April 2020 Newsletter

COVID-19 RESPONSE
Library of Virginia Services and Resources Are Still Available

With Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's announcement last week asking residents to remain in their homes except for essential purposes until June 10, the Library of Virginia is closed to the public until further notice. The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and community are top priorities at the Library of Virginia. We continue to monitor the developing situation closely and follow guidelines from the Virginia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Please check our website regularly for the most up-to-date information on our operating status.

Know that we are still available The articles below offer news about ways that Library staff members can assist you by phone or email and through online resources, such as a new Genealogy Webinar Series. Please check our News and Events page and follow us on social media for more information.

For more details about the Library's COVID-19 response and links to our wealth of online resources, see our latest news release.

Thank you for your continued patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation together.

New Genealogy Webinar Series: Find Your Family History Launches on April 10

The Library's genealogy workshop series has taken a hit with the suspension of our on-site events, so we've decided to go online and offer a free three-part webinar series, Find Your Family History, to help you trace your roots. Each recorded webinar will be followed by a "live" Q&A session on the Library's Facebook Group page, "Finding Your Virginia Roots." Register via Eventbrite for one or all three of these webinars.

April 10: Archivist Dawn Tinnell offers beginner research tips, strategies, and types of sources useful in genealogical research. Register

April 24: Archivist Nathan Verilla demonstrates genealogical databases and other relevant websites, both free and subscription, for genealogical research. Register

May 8: Community outreach specialist Ashley Ramey explores the Library's website, including catalog and digital collections, to help you get started with your Virginia-based genealogical research. Register

No previous genealogy experience is required. Watch any or all of these recorded 30- to 45-minute webinars. Then enjoy a live Q&A session hosted by staff members on the "Finding Your Virginia Roots" Facebook Group page. Posts and comments there will answer genealogy research questions for two hours after each webinar ends. If you're not already a member, please join our Facebook Group at any time!

These free online offerings are abbreviated versions of our usual on-site genealogy workshops. We look forward to seeing you at the Library when we re-open! For more information, contact Ashley Ramey at ashley.ramey@lva.virginia.gov or Catherine Fitzgerald Wyatt at catherine.fitzgeraldwyatt@lva.virginia.gov.

Got Questions?
Reference and Research Help Is Available by Email and Telephone

We're still here! The Library of Virginia's Public Services staff members are able to assist you with limited reference and research questions via email or telephone. While we can't do extended research for you, such as pulling together materials for your term paper or working on your family history, we can answer basic questions about Virginia history, culture, and biography. We'll suggest search strategies for both our in-house collections and online resources. Copies of materials in the collection are available for a fee and we can explain the fee structure for your material when you contact us.

Here are some examples of typical questions we receive—and how we can help:

"I'm looking for the obituary of my great-aunt."
Do you know where and when she died? The majority of newspapers are not indexed, so we'd need some basic information before we could help. We could also suggest online newspapers, if available. We'll work with you to narrow down the place and time frame so that we can search for the obituary.

"My father told me that my ancestor, John Smith, was a Revolutionary War patriot. Can you help me prove that?"
Official military service records must be obtained from the National Archives. We can check our state records and suggest collections available on our website. However, we cannot do the genealogical research necessary to determine which of the many men named John Smith is your ancestor.

"I want to know which gun laws were passed at the General Assembly this past session."
Though we're not a law library, we can assist you with the Acts of Assembly and the Code of Virginia. However, we cannot interpret the law for you and we suggest that you consult an attorney if you don't understand the terminology.

"Do you have a record of my barber license from 1968?"
We have archival records from state agencies and can often answer questions like this.

"I heard that Governor Gilmore established a commission on physical fitness through an executive order. Do you have a copy of that order?"
We do! We can help you find records like this.

Please feel free to contact us with your questions. We'll be happy to answer them or point you to appropriate resources. For Library Reference assistance, call 804.692.3777 or email refdesk@lva.virginia.gov. For Archives Reference assistance, call 804.692.3888 or email archdesk@lva.virginia.gov.

Explore Online Resources for We Demand: Women's Suffrage in Virginia

You don't have to visit the Library of Virginia in person to enjoy portions of We Demand: Women's Suffrage in Virginia, the exhibition currently showing in our gallery. Instead, pop online and browse the suffrage history from there! Read the biographies of our suffragists, scroll through the time line of their hard work and adventures, print out coloring pages if inspired, and join the group of people creating quilts and banners that will go up in the Library sometime this summer or early fall. If you're more the wordy type, help transcribe records from the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. You can also read the excellent new book The Campaign for Woman Suffrage in Virginia, written by the exhibition's curators, which is available online from the Virginia Shop. Follow #BallotBattle on Twitter, where the Library and several other historic institutions have recreated some of the big personalities from the suffrage era who quite riled up as they debate the issues. Over on Instagram and Facebook, you can read individual biographies of suffragists posted each week. We can celebrate the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment creatively and virtually together!

Discover Digital Content through the Library's Social Media

A great source for news and events, social media is also a gateway to amazing digital resources. If you only follow us on Facebook, this is a great time to explore all of the Library of Virginia's platforms and other online content. "Curated for the Curious," one of our tag lines, describes the fascinating images, collection items, and information we share on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as Pinterest, Flickr, and two Tumblr pages, Look What We Got and Curious Catalog. To see the Library's full list of social media platforms and curated content, visit https://www.lva.virginia.gov/about/connect.htm.

Looking for a fun background image for your next virtual meeting? Download our collection of 50 vintage Virginia postcards from Pinterest, where you can find mini-collections of images with titles like Vintage Valentines, Hats in the Library, and Color Our Collections.

Although you can't visit our exhibition We Demand: Women's Suffrage in Virginia while the Library is closed, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram we're sharing photographs and biographies of the unsung heroes of Virginia's suffrage movement, such as Richmonder Ellen G. Kidd, founder of the Pin Money Pickles Company and the first treasurer of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.

You can browse historic photographs from the Richmond, Hopewell, and Lexington areas and other locations at the Library's Flickr page, where some albums request the public's help identifying people in the images. You might find one of your own relatives!

On the Library's Tumblr page called Look What We Got, you can browse or search for subjects by keyword from the latest additions to the Visual Studies Collection, including photographs, postcards, and ephemera items. A search for the word "pets," for example, brings up wonderful images of people with their dogs and cats, as well as a Huff and Puff Cat Food label. Looking for historic prints and illustrations? Our Curious Catalog Tumblr page features items from the Rare Book Collection, such as early printed titles, sheet music, and broadsides, as well as treasures from the Map Collection.

Watch for an upcoming series of posts on multiple platforms on these topics.

• Spring is blooming in our collections! We'll share some of our favorite nature images for your home‐viewing pleasure.
• Exploring the great indoors? Your own backyard? What did staying at home look like in times past? Look for photos, paintings, and illustrations of people in their homes and gardens.
• How did Virginians of the past—citizens, businesses, government, the media—handle crises related to public health? The Library's collections contain items that relate to past pandemics.