June 2020 Newsletter

We've Missed You: Library of Virginia Reopening Soon

We've missed you! We understand how much researchers have missed their direct access to the Library of Virginia's resources this spring. We're excited to be putting the finishing touches on our reopening plan, which will welcome researchers back to the building on an appointment basis. The visitor experience will be slightly different, but we're working hard to open our doors while ensuring your safety.

The Library of Virginia's highest priority is the health, safety, and well-being of our staff and community members. In addition to following directives from the Office of the Governor, the Library is following guidelines recommended by the Virginia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are making physical changes to the research areas, replacing signage, revising procedures, and implementing a by-appointment model to support social distancing, among other changes. One of our greatest challenges has been securing the PPE (personal protective equipment) and other supplies necessary to reopen.

Our new hours will be Tuesday–Friday, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, by research appointment only. Appointments in Special Collections will also be available from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, Tuesday–Friday. Face coverings will be required as will physical distancing, handwashing and sanitizing, and other safety precautions. Circulating materials may be returned in the Library's lobby. The reading room at the State Records Center, the Exhibition Gallery, and the Virginia Shop (the Library's store), will remain closed for now.

Watch for a reopening announcement soon on our website and social media platforms, which will include an opening date and a link to our visitor guidelines. Thank you for your continued patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation together.

Summer Reading & Meals Programs Respond to the Times

Like other organizations, Virginia's public libraries are adapting to new conditions under which to serve their communities and ensure that children keep reading and learning all summer long. Many libraries are shifting their programs online, including story times, crafting activities, and performances as well as executing their reading challenges within digital applications or through paper packets distributed curbside. This year's summer reading program theme, "Imagine Your Story," engages with children by asking them to think about how their own stories would be written, through either imagination or lived experience. Check with your local public library for details about specific program plans, and visit our summer learning page for additional learning ideas. This program is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Virginia's public libraries also help provide summertime food security through collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education. This year, meal programs funded by No Kid Hungry will vary from site drive-by distribution to supporting school bus route delivery of food and books. Text "food" to 877-877 to find a meal program near you.

Virginians and Their Histories
Historian Brent Tarter's new work finds the untold stories within Virginia's records

Virginians and Their Histories, a groundbreaking work of scholarship by the historian and author Brent Tarter, presents a fresh, new interpretive narrative that incorporates the experiences of all residents of Virginia from the earliest times to the first decades of the 21st century. Published in May by the University of Virginia Press in collaboration with the Library of Virginia, the work "is the single best narrative history of Virginia that we now have", according to James Madison University history professor Kevin Hardwick, co-editor of Virginia Reconsidered: New Histories of the Old Dominion.

Since retiring from the Library of Virginia in 2010, Tarter has continued to work here part-time researching and writing about Virginia history. He joined the Library staff in 1974 to work on a project of the Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission that compiled and published records of the conventions and committees that from 1774 to 1776 guided the transition from colony to commonwealth. With future Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway, Tarter was a founding editor of the Library's Dictionary of Virginia Biography project, which highlights significant Virginians, including women, African Americans, Native Americans, and others whose lives have rarely been studied. As a senior editor from 1982 to 2010, he worked on the Dictionary and other publications as well as on exhibitions and educational projects.

Virginians and Their Histories is available online from the Virginia Shop.

Help Make the Library's Work Possible: Join or Renew by June 30

Staying connected right now is more important than ever. Even though the Library remains temporarily closed to the public, you can help connect people throughout the commonwealth and beyond to Virginia's past and present through our outstanding digital collections and online tools. Your support is vital to the Library's ability to continue sharing important knowledge and connecting people—both inside our facility and online.

The Library's fiscal year ends on June 30. Help us reach our goals by making a contribution today! We are grateful to you, our patrons who use the Library's resources, and each and every donor who supports our work. Thank you.

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