Virginia Archives Month 2008 Events Calendar
Tuesday, October 7
Kick–off Breakfast and Reading of the Governor's Proclamation Declaring October Archives Month in Virginia
Time: 8:15–9:00 a.m.
Place: Pre–Function Hall, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St., Richmond
LVA Staff Only
Tuesday, October 7
Special Collections Open House and Exhibition Opening:
Ringing Far and Near: Student Music and Song at the College of William and Mary
Time: 3:00–5:00 PM
Place: College of William and Mary's Swem Library, Ukrop Way, Williamsburg
Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center presents an open house and exhibition opening. Ringing Far and Near: Student Music and Song at the College of William and Mary will highlight music on campus from the early 20th century to the present, including everything from the choir and ensembles sponsored by the Department of Music, to a cappella groups, the marching band, student rock bands, and everything in between.
Thursday, October 9
Book Talk and Signing:
Archives of the New Dominion and Uncovering Richmond's Gay and Lesbian Past
Time: Noon
Place: Library of Virginia Conference Rooms A–B, 800 East Broad St., Richmond
Alex Lorch, interim head of Special Collections and Archives, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, will speak about the Archives of the New Dominion project and its effort to locate, secure, and make accessible the history and archives of Central Virginia's African American, gay and lesbian, Latino/Latina, and women's activist communities. He will talk in greater detail about the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Richmonders whose stories were uncovered due to the efforts of the Archives of the New Dominion project. After the talk, Lorch will be available to sign copies of Lesbian and Gay Richmond, which he wrote with co-author Beth Marschak.
Wednesday, October 15
Lecture:
Unraveling the Stories of the Past: Women as Archivists in "Virginia's Historical Laboratory"
Time: Noon
Place: Library of Virginia Conference Rooms A–B, 800 East Broad St., Richmond
Library of Virginia archivist Jennifer Davis McDaid will talk about the experiences of women students from Westhampton College who worked as archival apprentices in the Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) from 1916 to 1924. State archivist Morgan P. Robinson trained the apprentices to be careful researchers and potential historians. Their experiences, glimpsed in the Library's annual reports, the occasional letter and newspaper article, and Robinson's personal papers, provide us with an intriguing snapshot of a time when change was coming quickly for women, for Virginia, and for the archival profession.
Thursday, October 16
Documentary Screening and Discussion:
Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South
Time: 7:00–9:30 PM
Place: Hollins University's Wyndham Robertson Library, Hollins Room, 3rd Floor, 7950 East Campus Drive, Roanoke
Join us for a screening of the documentary Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South (57 minutes) by James P. Crawford. The film traces the history and culture of tobacco in the Old Belt of Virginia. Based on interviews and oral histories of 26 Old Belt tobacco farming families, Down in the Old Belt reveals tobacco's historic decline in context to the land and its farming people. Following the screening, Crawford will discuss his research and answer questions. A reception will follow. This event is proudly sponsored by Roanoke Public Libraries, Hollins University, Roanoke College, and the History Museum of Western Virginia.
Tuesday, October 21
Archives Fair
Time: 11:00 AM–3:00 PM
Place: Virginia Historical Society, Cabell Gallery/Halsey Lecture Hall, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond
What do archivists do? What types of collections are at the archives and special collections libraries in Virginia? Representatives from several institutions will talk informally about their holdings, publicize collections, provide informational handouts, and answer questions for the general public.
Saturday, October 25
Friends of the Archives Richard Slatten Lecture Featuring Noted Speaker and Genealogist Patricia Law Hatcher
Time: 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Place: Library of Virginia Conference Rooms, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond
Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non–members, and $45 for admissions and membership.
Patricia Law Hatcher, FASG, a noted speaker and genealogist specializing in problem solving, has been asked to speak on the following topics:
Developing a Colonial Mindset
Evaluating Evidence–a Methodology for Every Day
"They Just Showed Up!" Where to Look When You Don't Know Where to Look
Power Tools–The Power is in You, Not the Tool.
Wednesday, October 29
Book Talk:
The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness
Time: Noon
Place: Library of Virginia Conference Rooms, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond
Author Jack El–Hai will discuss his groundbreaking new biography of neurologist and psychiatrist Walter Freeman, featured in the PBS documentary The Lobotomist. El–Hai, whose work is based in part on archival research in Freeman's personal papers at the George Washington University, takes readers into one of the darkest chapters of American medicine—the desperate attempt to treat the hundreds of thousands of psychiatric patients in need of help during the middle decades of the 20th century, before the introduction of effective psychiatric medication in the 1950s. A book sale and signing will follow the talk.
October 1–31
Archives Month Exhibition:
Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future: The Archival Footprint on Society
Place: Library of Virginia Lobby, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond
This exhibition highlights records documenting two major social movements in Virginia's history: the struggle for equal rights for women, including the right to vote; and the civil rights movement, particularly the onset of segregation and the slow road to desegregation.
Mid-October to February 2009
Archives Month Exhibition:
School Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia
Place: Old Dominion University's Perry Library Lobby, 4427 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk
As part of Archives Month and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of Massive Resistance, Old Dominion University Libraries will present the exhibition School Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia. A digital collection of this material is available online.
September 4, 11 & 18 and October 2
Oral History Workshop:
Recording Oral History: Technology and Techniques
Place: Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond
Contact Mary Virginia Currie, 804–342–9678.
