Library staff will be able to participate in online educational webinars and will receive tip sheets and training in how to navigate U.S. government websites so that citizens can be guided to the best online resources to understand their health care options.
In announcing this initiative, ALA president Barbara Stripling and IMLS director Susan Hildreth affirmed that "Providing resources that help...
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LVA and SHRAB to Offer Copyright Workshop in October
The Library of Virginia and the Virginia State Historical Records Advisory Board are collaborating to offer a two-day workshop on copyright issues for 30 archivists on October 28–29. The workshop will help archivists interpret and administer copyright in their daily archival work. William J. Maher, a leading expert on copyright and archival issues, university archivist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and former president of the Society of American Archivists, will lead the workshop. Maher will cover topics such as the Eldred v. Ashcroft Supreme Court ruling, whick upheld the extension of copyright for an additional 20 years. A commercially produced work is now governed by the provisions of...
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Panel to Explore Disunion: History, Memory, and Virginia's Civil War Legacy
The Civil War Sesquicentennial has prompted numerous books and much reflection among scholars and the public about the war's causes, lingering impact, and aftermath. One of more interesting projects exploring the Civil War is the New York Times online journal Disunion, which uses original essays and commentaries from a diverse group of scholars, historians, and Civil War buffs—along with contemporary accounts, diaries, images, and historical assessments—to revisit and reconsider America's most perilous period.
The New York Times: Disunion, a collection of essays, biographies, and original articles on the significant events of the American Civil War culled from the website, will serve as the basis for a panel discussion on August 22, 6:00–7:30 PM, at the Library of Virginia. Exploring Disunion: History, Memory, and Virginia's Civil War Legacy will feature Dr. Edward Ayers, historian and president of the University of Richmond, Clay Risen, editor at the New York Times Disunion blog; Ed Sanders, head of interpretation, Richmond National Battlefield Park; Lauranett...
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Shape Note Singing Program Offered for First Friday in September
As a part of downtown Richmond's First Fridays Art Walk on September 6, the Library of Virginia will host a program on the art of shape note singing, which dates to the post–Revolutionary War period. Shape note masters John del Re and Kelly Macklin will share some history of this a cappella musical form and, with a company of singers, demonstrate songs in the shape note style from works old and new. Afterward, the audience will be invited to join in and sing along.
Historic shape note literature from the Library's collections will be on display, including a copy of the original Kentucky Harmony.
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Thursday, August 22, 2013
 Exploring Disunion: History, Memory, and Virginia's Civil War Legacy
Time: 5:30 PM–7:30 PM
Place: Lecture Hall
Join us for a panel discussion based on the New York Times: Disunion, a collection of essays, biographies, and original articles on the American Civil War. Panelists include Dr. Edward Ayers, president, University of Richmond; Clay Risen, editor, New York Times Disunion blog; Lauranett Lee, curator of African American history, Virginia Historical Society; Robert H. Moore II, editor, Cenantua's blog; and Ed Sanders, head of interpretation, Richmond National Battlefield Park. The panel will explore how we remember the war; its meaning for Virginia; and its affects on civilians, women, merchants, and enslaved and free blacks. This program is presented by the Library of Virginia in partnership with the Future of Richmond's Past. For more information, call 804-692-3719.
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Saturday, August 31, 2013—Monday, September 2, 2013
Closed for Labor Day holiday weekend
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Friday, September 6, 2013
Shape Note Singing Lecture and Performance
Time: 6:00 PM–7:30 PM
Place: Conference Rooms
In conjunction with First Fridays, John Del Re and Kelly Macklin—who are recognized as master shape note singers by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities—will present a lecture and demonstration on the history and "how-to's" of shape note singing and then invite the audience to join in.
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Thursday, September 12, 2013
 Book Launch: Brotherhood by Anne Westrick
Time: 5:30 PM–7:30 PM
Place: Conference Rooms
Join us for the launch of Anne Westrick's debut, Brotherhood, a young-adult novel set in Virginia in 1867. The book highlights an often-overlooked period in American history, post–Civil War Reconstruction, and explores the social and economic upheaval created by the war. Reception (wine and cheese) with the author, 5:30–6:00 PM; author talk and reading, 6:00–7:00 PM; and book signing, 7:00–7:30 PM.
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
"Books on Broad" featuring Dr. Barbara A. Perry
Time: 5:30 PM–7:30 PM
Place: Lecture Hall
Dr. Perry is a senior fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center and is an acknowledged expert on the Kennedy administration. Her new biography, Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch provides previously unexplored insights into the life and personality of Rose Kennedy. Reception (wine and cheese) 5:30–6:00 PM, book talk 6:00–7:00 PM, and book signing 7:00–7:30 PM.
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Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Book Launch: The Grandees of Government
Time: Noon–1:00 PM
Place: Conference Rooms, Free
Historian Brent Tarter offers an extended commentary based in primary sources on how undemocratic institutions and ideas arose, and how they were both perpetuated and challenged within America's so-called democracy. A book signing follows the talk.
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
Slatten Lecture featuring Dr. John Philip Colletta
Time: 8:30 AM–3:30 PM
Place: Conference Rooms, Fee, $35 for FVSA members, $50 nonmembers
Join the Friends of the Virginia State Archives on September 28 to welcome Dr. John Colletta as speaker at the 14th annual Richard Slatten Lecture. For more information, please e-mail SlattenLecture2013@gmail.
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Friday, October 4, 2013
The Impersonator
Time: 5:30 PM–7:00 PM
Place: Conference Rooms, Free
Mary Miley will discuss the historical research behind her debut novel, The Impersonator. Set against a Prohibition-era backdrop of speakeasies and vaudeville houses, the novel won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition. The Impersonator will delight readers with its elaborate mystery and lively prose.
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Through Saturday, October 5, 2013
 Dark Side: Night Photography in Virginia
Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Night photography compels viewers to look at the world from a slightly different perspective. Dark Side introduces us to the unique world of darkness and shadows. The exhibition surveys the many ways in which professional and amateur photographers have used their cameras over the past century to create compelling nocturnal images of the commonwealth. While it examines the materials and historic processes that made night photography possible, Dark Side, also introduces several contemporary photographers who are currently using it as an artistic medium.
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Tuesday, October 15, 2013–Saturday, February 22, 2014
No Vacancy: Remnants of Virginia's Roadside Culture
Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Explore the evolution of Virginia's roadside lodging along U.S. Route 1, once the main highway for travel along the East Coast, through this exhibition of vintage and current photographs. Early and mid-20th century travelers along Route 1 stopped at camps, motor courts, roadside cottages, and motels to take a break from the hours of driving. Often locally owned, these businesses were full of the local flavor of the area. Today, in the shadows of the bright lights of the Holiday Inns, Best Westerns, and the Hiltons, the remnants of Virginia's roadside culture can still be seen through its rusted signs, overgrown lots, boarded windows, and re-purposed buildings.
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Through Saturday, February 22, 2014
 The Importance of Being Cute: Pet Photography in Virginia
Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Photographs of animals dominate the web. From the cute to the ridiculous, millions of pet images are viewed and shared each day. The historical precedent for this online phenomenon can be found in The Importance of Being Cute. This entertaining exhibition focuses on the relationships that have existed between Virginians and their pets since the advent of photography. Vintage images from the Library of Virginia's collection allow visitors to explore more than a century and a half of pet photography, including photographs from Victorian cartes de visite, cabinet cards, and original glass plate negatives. Today's visitors will be able to participate by submitting a picture of their furry loved ones to become part of the exhibition.
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