Day… public library in Craig County, a rural county of 5,500 people. Day helped Library of Virginia Develops Old organize the Craig County Friends of the Library Inc., a nonprofit community organi- Dominion Songsters Exhibition zation with a goal of opening the first public The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce Virginia blues and highlights the importance of library in Craig County — the only county in the development of the traveling panel exhibi- the East Coast or Piedmont blues tradition and Issue 165 • September/October 2004 Virginia without a library. She has taken the tion Old Dominion Songsters: Traditional Blues guitar style. In addition to publishing a lead in collecting books, organizing fundrais- Official Newsletter in Virginia. Using rare photographs and images brochure on Virginia blues, the Society has ers, speaking with other groups to gain sup- of important blues recordings, Old Dominion launched an ongoing campaign to erect state port and renovating the building. She also Songsters offers biographies of Virginia blues historical markers. Two artists—Luke Jordan in helped contact state and federal legislators. JONES, LEBSOCK AND NYSTROM RECEIVE AWARDS legends such as John Jackson, William Moore, Lynchburg and Carl Martin in Big Stone The Hitachi Foundation named 10 high John Cephas, Carl Martin and Stephen Tarter. Gap—have been honored with markers. The Francis Foster and George Garrett Recognized school seniors as recipients of the 2004 Further, the exhibition examines the social Library of Virginia’s 2002 exhibition, Virginia Yoshiyama Award. The 2004 Yoshiyama The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the winners of the 7th a Southern Town, won the Bancroft Prize in 1985. The recipient of a milieu of blues music in Virginia, including the Roots Music: Creating and Conserving Tradition, Award recipients will participate in a leader- Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards. The winner in the fiction coveted MacArthur fellowship in 1992, she is one of the foremost house party tradition, music in the mountains also contributed to the content of Old ship retreat and be honored at a luncheon to category is Edward Jones for The Known World, published by scholars in the field of American women’s history. Lebsock is current- and its connection to old-time music and the Dominion Songsters. The exhibition, which pre- take place at the National Press Club in Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The non-fiction ly Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University. She migration of artists to northern cities. miered at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Washington, D.C., in October. Each will winner is Suzanne Lebsock for A Murder in Virginia, published by W. is also the author of Virginia Women, 1600–1945: “A Share of Old Dominion Songsters developed out of Cultural Center on September 10, 2004, was receive a $5,000 gift. W. Norton & Company. Debra Nystrom won in the poetry category Honour,” published in 1987 by the Library of Virginia. an ongoing project sponsored by the James supported by the Virginia Foundation for the The Hitachi Foundation is a nonprofit, for Torn Sky, published by Sarabande Books. In A Murder in Virginia, Lebsock examines issues of race and River Blues Society and led by Library of Humanities and Public Policy, BB&T, Blues in philanthropic organization incorporated in Edward Jones was born in Washington, D.C., and earned his gender in the aftermath of a gruesome murder that took place in June Virginia historian and blues guitarist Gregg the ’Burg Inc., the Library of Virginia and The the District of Columbia in 1985 with an master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Virginia. He has 1895 on a quiet farm in Lunenburg County. When a white woman of Kimball. Begun in 2001, the Old Dominion James River Blues Society of Lynchburg. endowment from Hitachi Ltd. in Tokyo. The taught creative writing at the University of Virginia, George Mason some means was murdered in her farmyard in 1895, four poor African Songsters project honors the founders of Foundation’s purpose is to enhance the well- University, the University of Maryland and Princeton University. He Americans (three of them women) immediately fell under suspicion. being of economically and socially isolated has won the PEN/Hemingway Lebsock takes us deep into the whirl- BOARD SETS MEETING SCHEDULE Award and was a finalist for the wind that surrounded this case, as people throughout the United States. For The Library Board has set its meeting schedule for 2004–2005. All meetings will be held at the additional information about the Yoshiyama Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. The meetings are open to the public. National Book Award for his debut blacks organized to secure justice for Award or The Hitachi Foundation, visit their The next meeting of the Board will occur on November 15 at 10:30 AM. Subsequent meetings collection of short stories, Lost in the accused. A Murder in Virginia web site at . will be held on January 27, 2005; March 14, 2005; and June 13, 2005. the City. Jones recently was award- won the 2004 Parkman Prize from ed one of 23 MacArthur fellow- the Society of American Historians. ships, a five-year grant to The poetry winner, Debra individuals who show exceptional Nystrom for Torn Sky, earned her NON-PROFIT ORG. merit and promise for continued bachelor’s degree at the University of U.S. POSTAGE and enhanced creative work. The South Dakota and her master’s of PAID awards are commonly called the fine arts in the Goddard/Warren 800 East Broad Street RICHMOND, VA MacArthur genius awards. Wilson College program. Her first Richmond, VA 23219-8000 PERMIT NO. 1088 The Known World received the book of poems, A Quarter Turn, 2004 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It appeared in 1991. Her poetry has also won the National Book Critics been published in numerous Circle Award and the 2004 People’s anthologies and journals, including George Garrett, winner of the Literary Lifetime Achievement Award; Choice Award for Fiction and was a Debra Nystrom, winner of the Poetry Award; Elizabeth Varon, winner of the American Poetry Review, the Yale finalist for the National Book the People’s Choice Fiction Prize; Suzanne Lebsock, winner of the Non- Review, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, Award. The Known World is set in fiction Award; Edward Jones, winner of the Fiction Award; and Dr. Francis and the Threepenny Review. She has antebellum Virginia and centers on M. Foster Sr., winner of the Semper Virginia Award, pose at the 7th received a Boatwright Prize from a black farmer and former slave Annual Library of Virginia Awards Celebration on October 16. Shenandoah and the Balch Prize for who later in life becomes a slave Poetry from the Virginia Quarterly owner himself. Jones’s novel explores the hypocrisy and tragedy of the Review and has been awarded two individual artist’s grants from the slave system and the anomaly of a former slave owning slaves. Virginia Commission for the Arts, a Yaddo Fellowship, a postgradu- Non-fiction win- ate fellowship in poetry from the University of Virginia and numer- ner Suzanne Lebsock ous Pushcart nominations. Nystrom lives in Charlottesville and is earned her bachelor’s associate professor of creative writing at the University of Virginia. degree from Carleton Debra Nystrom’s Torn Sky gives voice to the harsh histories of the 800 East Broad Street College and her mas- American West as well as the memories, losses and survivals in the Richmond, VA 23219-8000 ter’s and doctorate landscapes of the familiar—home and family. Her poems resonate (804)692-3592 • www.lva.lib.va.us from the University with compassion, spirituality and an elegant resilience. Janice M. Hathcock, Editor of Virginia. Her first Hollins University professor R. H. W. Dillard presented the Amy C. Winegardner, Graphic Designer Franklin E. Robeson, Board Chair book, The Free Literary Lifetime Achievement Award to George Garrett, his friend and Nolan T. Yelich, Librarian of Virginia Women of Petersburg: mentor. Regarded by his peers as a poet and writer of immense talent, Status and Culture in the multi-talented Garrett also is beloved as a …see Awards, pg. 2 Awards… generous teacher and mentor, “Ask a Government Information Librarian” one who has often gone out of his way to assist the careers of young writers. Library Acquires VEPCO Company Records Beginning in November 2004, the staff of the Retired Richmond dentist Dr. Francis In October 2003, following Hurricane Isabel the Richmond area. There are also publica- Aside from the collection’s obvious worth State and Federal Documents Program of the M. Foster received the first annual Semper when the lights were out for much of central tions containing information about legal as a resource from which to study the day-to- Library of Virginia will participate in a Virginia Award, given by the Semper Virginia, the Description Services Branch at the cases in Virginia localities concerning the reg- day conditions experienced by employees, national pilot project to provide virtual refer- Virginia Society, the Library of Virginia Library of Virginia was in the midst of a mildly ulation of jitney buses. Correspondence in other files document the societal changes ence service for patrons seeking government Foundation’s new membership group estab- ironic task—the processing of the records of the the general counsel’s files notes a number of effected by the increased role of women in the information. The Library of Virginia and the lished to support the continuation of excel- Virginia Electric and Power Company accidents between automobiles and street- business world. Of particular note are a large University of Virginia are the only Virginia lence at the Library of Virginia. As treasurer (VEPCO). While Dominion Virginia Power cars: two modern transportation forms often group of advertisements from the 1950s and libraries participating in the pilot program. and an original member of the Virginia line crews and other power company employees violently gnashing metal in their effort to 1960s for electrical appliances that visually Sponsored by the Illinois State Library, Center for the Book Board at the Library of toiled through the night to repair the electrical share the same roads. exhibit the dichotomy between the women’s with project coordination by John Schuler, Virginia, Dr. Foster was a driving force disaster caused by Mother Nature, the VEPCO While the archive does much to reveal the movement and the struggle of the business Documents Librarian, University of Illinois behind the Virginia Authors Room at the business records were unveiling reminders of increased role of transportation and the electri- community to embrace this change (see at Chicago, the program invited a select Library of Virginia involving the com- the anguish created from past storms. Photos cal industry in Virginia, the VEPCO records image). One image shows a woman puckering number of federal and state depository munity in plans for this space dedicated to revealed the Richmond and Petersburg flood also humanize the efforts of the people behind with eyes closed and suggests, “Get Her an libraries to participate in the six-month trial. the state’s literary heritage. devastation following Hurricane Camille in these industries. The lawsuit files of the Virginia Electric Dryer and See What She’ll Do.” The project sponsors are working with Virginia author David Baldacci served August 1969 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Railway and Power Company general counsel Further proof of the influx of women into the OCLC to establish a collaborative, multi- as host for the October 16 gala celebration Legal files detailed the events resulting in the allude to the often dangerous conditions faced industry can be located in the photographs of state virtual reference service using OCLC’s and May-Lily Lee, senior producer and deaths of linemen restoring power during women welders during World War II. QuestionPoint software. Initially conceived on the Library of Virginia’s web site during host of Virginia Currents, Dr. William G. storms in the 1910s and 1920s. These archival The VEPCO files denote a business shift with 10 participating libraries covering 40 the pilot project trial. Thomas, director of the Virginia Center files seemed to commiserate silently with the in the 1950s not only to include women, but hours of live, national, reference service, In preparation for implementing the for Digital History, and Elizabeth Seydel plight of the victims of Hurricane Isabel. also away from rural agriculture and toward enthusiastic response of the government doc- trial project, Government Documents staff Morgan, a Virginia poet, read selections Now, a year removed from Hurricane Virginia suburbs, business offices and urban uments community has led to participation members at the Library of Virginia have par- from each of the nine finalists’ books. Isabel, the Description Services Branch has industry. Broadside advertisements from the by 33 libraries, including libraries on the ticipated in several conference calls, and Virginia authors Dean King and Phaedra completed the project to process these disaster- mid-1950s encourage farmers and other rural West Coast and Hawaii, and possibly as received QuestionPoint software training Hise presented the People’s Choice Awards related documents along with the rest of the Virginians to purchase electrical appliances or much as 66 hours of live chat and 24 hour e- provided through the web and teleconferencing to Edward Jones for The Known World and vast volume of materials that comprise the update their homes with electric wiring. Over mail service. It is expected that each partici- capabilities. All software and teleconferencing Elizabeth Varon for Southern Lady, Yankee VEPCO business records. The enormous time these advertisements become more and pating library will only have to staff the calls have been supported through the Spy. The People’s Choice Awards were pre- amount of material consists not only of the more focused on the suburban home and the “virtual” national reference desk about three Illinois State Library. sented by the Library in partnership with records of VEPCO, but also contains the files urban business office. Few advertisements from hours per week, a minimum commitment for The project will try to answer several the James River Writers Festival. The win- the company inherited from its many prede- the late 1960s and early 1970s concern farming maximum reward. questions during its six-month duration, such ners were chosen by readers who voted in cessors and subsidiaries including the Virginia or rural agribusiness interests. The target audience for the program is as: Is this a model for a multi-state collabora- bookstores and libraries in Virginia and Railway and Power Company and the Virginia A project to conserve and rehouse the individuals interested in working with a tive project? Does the service work as well for online through the Library’s and James Passenger and Power Company. The files span more than 500 minute books and ledgers in librarian to locate, use or seek specific gov- dial-up users as for those with more band- River Writers Festival web sites. the period from about 1849 through 1995. the collection is currently underway and ernment information about programs, servic- width? And most important, does this collab- The 8th Annual Library of Virginia The types of material include advertisement should conclude in the early fall. These vol- es and policies. Library participants share the orative approach effectively improve Literary Awards Celebration will be held at posters, executives’ correspondence, stock umes comprise minutes and other informa- belief that government information is a core government information services to the pub- the Library of Virginia on October 15, ledgers, general legal counsel files, board of tion concerning more than 130 of the source of reliable information for researchers. lic in anyway? 2005. For a complete list of this year’s nom- directors’ minute books, photographs, railroad predecessor and subsidiary companies that The World Wide Web offers a chance for inees and a nomination form for next year’s and trolley line right-of-way plats, company melded over time to form the Virginia local depository libraries to work across state —submitted by Mary S. Clark, awards, please visit the Library’s web site newsletters and pamphlets and even antiquated Electric and Power Company. Study of these lines and encourage wider public access to all Collection Management Services at . researchers will uncover these materials’ worth VEPCO advertisement (ca. 1960s) within a number of fields, most notably the tronically and in more traditional collections. as an invaluable tool to study the development courses of industrial, corporate, social and The QuestionPoint service trial will allow of public transportation and electric service in by trolley drivers, linemen and other laborers. women’s history. These ledgers together with depository libraries to meet their charge to Virginia, the social effect of the company on Trolley drivers, for instance, were on many an the other files in the VEPCO archive are a deliver government document information to Working Out the people of Virginia and the rise of a business occasion trapped under cars, electrocuted, or superb addition to the business records col- the public and to augment the visibility of world shifting from agricentric to meeting the seriously maimed following streetcar accidents. lection at the Library of Virginia. government documents service at participat- WOMEN’S demands of the emerging modern world. Medical examination certificates found within Researchers interested in locating files in ing libraries. Within the VEPCO collection rest a the Virginia Railway and Power Company the VEPCO archive should consult the er Destiny HISTORY The QuestionPoint service will work number of items documenting the emergence Relief Association files relate the diseases and online finding aid at the Library of Virginia through a web site and e-mail link for asking in VIRGINIA of public transportation and electrical service injuries inflicted on the employees and the web site. Go to the homepage at questions. Participating libraries will develop in Virginia. An expansive assortment of pho- amount of work time and pay missed because of www.lva.lib.va.us, click on “What We Have,” a rotating schedule for responding to Internet tographs provides visual evidence of the con- their afflictions. Examples of the hard work per- perform an accession number search for chat questions or refer specialized questions struction of power grids and electrical formed by the welders, telephone operators, “37345,” and then click on the appropriate to a specific participating library. The Exhibition at The Library of Virginia substations across Virginia. Right-of-way customer service technicians, line crews, execu- links to view the finding aid. QuestionPoint chat box will appear on the August 2, 2004—March 26, 2005 plats found in the collection denote the loca- tives and other employees of VEPCO also sur- —submitted by Alex Lorch, “Government Records and Resources” page tion of proposed streetcar lines throughout vive in the photograph files. Collection Management Services 7 Day Receives Yoshiyama Award for Craig County Recent Scholarship from BOARD PROPOSES Library Effort NEW REGULATION Caitlyn Day, the young woman who spear- the Library’s Collections The Library Board has adopted a pro- headed recent efforts to establish a public Researchers throughout the commonwealth, she breaks down. “I am so homesick I don’t posed new regulation to provide direc- library in Craig County, was one of 10 high across the country, and around the world know what to do,” she confessed. “Mama I tion on the appropriate destruction of school students to receive a 2004 Yoshiyama mine the Library of Virginia’s rich and varied declare I do wish I could come home. I do public records containing social security Award. This award recognizes exemplary collections for pathbreaking research. In the hate to be sterilized but if it is the only way to numbers whether these records are in service and community involvement rather last two years, Archives Research Services has come home I absolutely would be willing for analog or digital format. This regulation than academic achievement. In 1935, a photographer for the Department of Education snapped a picture of students at Disputanta received more than eighty permission-to-pub- them to cut my head off.” is intended to help prevent the crime of Day was selected by a diverse commit- School in Prince George County. Researchers today use images like this one, from the School Buildings lish requests from authors to use archival Tazewell was one of the poorest areas in the identity theft where an imposter obtains tee from 151 eligible nominations submitted Service Photographs Collection, to study Virginia's architectural and cultural history. materials in traditional ways (including books, state. In 1930, 2,464 men worked in the coal and uses another persons’ personal by teachers, community leaders and others articles, exhibits, historic markers and disser- mines there, along with nine women. The information in a way that involves fraud directly affiliated with youth organizations. Collections… concerning the trials, tell Edith letters written by Walter Reed appear on a web tations) and not-so-traditional ways—such as colony was nearly 180 miles away, in Amherst or deception. A Notice of Intended In choosing Day, the committee cited her Maxwell’s story. After several appeals, defense exhibit and digital archive on Yellow Fever web exhibits, advertisements, school-curricu- County, two miles from Lynchburg, near the Regulatory Action on these new regula- efforts to establish a …see Loudoun, pg. 6 lawyers cast enough doubt on the conviction mounted by the Health Sciences Library at the that Edith Maxwell was pardoned late in University of Virginia. lum CDs, a lapel button and a even musical town of Madison Heights. Doctors there per- tions will be filed and the Notice and 1941 and left Virginia. Her inmate photo- At the Library of Virginia, more than 96 theater production. Pick up Israel on the formed an average of four eugenic sterilizations proposed regulation will appear in the Loudoun… open to researchers during this graph will be reproduced in the new book million manuscript items tell the stories of Appomattox, settle in your seat for Christmas a week; in 1929, the colony held 1,044 patients, Register and on the Virginia Regulatory time, but we encourage interested parties to The Library’s resources are being tapped the famous and the not-so-famous; they illu- of Swing or stroll though an exhibit on the 575 women, only one from Tazewell County— Town Hall later this fall. For more infor- monitor the agency’s web site for informa- in other innovative ways. A scholar in Italy is minate events and allow us to see the past in American Revolution’s forgotten patriots and Martha Shrader. We don’t know the entire mation about the proposed new regula- tion. In addition, some material, because of writing a book on Writers’ Project interviews a different way; and they answer researchers’ you’ll find some of the unique materials story, but by April 18, 1930, when the Tazewell tion regarding the destruction of public its condition or importance, will be con- with British immigrants, using the Library’s endless and always-changing questions. The housed in the Archives. County census was taken, she was home with records containing social security num- served and/or microfilmed in house. online WPA Life Histories. A digital interac- Archives staff helps people explore the rich Authors requesting permission to pub- her parents, Maggie and Lewis. On May 9, bers, please contact Robert Nawrocki, Incorporated by act of Assembly in 1849 tive exhibit mounted by the Foundation for documentary heritage of Virginia; we’ve all lish include academics from a wide variety of 1930, she married coal miner David Hamitt. director, Records Management and as the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Historic Christ Church on the houses of learned that treasures come in many different institutions; art and theater historians; Another recent permission request illu- Imaging Services, 800 East Broad Street, Loudoun County, the company still insures Robert Carter explores the histories of 22 guises, from a tiny letter to a table-sized map archaeologists; and archivists (the Society of minates life in Great Depression–era south- Richmond, VA 23219; 804-692-3505; thousands of clients in the region, including homes (and features Mutual Assurance Society to a recording of the Old Dominion Barn American Archivists will feature some of the western Virginia. The trials of Edith Maxwell . the descendants of its first client. The materials, policies housed at the Library). Materials from Dance. In the end, they are all part of a story Library’s drawings and plans—by Charles are the subject of a University of Illinois Press spanning the years 1865–1954, document the Library’s collections also appear on the that matters to someone. Gillette of the Executive Mansion—in its book, titled Never Seen the Moon, forthcoming the value of farm commodities in the web site for the Dolley Madison Project at the —submitted by Jennifer Davis McDaid, new guide, Managing Architectural Records). in 2005. On November 19, 1935, a jury of Library Acquires post–Civil War era, the introduction of the Virginia Center for Digital History, and the Archival and Information Services Recently-published books featuring the 12 men in Wise County convicted Edith automobile and a host of other topics. Library’s collections include innovative biog- Maxwell of murdering her father and sentenced Records from Further, they demonstrate the importance of raphies and scholarly studies from Oxford her to 25 years in prison. Maxwell’s case local business and organizational records and University Press, Norton and Knopf; careful- briefly became national news, as newspapers, Loudoun Mutual what they can reveal about our history. ly researched family histories, local histories including the Washington Post, produced a In 1911 the Library acquired the busi- and church histories; a documentary history stream of articles to encourage people to raise Insurance Co. ness records of William and David Allason of of the Supreme Court; and collections of the money to appeal the verdict. In mid-September, archivists from the Library King George, Stafford and Frederick counties, papers of Nathanael Greene, John Marshall, At age 21, Edith Maxwell lived with her of Virginia traveled to Waterford in Loudoun marking the inception of the Library’s diverse Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison. parents and two younger sisters in Pound, County, Virginia, to retrieve an extensive busi- business records collection that now includes These raw materials of the past allow about 10 miles from Wise. After attending ness records collection. In the quaint Northern the records of more 350 businesses, ranging researchers to delve into difficult and elusive East Radford Teachers’ College for three Virginia town, they met with Chris Shipe, from those of the Carter family’s Shirley topics. One forthcoming documentary reader, years, she taught 40 pupils in a one-room President/ CEO of the Loudoun Mutual Plantation to a single daybook kept by a tailor American Women’s Letters, 1776 to the Present, school. One night in July 1935, she returned Insurance Company. The company’s 1948 in New Kent County. contains a 1929 letter from the Executive home after dark with Raymond Meade. Her headquarters, a Colonial Revival building on a The Library of Virginia encourages others Papers. Maggie Shrader was writing from the father, Trigg Maxwell, a blacksmith and pipe hill above Waterford, housed nearly 200 years with similar records to contact us regarding town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell County, to inspector, was drunk and threatened to beat of insurance records, ledgers, maps and archi- donation. Through the generosity of citizens Governor Harry F. Byrd asking him to release her for being out late. tectural drawings documenting the history of like Chris Shipe and his co-workers at the her 16-year-old daughter, Martha, from a state- Later that night Trigg Maxwell died, and Loudoun and the surrounding counties. Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company, the run hospital, called the State Colony for the circumstantial evidence suggested that Over three days, the archivists carefully Library of Virginia is aided in its efforts to pre- Epileptics and the Feeble-Minded. Edith Maxwell had killed him. Researcher boxed and packed the 110 cubic feet of loose serve our collective past. “I am a poor brokenhearted mother,” she Sharon Hatfield used records from the material and 121 volumes for transfer back to —submitted by Vincent Brooks, wrote, “I know you can help me.” She Governor’s Office to trace her case and tease Richmond. They also created a preliminary Collection Management Services enclosed a four-page letter that her daughter out the details of family life in a small town, database on-site for collection control. Over had recently written home as proof that she where alcohol and violence may have led to the coming year, the records will be rehoused VISIT US ON THE WEB AT was not feebleminded. Martha asks her moth- murder. Petitions, letters, postcards and and described by Private Papers archivists www.lva.lib.va.us Librarian of Virginia Nolan T. Yelich and Dr. Franklin E. “Bud” Robeson flank new Library Board er to come visit her and to bring Christmas telegrams received by the governor, along from the Library’s Description Branch. The members Chip Woodrum, Lewis F. Powell III and Stephen E. Story during a recent tour of the Library. presents, and reports the weather is fine. Then with materials …see Collections, pg. 6 material will not be …see Loudoun, pg. 6 3 are arranged chronologically, beginning with FROM THE REFERENCE DESK OF THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA Hoover’s November 23, 1929, Appeal to Library of Virginia Foundation Governors for Stimulation of State Public Works, and ending with Roosevelt’s December 8, 1941, War Message to Congress. Launches New Giving Society: Did you know…? Independently, the Encyclopedia of the When the elections are over, if you are still curious about how the vote went, you can visit the Great Depression and the Encyclopedia of the The Semper Virginia Society Federal Election Commission at or the Virginia State Great Depression and the New Deal provide a The Library of Virginia Foundation is delight- Mary Johnston Circle [$250–$499] Board of Elections at to see how Virginians voted. In case you valuable overview of the Great Depression. ed to announce The Semper Virginia [Novelist, Short Story Writer and Cookbook are more curious, and you want to research who gave what to whom you can go to the Center Together, they depict most of the major Society—a new membership society designed Editor] Benefits include: All of the above, for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets web site at . This directory details of that politically, socially and eco- to foster a close relationship with the Library’s plus Discount of 10% on LVA Publications • of political candidates traces contributions from individuals and special interests. Its counter- nomically turbulent era. supporters and the mission of the Library of Subscription to Quarterly VA Authors part for Virginia is The Virginia Public Access Project at . Virginia. The Library of Virginia is the Reading List There you may track down campaign contributions and expenditures reported by candidates From the Virginia Authors Room guardian of the world’s most comprehensive for state office. The database can be also searched by donor and vendor. The Virginia Authors Room, a browsing and circulating collection of titles by writers who collection of materials about Virginia and Clementina Rind Circle [$500–$999] early America and The Semper Virginia [Editor and first female Printer] Benefits Thomson/Peterson’s Testing and ACT Assessment® Success Volume one includes an outline that have resided or currently live within the state, Society has an important role to play in help- include: All of the above, plus Invitations to Education Reference Center AP Success Series groups the entry titles under these conceptual is located on the second floor of the Library ing to maintain and grow these collections and special Receptions & Openings • Priority seat- The Library of Virginia now provides online Civil Service Handbook parts: Agriculture; Biographies; Business; of Virginia. One of these authors whose work to work to preserve these exceptional books, ing at Lectures & Events • Ability to rent LVA access to the electronic database, the Testing Clerical Exams Culture; Economic Conditions; Environment; can be found in the Virginia Authors Room maps, art and artifacts. In addition, member- facilities for meetings, events, etc. and Education Reference Center. In one con- EMT Basic Certification Exam Events; Government; Intellectual Trends and is Curtis J. Badger, a native of Virginia’s ship gifts will help make possible a vast array venient resource, users can search for a learn- LSAT Success Developments; International Situation; Labor; Eastern Shore where his family has lived since of programs and lectures at the Library of Anne Spencer Circle [$1,000–$2,499] ing institution, prepare for tests, prepare Master the ACT Assessment Law, Justice and Crime; New Deal; Places; the late 1600s. Badger is a naturalist, newspaper Virginia to provide open access to information [Poet, Librarian and Teacher] Benefits include: admissions materials and more. All results Master the GMAT CAT Politics (The Left, The Right); Protest; Race columnist, magazine contributor, guidebook and educational and cultural opportunities. All of the above, plus Behind-the-Scenes VA can be collected and stored in personalized Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Ethnicity; Religion; Society (Commentary, writer and nature essayist. By becoming a member of The Semper Treasures Tour • Discounted rate of 10% on toolboxes created right from the Testing and Postal Clerk and Carrier Lifestyles, Programs); Sports and Leisure and Salt Tide: Cycles and Currents of Life Virginia Society you will both support criti- LVA usage for meetings, events, etc. Education Reference Center, allowing users State Trooper Exam Women and Gender. Also included in the first along the Coast (Woodstock, Vt.: cal Library programs, as well as receive bene- to keep the information they need where it Further, the Testing & Education volume are separate lists of articles and contrib- Countryman Press, 1999), and Bellevue fits and special invitations to events that only Sherwood Anderson Circle [$2,500– can always be found quickly and easily. This Reference Center includes "Essay Edge" and utors. A detailed cross index can be found in Farm: Exploring Virginia’s Coastal Countryside members can enjoy. There are a variety of $4,999] [Novelist] Benefits include: All of electronic collection is available to all visitors "Resume Edge" to help users organize and volume two, along with a timeline that begins (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, membership levels including a program craft- the above, plus choice of LVA Publication to the Library of Virginia building and avail- write application essays and resumes. with the economic Panic of 1893 and concludes 1997), are collections of essays in which ed for corporate donors that includes benefits with Bookplate/Discount of 20% on all LVA able by remote access to Virginia resident with the 1941 release of the motion picture Badger writes about Virginia’s barrier island tailored for the corporate community.* All Publications Library of Virginia cardholders. To check it Recent Acquisitions Citizen Kane. ecosystems, local lore and his family history. members are valued contributors to the out, go to the “What We Do” section of our Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, Robert S. McElvaine states in his preface that this In Clams: How to Find, Catch and Cook Them Library and important members of the com- Ellen Glasgow Circle [$5,000-–$9,999] web site and scroll down to “Services for McElvaine, editor in chief. New York: encyclopedia was written with the intent “ to (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, munity of supporters who believe the Library [Novelist] Benefits include: All of the above, Teachers and Students,” or click on Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. provide the widest audience, both the gener- 2002), the author, a veteran clammer, gives a is an essential component of the fabric of plus 2 Complimentary Tickets to LVA “Databases” on the Reading Room Public Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and the al public and students of history, with acces- natural history of clams, the best ways to Virginia’s history and culture. To that end, Celebration Gala • Invitation to Special Pre- Access Computers. New Deal, James Ciment, editor. Armonk, sible information and analysis, reflecting the clam and recipes. membership levels are named for noteworthy Gala Reception with VA Authors • $500 The Center includes information on N.Y.: Sharpe Reference, 2001. latest scholarship, on an extensive variety of A Naturalist’s Guide to the Virginia Coast Virginian authors whose work has made an Credit given for LVA Usage for meetings, private high schools, undergraduate and The worldwide Great Depression, last- topics related to the Great Depression.” In (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, enduring and significant impact on Virginia. events, etc. graduate programs as well as executive educa- ing from 1929 to the early part of World War this task, the Encyclopedia of the Great 1996), is a guidebook that gives wildlife view- Benefits vary according to the membership tion programs, searchable by location, major, II, stands as one of the most devastating eco- Depression has succeeded. ing opportunities, hiking suggestions, maps, level, and the levels and the benefits associat- Douglas Southall Freeman Circle tuition, sports and more. It also features nomic and social events of the 20th century. The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and information on when to visit places from ed with each level are listed below. [$10,000 or more] [Editor and Author] interactive online practice tests for preparatory Two reference works attempt to facilitate an and the New Deal, complements McElvaine’s False Cape State Park to Assateague National Benefits include: All of the above, plus one free examinations including entrance exams and understanding of that time. publication. The editor, James Ciment, has Seashore. The University of Virginia Press has MEMBERSHIP LEVELS rental of LVA facilities • 4 Complimentary certification and licensing tests, including: The recently published two-volume produced reference works about such topics as recently reprinted this title. Tickets to Celebration Gala • Accommodations ACT (American College Test) Encyclopedia of the Great Depression captures American immigration, post–World War II In his newest work, Virginia’s Wild Side: Capt. John Smith Circle [$35–$99] in Historic Richmond Hotel for Celebration CLEP (College Level Examination Program) the enormity of the economic downturn in a conflicts, African American history and Fifty Outdoor Adventures from the Mountains [Jamestown Leader and Historian, who GED (General Education Development) collection of 542 articles. As editor in chief, American third political parties. In this work, to the Ocean (Charlottesville: University of wrote the first history of Virginia] Benefits GMAT CAT (Graduate Management Robert S. McElvaine, the Elizabeth Ciment provides a brief historical essay about Virginia Press, 2003), Badger discovers “the include: Subscription to Quarterly Events To join The Semper Virginia Society or for Admission Test) Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters and the Great Depression in his introduction, great wealth of wonderful places Virginia has Calendar & LVA Newsletter • Advance additional information, please contact GRE® CAT (Graduate Record Examination Chair of the Department of History at along with an explanation of the arrangement to offer.” Among the experiences the author Notice of Lectures, Readings, and Events • Heather Krajewski at 804-692-3591 or General Test) Millsaps College, has alphabetically arranged of the encyclopedia. The two volumes are writes about are joining the Tour de Recognition in LVA’s Annual Report . SAT (Scholastic Achievement Test). the entries from 270 international scholars. divided into six independent sections. Volume Chesapeake in Mathews County, hiking the The Testing & Education Reference Varying in length from 300 to 5,000 words, one contains thematic essays, general entries, Chessie Trail along the Maury River and Sir Francis Wyatt Circle [$100–$249] *For information about the Corporate Partners Center also includes PDF versions of respect- these articles, many of which are accompa- government and international affairs. Volume looking for salamanders on the slopes of [Poet and Colonial Governor of Virginia] Program of The Semper Virginia Society, please ed college and career handbooks. Among nied by photographs, manage to convey the two continues with biographies and historical Whitetop Mountain. Benefits include: All of the above, plus a special contact Rick Golembeski at 804-692-3813 or these useful publications are: impact of the Great Depression to the reader. documents. The documents in each section gift with membership .

5 are arranged chronologically, beginning with FROM THE REFERENCE DESK OF THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA Hoover’s November 23, 1929, Appeal to Library of Virginia Foundation Governors for Stimulation of State Public Works, and ending with Roosevelt’s December 8, 1941, War Message to Congress. Launches New Giving Society: Did you know…? Independently, the Encyclopedia of the When the elections are over, if you are still curious about how the vote went, you can visit the Great Depression and the Encyclopedia of the The Semper Virginia Society Federal Election Commission at or the Virginia State Great Depression and the New Deal provide a The Library of Virginia Foundation is delight- Mary Johnston Circle [$250–$499] Board of Elections at to see how Virginians voted. In case you valuable overview of the Great Depression. ed to announce The Semper Virginia [Novelist, Short Story Writer and Cookbook are more curious, and you want to research who gave what to whom you can go to the Center Together, they depict most of the major Society—a new membership society designed Editor] Benefits include: All of the above, for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets web site at . This directory details of that politically, socially and eco- to foster a close relationship with the Library’s plus Discount of 10% on LVA Publications • of political candidates traces contributions from individuals and special interests. Its counter- nomically turbulent era. supporters and the mission of the Library of Subscription to Quarterly VA Authors part for Virginia is The Virginia Public Access Project at . Virginia. The Library of Virginia is the Reading List There you may track down campaign contributions and expenditures reported by candidates From the Virginia Authors Room guardian of the world’s most comprehensive for state office. The database can be also searched by donor and vendor. The Virginia Authors Room, a browsing and circulating collection of titles by writers who collection of materials about Virginia and Clementina Rind Circle [$500–$999] early America and The Semper Virginia [Editor and first female Printer] Benefits Thomson/Peterson’s Testing and ACT Assessment® Success Volume one includes an outline that have resided or currently live within the state, Society has an important role to play in help- include: All of the above, plus Invitations to Education Reference Center AP Success Series groups the entry titles under these conceptual is located on the second floor of the Library ing to maintain and grow these collections and special Receptions & Openings • Priority seat- The Library of Virginia now provides online Civil Service Handbook parts: Agriculture; Biographies; Business; of Virginia. One of these authors whose work to work to preserve these exceptional books, ing at Lectures & Events • Ability to rent LVA access to the electronic database, the Testing Clerical Exams Culture; Economic Conditions; Environment; can be found in the Virginia Authors Room maps, art and artifacts. In addition, member- facilities for meetings, events, etc. and Education Reference Center. In one con- EMT Basic Certification Exam Events; Government; Intellectual Trends and is Curtis J. Badger, a native of Virginia’s ship gifts will help make possible a vast array venient resource, users can search for a learn- LSAT Success Developments; International Situation; Labor; Eastern Shore where his family has lived since of programs and lectures at the Library of Anne Spencer Circle [$1,000–$2,499] ing institution, prepare for tests, prepare Master the ACT Assessment Law, Justice and Crime; New Deal; Places; the late 1600s. Badger is a naturalist, newspaper Virginia to provide open access to information [Poet, Librarian and Teacher] Benefits include: admissions materials and more. All results Master the GMAT CAT Politics (The Left, The Right); Protest; Race columnist, magazine contributor, guidebook and educational and cultural opportunities. All of the above, plus Behind-the-Scenes VA can be collected and stored in personalized Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Ethnicity; Religion; Society (Commentary, writer and nature essayist. By becoming a member of The Semper Treasures Tour • Discounted rate of 10% on toolboxes created right from the Testing and Postal Clerk and Carrier Lifestyles, Programs); Sports and Leisure and Salt Tide: Cycles and Currents of Life Virginia Society you will both support criti- LVA usage for meetings, events, etc. Education Reference Center, allowing users State Trooper Exam Women and Gender. Also included in the first along the Coast (Woodstock, Vt.: cal Library programs, as well as receive bene- to keep the information they need where it Further, the Testing & Education volume are separate lists of articles and contrib- Countryman Press, 1999), and Bellevue fits and special invitations to events that only Sherwood Anderson Circle [$2,500– can always be found quickly and easily. This Reference Center includes "Essay Edge" and utors. A detailed cross index can be found in Farm: Exploring Virginia’s Coastal Countryside members can enjoy. There are a variety of $4,999] [Novelist] Benefits include: All of electronic collection is available to all visitors "Resume Edge" to help users organize and volume two, along with a timeline that begins (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, membership levels including a program craft- the above, plus choice of LVA Publication to the Library of Virginia building and avail- write application essays and resumes. with the economic Panic of 1893 and concludes 1997), are collections of essays in which ed for corporate donors that includes benefits with Bookplate/Discount of 20% on all LVA able by remote access to Virginia resident with the 1941 release of the motion picture Badger writes about Virginia’s barrier island tailored for the corporate community.* All Publications Library of Virginia cardholders. To check it Recent Acquisitions Citizen Kane. ecosystems, local lore and his family history. members are valued contributors to the out, go to the “What We Do” section of our Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, Robert S. McElvaine states in his preface that this In Clams: How to Find, Catch and Cook Them Library and important members of the com- Ellen Glasgow Circle [$5,000-–$9,999] web site and scroll down to “Services for McElvaine, editor in chief. New York: encyclopedia was written with the intent “ to (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, munity of supporters who believe the Library [Novelist] Benefits include: All of the above, Teachers and Students,” or click on Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. provide the widest audience, both the gener- 2002), the author, a veteran clammer, gives a is an essential component of the fabric of plus 2 Complimentary Tickets to LVA “Databases” on the Reading Room Public Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and the al public and students of history, with acces- natural history of clams, the best ways to Virginia’s history and culture. To that end, Celebration Gala • Invitation to Special Pre- Access Computers. New Deal, James Ciment, editor. Armonk, sible information and analysis, reflecting the clam and recipes. membership levels are named for noteworthy Gala Reception with VA Authors • $500 The Center includes information on N.Y.: Sharpe Reference, 2001. latest scholarship, on an extensive variety of A Naturalist’s Guide to the Virginia Coast Virginian authors whose work has made an Credit given for LVA Usage for meetings, private high schools, undergraduate and The worldwide Great Depression, last- topics related to the Great Depression.” In (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, enduring and significant impact on Virginia. events, etc. graduate programs as well as executive educa- ing from 1929 to the early part of World War this task, the Encyclopedia of the Great 1996), is a guidebook that gives wildlife view- Benefits vary according to the membership tion programs, searchable by location, major, II, stands as one of the most devastating eco- Depression has succeeded. ing opportunities, hiking suggestions, maps, level, and the levels and the benefits associat- Douglas Southall Freeman Circle tuition, sports and more. It also features nomic and social events of the 20th century. The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and information on when to visit places from ed with each level are listed below. [$10,000 or more] [Editor and Author] interactive online practice tests for preparatory Two reference works attempt to facilitate an and the New Deal, complements McElvaine’s False Cape State Park to Assateague National Benefits include: All of the above, plus one free examinations including entrance exams and understanding of that time. publication. The editor, James Ciment, has Seashore. The University of Virginia Press has MEMBERSHIP LEVELS rental of LVA facilities • 4 Complimentary certification and licensing tests, including: The recently published two-volume produced reference works about such topics as recently reprinted this title. Tickets to Celebration Gala • Accommodations ACT (American College Test) Encyclopedia of the Great Depression captures American immigration, post–World War II In his newest work, Virginia’s Wild Side: Capt. John Smith Circle [$35–$99] in Historic Richmond Hotel for Celebration CLEP (College Level Examination Program) the enormity of the economic downturn in a conflicts, African American history and Fifty Outdoor Adventures from the Mountains [Jamestown Leader and Historian, who GED (General Education Development) collection of 542 articles. As editor in chief, American third political parties. In this work, to the Ocean (Charlottesville: University of wrote the first history of Virginia] Benefits GMAT CAT (Graduate Management Robert S. McElvaine, the Elizabeth Ciment provides a brief historical essay about Virginia Press, 2003), Badger discovers “the include: Subscription to Quarterly Events To join The Semper Virginia Society or for Admission Test) Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters and the Great Depression in his introduction, great wealth of wonderful places Virginia has Calendar & LVA Newsletter • Advance additional information, please contact GRE® CAT (Graduate Record Examination Chair of the Department of History at along with an explanation of the arrangement to offer.” Among the experiences the author Notice of Lectures, Readings, and Events • Heather Krajewski at 804-692-3591 or General Test) Millsaps College, has alphabetically arranged of the encyclopedia. The two volumes are writes about are joining the Tour de Recognition in LVA’s Annual Report . SAT (Scholastic Achievement Test). the entries from 270 international scholars. divided into six independent sections. Volume Chesapeake in Mathews County, hiking the The Testing & Education Reference Varying in length from 300 to 5,000 words, one contains thematic essays, general entries, Chessie Trail along the Maury River and Sir Francis Wyatt Circle [$100–$249] *For information about the Corporate Partners Center also includes PDF versions of respect- these articles, many of which are accompa- government and international affairs. Volume looking for salamanders on the slopes of [Poet and Colonial Governor of Virginia] Program of The Semper Virginia Society, please ed college and career handbooks. Among nied by photographs, manage to convey the two continues with biographies and historical Whitetop Mountain. Benefits include: All of the above, plus a special contact Rick Golembeski at 804-692-3813 or these useful publications are: impact of the Great Depression to the reader. documents. The documents in each section gift with membership .

5 Day Receives Yoshiyama Award for Craig County Recent Scholarship from BOARD PROPOSES Library Effort NEW REGULATION Caitlyn Day, the young woman who spear- the Library’s Collections The Library Board has adopted a pro- headed recent efforts to establish a public Researchers throughout the commonwealth, she breaks down. “I am so homesick I don’t posed new regulation to provide direc- library in Craig County, was one of 10 high across the country, and around the world know what to do,” she confessed. “Mama I tion on the appropriate destruction of school students to receive a 2004 Yoshiyama mine the Library of Virginia’s rich and varied declare I do wish I could come home. I do public records containing social security Award. This award recognizes exemplary collections for pathbreaking research. In the hate to be sterilized but if it is the only way to numbers whether these records are in service and community involvement rather last two years, Archives Research Services has come home I absolutely would be willing for analog or digital format. This regulation than academic achievement. In 1935, a photographer for the Department of Education snapped a picture of students at Disputanta received more than eighty permission-to-pub- them to cut my head off.” is intended to help prevent the crime of Day was selected by a diverse commit- School in Prince George County. Researchers today use images like this one, from the School Buildings lish requests from authors to use archival Tazewell was one of the poorest areas in the identity theft where an imposter obtains tee from 151 eligible nominations submitted Service Photographs Collection, to study Virginia's architectural and cultural history. materials in traditional ways (including books, state. In 1930, 2,464 men worked in the coal and uses another persons’ personal by teachers, community leaders and others articles, exhibits, historic markers and disser- mines there, along with nine women. The information in a way that involves fraud directly affiliated with youth organizations. Collections… concerning the trials, tell Edith letters written by Walter Reed appear on a web tations) and not-so-traditional ways—such as colony was nearly 180 miles away, in Amherst or deception. A Notice of Intended In choosing Day, the committee cited her Maxwell’s story. After several appeals, defense exhibit and digital archive on Yellow Fever web exhibits, advertisements, school-curricu- County, two miles from Lynchburg, near the Regulatory Action on these new regula- efforts to establish a …see Loudoun, pg. 6 lawyers cast enough doubt on the conviction mounted by the Health Sciences Library at the that Edith Maxwell was pardoned late in University of Virginia. lum CDs, a lapel button and a even musical town of Madison Heights. Doctors there per- tions will be filed and the Notice and 1941 and left Virginia. Her inmate photo- At the Library of Virginia, more than 96 theater production. Pick up Israel on the formed an average of four eugenic sterilizations proposed regulation will appear in the Loudoun… open to researchers during this graph will be reproduced in the new book million manuscript items tell the stories of Appomattox, settle in your seat for Christmas a week; in 1929, the colony held 1,044 patients, Register and on the Virginia Regulatory time, but we encourage interested parties to The Library’s resources are being tapped the famous and the not-so-famous; they illu- of Swing or stroll though an exhibit on the 575 women, only one from Tazewell County— Town Hall later this fall. For more infor- monitor the agency’s web site for informa- in other innovative ways. A scholar in Italy is minate events and allow us to see the past in American Revolution’s forgotten patriots and Martha Shrader. We don’t know the entire mation about the proposed new regula- tion. In addition, some material, because of writing a book on Writers’ Project interviews a different way; and they answer researchers’ you’ll find some of the unique materials story, but by April 18, 1930, when the Tazewell tion regarding the destruction of public its condition or importance, will be con- with British immigrants, using the Library’s endless and always-changing questions. The housed in the Archives. County census was taken, she was home with records containing social security num- served and/or microfilmed in house. online WPA Life Histories. A digital interac- Archives staff helps people explore the rich Authors requesting permission to pub- her parents, Maggie and Lewis. On May 9, bers, please contact Robert Nawrocki, Incorporated by act of Assembly in 1849 tive exhibit mounted by the Foundation for documentary heritage of Virginia; we’ve all lish include academics from a wide variety of 1930, she married coal miner David Hamitt. director, Records Management and as the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Historic Christ Church on the houses of learned that treasures come in many different institutions; art and theater historians; Another recent permission request illu- Imaging Services, 800 East Broad Street, Loudoun County, the company still insures Robert Carter explores the histories of 22 guises, from a tiny letter to a table-sized map archaeologists; and archivists (the Society of minates life in Great Depression–era south- Richmond, VA 23219; 804-692-3505; thousands of clients in the region, including homes (and features Mutual Assurance Society to a recording of the Old Dominion Barn American Archivists will feature some of the western Virginia. The trials of Edith Maxwell . the descendants of its first client. The materials, policies housed at the Library). Materials from Dance. In the end, they are all part of a story Library’s drawings and plans—by Charles are the subject of a University of Illinois Press spanning the years 1865–1954, document the Library’s collections also appear on the that matters to someone. Gillette of the Executive Mansion—in its book, titled Never Seen the Moon, forthcoming the value of farm commodities in the web site for the Dolley Madison Project at the —submitted by Jennifer Davis McDaid, new guide, Managing Architectural Records). in 2005. On November 19, 1935, a jury of Library Acquires post–Civil War era, the introduction of the Virginia Center for Digital History, and the Archival and Information Services Recently-published books featuring the 12 men in Wise County convicted Edith automobile and a host of other topics. Library’s collections include innovative biog- Maxwell of murdering her father and sentenced Records from Further, they demonstrate the importance of raphies and scholarly studies from Oxford her to 25 years in prison. Maxwell’s case local business and organizational records and University Press, Norton and Knopf; careful- briefly became national news, as newspapers, Loudoun Mutual what they can reveal about our history. ly researched family histories, local histories including the Washington Post, produced a In 1911 the Library acquired the busi- and church histories; a documentary history stream of articles to encourage people to raise Insurance Co. ness records of William and David Allason of of the Supreme Court; and collections of the money to appeal the verdict. In mid-September, archivists from the Library King George, Stafford and Frederick counties, papers of Nathanael Greene, John Marshall, At age 21, Edith Maxwell lived with her of Virginia traveled to Waterford in Loudoun marking the inception of the Library’s diverse Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison. parents and two younger sisters in Pound, County, Virginia, to retrieve an extensive busi- business records collection that now includes These raw materials of the past allow about 10 miles from Wise. After attending ness records collection. In the quaint Northern the records of more 350 businesses, ranging researchers to delve into difficult and elusive East Radford Teachers’ College for three Virginia town, they met with Chris Shipe, from those of the Carter family’s Shirley topics. One forthcoming documentary reader, years, she taught 40 pupils in a one-room President/ CEO of the Loudoun Mutual Plantation to a single daybook kept by a tailor American Women’s Letters, 1776 to the Present, school. One night in July 1935, she returned Insurance Company. The company’s 1948 in New Kent County. contains a 1929 letter from the Executive home after dark with Raymond Meade. Her headquarters, a Colonial Revival building on a The Library of Virginia encourages others Papers. Maggie Shrader was writing from the father, Trigg Maxwell, a blacksmith and pipe hill above Waterford, housed nearly 200 years with similar records to contact us regarding town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell County, to inspector, was drunk and threatened to beat of insurance records, ledgers, maps and archi- donation. Through the generosity of citizens Governor Harry F. Byrd asking him to release her for being out late. tectural drawings documenting the history of like Chris Shipe and his co-workers at the her 16-year-old daughter, Martha, from a state- Later that night Trigg Maxwell died, and Loudoun and the surrounding counties. Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company, the run hospital, called the State Colony for the circumstantial evidence suggested that Over three days, the archivists carefully Library of Virginia is aided in its efforts to pre- Epileptics and the Feeble-Minded. Edith Maxwell had killed him. Researcher boxed and packed the 110 cubic feet of loose serve our collective past. “I am a poor brokenhearted mother,” she Sharon Hatfield used records from the material and 121 volumes for transfer back to —submitted by Vincent Brooks, wrote, “I know you can help me.” She Governor’s Office to trace her case and tease Richmond. They also created a preliminary Collection Management Services enclosed a four-page letter that her daughter out the details of family life in a small town, database on-site for collection control. Over had recently written home as proof that she where alcohol and violence may have led to the coming year, the records will be rehoused VISIT US ON THE WEB AT was not feebleminded. Martha asks her moth- murder. Petitions, letters, postcards and and described by Private Papers archivists www.lva.lib.va.us Librarian of Virginia Nolan T. Yelich and Dr. Franklin E. “Bud” Robeson flank new Library Board er to come visit her and to bring Christmas telegrams received by the governor, along from the Library’s Description Branch. The members Chip Woodrum, Lewis F. Powell III and Stephen E. Story during a recent tour of the Library. presents, and reports the weather is fine. Then with materials …see Collections, pg. 6 material will not be …see Loudoun, pg. 6 3 Awards… generous teacher and mentor, “Ask a Government Information Librarian” one who has often gone out of his way to assist the careers of young writers. Library Acquires VEPCO Company Records Beginning in November 2004, the staff of the Retired Richmond dentist Dr. Francis In October 2003, following Hurricane Isabel the Richmond area. There are also publica- Aside from the collection’s obvious worth State and Federal Documents Program of the M. Foster received the first annual Semper when the lights were out for much of central tions containing information about legal as a resource from which to study the day-to- Library of Virginia will participate in a Virginia Award, given by the Semper Virginia, the Description Services Branch at the cases in Virginia localities concerning the reg- day conditions experienced by employees, national pilot project to provide virtual refer- Virginia Society, the Library of Virginia Library of Virginia was in the midst of a mildly ulation of jitney buses. Correspondence in other files document the societal changes ence service for patrons seeking government Foundation’s new membership group estab- ironic task—the processing of the records of the the general counsel’s files notes a number of effected by the increased role of women in the information. The Library of Virginia and the lished to support the continuation of excel- Virginia Electric and Power Company accidents between automobiles and street- business world. Of particular note are a large University of Virginia are the only Virginia lence at the Library of Virginia. As treasurer (VEPCO). While Dominion Virginia Power cars: two modern transportation forms often group of advertisements from the 1950s and libraries participating in the pilot program. and an original member of the Virginia line crews and other power company employees violently gnashing metal in their effort to 1960s for electrical appliances that visually Sponsored by the Illinois State Library, Center for the Book Board at the Library of toiled through the night to repair the electrical share the same roads. exhibit the dichotomy between the women’s with project coordination by John Schuler, Virginia, Dr. Foster was a driving force disaster caused by Mother Nature, the VEPCO While the archive does much to reveal the movement and the struggle of the business Documents Librarian, University of Illinois behind the Virginia Authors Room at the business records were unveiling reminders of increased role of transportation and the electri- community to embrace this change (see at Chicago, the program invited a select Library of Virginia involving the com- the anguish created from past storms. Photos cal industry in Virginia, the VEPCO records image). One image shows a woman puckering number of federal and state depository munity in plans for this space dedicated to revealed the Richmond and Petersburg flood also humanize the efforts of the people behind with eyes closed and suggests, “Get Her an libraries to participate in the six-month trial. the state’s literary heritage. devastation following Hurricane Camille in these industries. The lawsuit files of the Virginia Electric Dryer and See What She’ll Do.” The project sponsors are working with Virginia author David Baldacci served August 1969 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Railway and Power Company general counsel Further proof of the influx of women into the OCLC to establish a collaborative, multi- as host for the October 16 gala celebration Legal files detailed the events resulting in the allude to the often dangerous conditions faced industry can be located in the photographs of state virtual reference service using OCLC’s and May-Lily Lee, senior producer and deaths of linemen restoring power during women welders during World War II. QuestionPoint software. Initially conceived on the Library of Virginia’s web site during host of Virginia Currents, Dr. William G. storms in the 1910s and 1920s. These archival The VEPCO files denote a business shift with 10 participating libraries covering 40 the pilot project trial. Thomas, director of the Virginia Center files seemed to commiserate silently with the in the 1950s not only to include women, but hours of live, national, reference service, In preparation for implementing the for Digital History, and Elizabeth Seydel plight of the victims of Hurricane Isabel. also away from rural agriculture and toward enthusiastic response of the government doc- trial project, Government Documents staff Morgan, a Virginia poet, read selections Now, a year removed from Hurricane Virginia suburbs, business offices and urban uments community has led to participation members at the Library of Virginia have par- from each of the nine finalists’ books. Isabel, the Description Services Branch has industry. Broadside advertisements from the by 33 libraries, including libraries on the ticipated in several conference calls, and Virginia authors Dean King and Phaedra completed the project to process these disaster- mid-1950s encourage farmers and other rural West Coast and Hawaii, and possibly as received QuestionPoint software training Hise presented the People’s Choice Awards related documents along with the rest of the Virginians to purchase electrical appliances or much as 66 hours of live chat and 24 hour e- provided through the web and teleconferencing to Edward Jones for The Known World and vast volume of materials that comprise the update their homes with electric wiring. Over mail service. It is expected that each partici- capabilities. All software and teleconferencing Elizabeth Varon for Southern Lady, Yankee VEPCO business records. The enormous time these advertisements become more and pating library will only have to staff the calls have been supported through the Spy. The People’s Choice Awards were pre- amount of material consists not only of the more focused on the suburban home and the “virtual” national reference desk about three Illinois State Library. sented by the Library in partnership with records of VEPCO, but also contains the files urban business office. Few advertisements from hours per week, a minimum commitment for The project will try to answer several the James River Writers Festival. The win- the company inherited from its many prede- the late 1960s and early 1970s concern farming maximum reward. questions during its six-month duration, such ners were chosen by readers who voted in cessors and subsidiaries including the Virginia or rural agribusiness interests. The target audience for the program is as: Is this a model for a multi-state collabora- bookstores and libraries in Virginia and Railway and Power Company and the Virginia A project to conserve and rehouse the individuals interested in working with a tive project? Does the service work as well for online through the Library’s and James Passenger and Power Company. The files span more than 500 minute books and ledgers in librarian to locate, use or seek specific gov- dial-up users as for those with more band- River Writers Festival web sites. the period from about 1849 through 1995. the collection is currently underway and ernment information about programs, servic- width? And most important, does this collab- The 8th Annual Library of Virginia The types of material include advertisement should conclude in the early fall. These vol- es and policies. Library participants share the orative approach effectively improve Literary Awards Celebration will be held at posters, executives’ correspondence, stock umes comprise minutes and other informa- belief that government information is a core government information services to the pub- the Library of Virginia on October 15, ledgers, general legal counsel files, board of tion concerning more than 130 of the source of reliable information for researchers. lic in anyway? 2005. For a complete list of this year’s nom- directors’ minute books, photographs, railroad predecessor and subsidiary companies that The World Wide Web offers a chance for inees and a nomination form for next year’s and trolley line right-of-way plats, company melded over time to form the Virginia local depository libraries to work across state —submitted by Mary S. Clark, awards, please visit the Library’s web site newsletters and pamphlets and even antiquated Electric and Power Company. Study of these lines and encourage wider public access to all Collection Management Services at . researchers will uncover these materials’ worth VEPCO advertisement (ca. 1960s) within a number of fields, most notably the tronically and in more traditional collections. as an invaluable tool to study the development courses of industrial, corporate, social and The QuestionPoint service trial will allow of public transportation and electric service in by trolley drivers, linemen and other laborers. women’s history. These ledgers together with depository libraries to meet their charge to Virginia, the social effect of the company on Trolley drivers, for instance, were on many an the other files in the VEPCO archive are a deliver government document information to Working Out the people of Virginia and the rise of a business occasion trapped under cars, electrocuted, or superb addition to the business records col- the public and to augment the visibility of world shifting from agricentric to meeting the seriously maimed following streetcar accidents. lection at the Library of Virginia. government documents service at participat- WOMEN’S demands of the emerging modern world. Medical examination certificates found within Researchers interested in locating files in ing libraries. Within the VEPCO collection rest a the Virginia Railway and Power Company the VEPCO archive should consult the er Destiny HISTORY The QuestionPoint service will work number of items documenting the emergence Relief Association files relate the diseases and online finding aid at the Library of Virginia through a web site and e-mail link for asking in VIRGINIA of public transportation and electrical service injuries inflicted on the employees and the web site. Go to the homepage at questions. Participating libraries will develop in Virginia. An expansive assortment of pho- amount of work time and pay missed because of www.lva.lib.va.us, click on “What We Have,” a rotating schedule for responding to Internet tographs provides visual evidence of the con- their afflictions. Examples of the hard work per- perform an accession number search for chat questions or refer specialized questions struction of power grids and electrical formed by the welders, telephone operators, “37345,” and then click on the appropriate to a specific participating library. The Exhibition at The Library of Virginia substations across Virginia. Right-of-way customer service technicians, line crews, execu- links to view the finding aid. QuestionPoint chat box will appear on the August 2, 2004—March 26, 2005 plats found in the collection denote the loca- tives and other employees of VEPCO also sur- —submitted by Alex Lorch, “Government Records and Resources” page tion of proposed streetcar lines throughout vive in the photograph files. Collection Management Services 7 Day… public library in Craig County, a rural county of 5,500 people. Day helped Library of Virginia Develops Old organize the Craig County Friends of the Library Inc., a nonprofit community organi- Dominion Songsters Exhibition zation with a goal of opening the first public The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce Virginia blues and highlights the importance of library in Craig County — the only county in the development of the traveling panel exhibi- the East Coast or Piedmont blues tradition and Issue 165 • September/October 2004 Virginia without a library. She has taken the tion Old Dominion Songsters: Traditional Blues guitar style. In addition to publishing a lead in collecting books, organizing fundrais- Official Newsletter in Virginia. Using rare photographs and images brochure on Virginia blues, the Society has ers, speaking with other groups to gain sup- of important blues recordings, Old Dominion launched an ongoing campaign to erect state port and renovating the building. She also Songsters offers biographies of Virginia blues historical markers. Two artists—Luke Jordan in helped contact state and federal legislators. JONES, LEBSOCK AND NYSTROM RECEIVE AWARDS legends such as John Jackson, William Moore, Lynchburg and Carl Martin in Big Stone The Hitachi Foundation named 10 high John Cephas, Carl Martin and Stephen Tarter. Gap—have been honored with markers. The Francis Foster and George Garrett Recognized school seniors as recipients of the 2004 Further, the exhibition examines the social Library of Virginia’s 2002 exhibition, Virginia Yoshiyama Award. The 2004 Yoshiyama The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the winners of the 7th a Southern Town, won the Bancroft Prize in 1985. The recipient of a milieu of blues music in Virginia, including the Roots Music: Creating and Conserving Tradition, Award recipients will participate in a leader- Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards. The winner in the fiction coveted MacArthur fellowship in 1992, she is one of the foremost house party tradition, music in the mountains also contributed to the content of Old ship retreat and be honored at a luncheon to category is Edward Jones for The Known World, published by scholars in the field of American women’s history. Lebsock is current- and its connection to old-time music and the Dominion Songsters. The exhibition, which pre- take place at the National Press Club in Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The non-fiction ly Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University. She migration of artists to northern cities. miered at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Washington, D.C., in October. Each will winner is Suzanne Lebsock for A Murder in Virginia, published by W. is also the author of Virginia Women, 1600–1945: “A Share of Old Dominion Songsters developed out of Cultural Center on September 10, 2004, was receive a $5,000 gift. W. Norton & Company. Debra Nystrom won in the poetry category Honour,” published in 1987 by the Library of Virginia. an ongoing project sponsored by the James supported by the Virginia Foundation for the The Hitachi Foundation is a nonprofit, for Torn Sky, published by Sarabande Books. In A Murder in Virginia, Lebsock examines issues of race and River Blues Society and led by Library of Humanities and Public Policy, BB&T, Blues in philanthropic organization incorporated in Edward Jones was born in Washington, D.C., and earned his gender in the aftermath of a gruesome murder that took place in June Virginia historian and blues guitarist Gregg the ’Burg Inc., the Library of Virginia and The the District of Columbia in 1985 with an master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Virginia. He has 1895 on a quiet farm in Lunenburg County. When a white woman of Kimball. Begun in 2001, the Old Dominion James River Blues Society of Lynchburg. endowment from Hitachi Ltd. in Tokyo. The taught creative writing at the University of Virginia, George Mason some means was murdered in her farmyard in 1895, four poor African Songsters project honors the founders of Foundation’s purpose is to enhance the well- University, the University of Maryland and Princeton University. He Americans (three of them women) immediately fell under suspicion. being of economically and socially isolated has won the PEN/Hemingway Lebsock takes us deep into the whirl- BOARD SETS MEETING SCHEDULE Award and was a finalist for the wind that surrounded this case, as people throughout the United States. For The Library Board has set its meeting schedule for 2004–2005. All meetings will be held at the additional information about the Yoshiyama Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. The meetings are open to the public. National Book Award for his debut blacks organized to secure justice for Award or The Hitachi Foundation, visit their The next meeting of the Board will occur on November 15 at 10:30 AM. Subsequent meetings collection of short stories, Lost in the accused. A Murder in Virginia web site at . will be held on January 27, 2005; March 14, 2005; and June 13, 2005. the City. Jones recently was award- won the 2004 Parkman Prize from ed one of 23 MacArthur fellow- the Society of American Historians. ships, a five-year grant to The poetry winner, Debra individuals who show exceptional Nystrom for Torn Sky, earned her NON-PROFIT ORG. merit and promise for continued bachelor’s degree at the University of U.S. POSTAGE and enhanced creative work. The South Dakota and her master’s of PAID awards are commonly called the fine arts in the Goddard/Warren 800 East Broad Street RICHMOND, VA MacArthur genius awards. Wilson College program. Her first Richmond, VA 23219-8000 PERMIT NO. 1088 The Known World received the book of poems, A Quarter Turn, 2004 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It appeared in 1991. Her poetry has also won the National Book Critics been published in numerous Circle Award and the 2004 People’s anthologies and journals, including George Garrett, winner of the Literary Lifetime Achievement Award; Choice Award for Fiction and was a Debra Nystrom, winner of the Poetry Award; Elizabeth Varon, winner of the American Poetry Review, the Yale finalist for the National Book the People’s Choice Fiction Prize; Suzanne Lebsock, winner of the Non- Review, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, Award. The Known World is set in fiction Award; Edward Jones, winner of the Fiction Award; and Dr. Francis and the Threepenny Review. She has antebellum Virginia and centers on M. Foster Sr., winner of the Semper Virginia Award, pose at the 7th received a Boatwright Prize from a black farmer and former slave Annual Library of Virginia Awards Celebration on October 16. Shenandoah and the Balch Prize for who later in life becomes a slave Poetry from the Virginia Quarterly owner himself. Jones’s novel explores the hypocrisy and tragedy of the Review and has been awarded two individual artist’s grants from the slave system and the anomaly of a former slave owning slaves. Virginia Commission for the Arts, a Yaddo Fellowship, a postgradu- Non-fiction win- ate fellowship in poetry from the University of Virginia and numer- ner Suzanne Lebsock ous Pushcart nominations. Nystrom lives in Charlottesville and is earned her bachelor’s associate professor of creative writing at the University of Virginia. degree from Carleton Debra Nystrom’s Torn Sky gives voice to the harsh histories of the 800 East Broad Street College and her mas- American West as well as the memories, losses and survivals in the Richmond, VA 23219-8000 ter’s and doctorate landscapes of the familiar—home and family. Her poems resonate (804)692-3592 • www.lva.lib.va.us from the University with compassion, spirituality and an elegant resilience. Janice M. Hathcock, Editor of Virginia. Her first Hollins University professor R. H. W. Dillard presented the Amy C. Winegardner, Graphic Designer Franklin E. Robeson, Board Chair book, The Free Literary Lifetime Achievement Award to George Garrett, his friend and Nolan T. Yelich, Librarian of Virginia Women of Petersburg: mentor. Regarded by his peers as a poet and writer of immense talent, Status and Culture in the multi-talented Garrett also is beloved as a …see Awards, pg. 2