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Click any excerpt below to read the full article. 2016 Strong Men and Women Essay Contest Winners Announced Please join the Library of Virginia and Dominion Virginia Power in congratulating the winners of the student essay contest for the 2016 Strong Men and Women in Virginia History program. This program highlights eight African American leaders and their achievements. High school students in Virginia were invited to participate in the annual essay contest. Four winning essays were chosen, one from each of the four regions in Virginia that Dominion Virginia Power... Snuggle Up with a Book: Moo! Coming to Local Public Libraries this Winter Thanks to the Library of Virginia, with support from Smart Beginnings, local public libraries in Virginia will offer the 2016 Winter Reading Program for children from birth to age five. This winter's program features artwork from the book Moo! by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. The Library of Virginia has offered an annual winter reading program since 2009. The Winter Reading Program traditionally begins in February, "I Love to Read Month," and concludes early in March on Read Across America Day. The dates of the program may vary by location, so be sure to check with your... 2016 American Civil War Museum Symposium Explores "The Road from Appomattox" A recent conversation at the American Civil WarMuseumturned to the question of why students of the Civil War tend not to be interested in the Reconstruction era even though they recognize how important it was. One colleague observed pithily that "it's because no one was shooting at each other." This observation explains accurately why fewer people are interested in Reconstruction than in the Civil War, but it's incorrect to infer that all the shooting stopped in 1865. Reconstruction was not simply the era of presidential impeachment, political struggles, and more legislation... Nominations for Kotz Art in Literature Award Due April 30 Nominations are being sought for the 2016 Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award given by the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The award recognizes an outstanding book of fiction or nonfiction that demonstrates the highest literary merit as a creative or scholarly work on the theme of visual artists or art. Categories include works of journalism, poetry, fiction, biography, or history, as well as museum exhibition catalogs. For award criteria and rules, please see... Light to Lead Library Board R. Chambliss Light Jr., of Lynchburg, has been elected by members of the Library Board to serve as chair. Previously he had served as vice chair. The untimely death of Board chair Ernestine Middleton in October resulted in the Board's action at its January 11 meeting in Richmond. Light has been employed for 30 years by Nationwide Insurance Company, where he has held a number of legal and management positions and is currently serving as an assistant general counsel. Light is a 1980... Deadline Extended for 2016 Student Writing Contest for Virginia Women in History The deadline for Virginia students in grades 6–12 to submit essays for the Library's Virginia Women in History student writing contest has been extended to Monday, February 1, 2016. Four winning essays will be chosen, two from students in grades 6–8, and two from students in grades 9–12. Contest rules can be found at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/vawomen/2016/essay.htm. Wednesday, January 13–Saturday, March 12, 2016 Virginia General Assembly in session. Parking at the Library will be very limited. Please note that the Virginia General Assembly, the oldest continuous law–making body in the New World, will be in session for 60 days beginning January 13. Parking for Library of Virginia patrons will be very limited during that time. Friday, January 15–Monday, January 18, 2016 Online Resources Unavailable The Library of Virginia's online resources will be unavailable from 6:00 AM on January 15 until January 19 as we relocate our computer room. Friday, January 15–Monday, January 18, 2016 Closed The Library will be closed Lee–Jackson Day through Martin Luther King Day. Saturday, January 30, 2016 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Transcribe-a-thon Time: Noon–2:00 PM Place: Network Training Center Join other volunteers to transcribe handwritten pages by reading written text and typing it into digital form. Participate in enhancing access to collections of more than 400 years of Virginia history and culture. Twelve computer stations will be available. If you have your own laptop, please bring it! Transcribe-a-thons are facilitated by the volunteer organization HandsOn Greater Richmond. Minimum age is 16 (12 with an adult). Registration required: http://bit.ly/LVAvolunteer. Monday, February 1–Saturday, February 6, 2016 2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History Exhibition Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM Place: Second Floor Lobby In observance of Black History Month, the Library of Virginia and Dominion Virginia Power honor eight distinguished Virginians in this traveling exhibition as the 2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History for their contributions to the commonwealth and the nation. Through education and advocacy, they demonstrate how African Americans have actively campaigned for better lives for themselves and their people. For a schedule of this traveling exhibition, please visit: www.lva.virginia.gov/public/smw/2015/exhibit.htm. Saturday, February 13–Monday, February 15, 2016 Closed The Library will be closed for the George Washington Day holiday weekend. Monday, February 22–Monday, February 29, 2016 2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History Exhibition Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM Place: Second Floor Lobby Through Saturday, March 26, 2016 Remaking Virginia: Transformation through Emancipation Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, Monday–Saturday Place: Lobby and Exhibition Hall, Free Even as the Civil War was still being fought, the status of almost a half–million African Americans in Virginia began to change. No longer were they someone else's property–they were free. They anticipated the promise of change from their former status as slaves: the promises of education, political participation, and full citizenship. Yet, in their struggle to achieve these goals, freedmen and freedwomen faced the hostility of their former masters and the society that had long benefitted from their labor. Union troops and U.S. government officials reconstructing the Southern states were often indifferent.

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