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The Library of Virginia e-Newsletter
May 2011


News

Click any excerpt below to read the full article.

Newport News, Va. : U.S. Army Signal Corps, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, October 6, 1943. Library Offers Programs on Greatest Generation WWII Cameraman and Author to Appear at Library

A special event will take place on Tuesday, May 24 featuring a World War II-related book talk, as well an open house at which Library of Virginia archivists will accept papers and other World War II documents...

People's Choice Voting Starts May 16

The Library of Virginia is pleased to sponsor the Eighth Annual People’s Choice Awards. Finalists in fiction and nonfiction were selected by an independent panel of judges from the books nominated, and winners will be announced at the 14th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards at the Library of Virginia. Awards are given for the best fiction and nonfiction books by Virginia authors; in the case of nonfiction, books on a Virginia subject that have been published in the past year are eligible...

Library of Virginia Receives $155,071 NEH Grant to Scan Petersburg Chancery Records

The Library of Virginia has received a grant of $155,071 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the scanning of the City of Petersburg chancery records, a significant collection for researchers interested in the African American experience, women's history, and southern labor and business history in the antebellum and post–Civil War periods. The Library of Virginia is one of only 33 institutions to receive a grant in the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources category and one of only two state archives in the country awarded an NEH grant...

Watch A Commonwealth in Crisis: The Virginia Secession Debates on June 5

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of Virginia's secession from the United States, the Library of Virginia presented a discussion on April 17 by historian and author William W. Freehling on the debates and the significance of the Virginia Convention of 1861. Sponsored by the Future of Richmond’s Past Initiative, Clifton & Emily Woodrum, and the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation, the program was held in the Old House Chamber in the Virginia State Capitol, where the original debates were held 150 years ago on the same date...

Save 30% for 30 Days at the Virginia Shop Online

For the month of May the Virginia Shop will feature 30 percent off all Civil War merchandise at its online store, www.thevirginiashop.org. Visit the Civil War page under "Virginia in History" on the Virginia Shop Web site and enjoy 30 percent savings for the entire month of May. The list of sale items includes everything from Civil War map collection reproduction prints to Abraham Lincoln bobbleheads to Library of Virginia publications...

Library Offers 2nd Annual Anne and Ryland Brown Teacher Institute in June

The Library of Virginia will present the second annual Anne and Ryland Brown Teacher Institute from June 28 through 30, 2011. The Institute is an annual event held to enhance the knowledge of and training in history and social science instruction in the commonwealth of Virginia by providing educators with teaching resources and opportunities for in-depth study...

Puga and Griggs Pursue Masters Degrees

Dana Puga, who joined the staff of the Library of Virginia in 2002 as a picture collection specialist, was accepted into the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs–Museum Studies at Johns Hopkins University in January 2011. The aim of the program is to prepare current and future museum professionals to be visionary leaders of museums. All students earn a master of arts in museum studies...

Suzy Palmer Leaving for University Librarian Position at Longwood

After nearly four years as deputy librarian at the Library of Virginia, Suzy Szasz Palmer has accepted the position of dean of the Greenwood Library and professor of library science at Longwood University in Farmville. She assumes her new duties on June 25...

Multiple Exposure Catablog to Highlight Prints and Photographs

The Library of Virginia’s Prints and Photographs Collection is a wonderful resource capturing images from around the state from the beginning of Virginia to the present. Authors, media outlets, families, researchers, and historians regularly use the collection. The Multiple Exposure: Catablog of the Prints and Photographs Collection @ the Library of Virginia will bring this collection to a wider audience. Each blog entry will describe one collection or file; offer a small visual sampling; and give the collection’s...

Rebecca Ebert Receives the SAR Martha Washington Award

Rebecca A. Ebert, archivist of the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at Handley Regional Library in Winchester, was awarded the prestigious Martha Washington Medal at a recent meeting of the Col. James Wood II Chapter of the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. The award was made in recognition of her outstanding service to the Sons of the American Revolution...

VGS Spring Conference to Explore Confederate Records

Civil War Confederate Records: Bringing the Gray Ghosts to Life, the Virginia Genealogical Society's spring conference will be held May 20–21 at the Library of Virginia. Featured speakers are Sharon Hodges, professional genealogist, teacher, and lecturer and Rick Sayre, genealogical researcher and lecturer. Hodges will discuss how women on both sides of the conflict served their cause and the Southern Claims Commission, which was created by Congress to allow Southerners who had remained loyal to the Union to petition for reimbursement for losses they sustained during the Civil War...
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.

For specific locations, times, and details on the events listed below please visit our calendar of events. For more information, call 804-692-3592.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

"Let us show our loyalty to Virginia and the Union": The Secession Crisis and the Birth of West Virginia, 1860–1863
Kevin Barksdale, assistant professor of history at Marshall University, will explore the events surrounding the secession crisis in Virginia and how this tumultuous period led to the creation of the state of West Virginia.

Elizabeth  Taylor, A Passion for Life Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
Place: The Virginia Shop
"Books on Broad" Featuring Joseph Papa: Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life: The Wit and Wisdom of a Legend
Joseph Papa will join us to discuss and sign his anthology that reveals the candor and honesty with which Elizabeth Taylor led her extraordinary life. Papa is a publicist and writer living in New York City. A native of Richmond, he has worked for the Library of Virginia and extensively as a stage manager and actor. 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).

Thursday, May 12, 2011

The Irish Builders of Virginia's Railroads
In the 1650s, hundreds of Irish people first came to Virginia's shores. In the 1850s, several thousand Irish arrived to build railroad tracks and blast mountain tunnels from Richmond to Covington and beyond. The Charlottesville research group Clann Mhór (which means "big family" in the Irish language) is documenting the Irish and more than 100 African Americans who labored at this mammoth public-works project. The group has examined such materials as census documents, marriage records, and applications for U.S. citizenship. Much of the research centered on the invaluable Library of Virginia archives, particularly the railroad payrolls, which provided hundreds of Irish and enslaved African American names. Clann Mhór is providing answers to the critical question: Ca bhfuil siad imithe? Pronounced kah weel sheed imuhee, the words mean: "Where have they all gone?"

The Other Side of Blue Thursday, May 12, 2011

Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
Place: The Virginia Shop
"Books on Broad" Featuring Valerie O. Patterson: The Other Side of Blue
Valerie O. Patterson, who holds an MFA in children’s literature from Hollins University, will join us to discuss The Other Side of Blue, her memorable teen novel of a family dealing with the death of a father. 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).

Lost Communities of Virginia Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Lost Communities of Virginia
Authors Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg will discuss and sign their book, Lost Communities of Virginia, which documents 30 small communities from throughout Virginia that have lost their original industry, transportation mode, or way of life. Using contemporary photographs, historical information, maps, and excerpts of interviews with longtime residents of these communities, the book documents current conditions, recalls past boom times, and explains the role of each community in regional settlement.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Time: 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
Place: Lobby
Stories of Virginia's "Greatest Generation" Open House
Archivists will be available in the Library’s conference rooms to collect World War II items. The types of items that are appropriate for the Library’s collection are: diaries, letters, photographs, posters and broadsides, and maps. We are unable to accept artifacts such as firearms and uniforms. If you are interested in donating war-related materials but unable to attend the May 24 event, please contact the Library of Virginia at 804-692-3795.

War Shots: Norm Hatch and the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Cameramen of World War II Tuesday, May 24, 2011

War Shots: Norm Hatch and the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Cameramen of World War II
Charles "Chip" Jones will discuss and sign his book that features some of the most iconic footage of World War II—taken while the photographers risked their lives. Yet the stories—and sheer guts—of the U.S. Marine Corps’ combat cameramen have been overshadowed by the heroism of the men with the rifles. War Shots brings these photographers into sharp focus through the career of Norm Hatch, a true American character whose skill with a camera and knack for being in the right place at the right time thrust him to the forefront of the effort to record the marines at war in the Pacific. Major Hatch will be a special guest at this event.

Saturday, May 28—Monday, May 30, 2011

The Library will be closed for the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

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