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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The library is located at 800 East Broad Street, two blocks from the Virginia State Capitol building. It was formerly known as the Virginia State Library and as the Virginia State Library and Archives.
Formally founded by the Virginia General Assembly in 1823, the Library of Virginia organizes, cares for, and manages the state's collection of books and official records, many of which date back to the early colonial period. It houses what is believed to be the most comprehensive collection of materials on Virginia history, government and people available anywhere.
Although the Library of Virginia was officially established January 23, 1823, its history goes back to the collection of materials acquired for official use by the colonial Council and subsequent colonial and state authorities. The first permanent home of the library was a small room on the top floor of the State Capitol. The state's books and records eventually outgrew this space, and overflow books and documents were then stored in several rented locations across Richmond.
In an 1851 survey by the Smithsonian, the library was listed as having 14,000 volumes.
In 1892, the General Assembly provided for a new Virginia State Library on Capitol Square in what is today known as the Oliver Hill Building. Over the ensuing forty years, the library again outgrew that building, and in 1940 it moved to its third location at the edge of Capitol Square between 11th and Governor Streets (today the Patrick Henry Executive Office Building). It shared this space with the State Law Library, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the Virginia Department of Law, and the Office of the Attorney General.
The library moved to its current location at 800 East Broad Street in 1997. The old library buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and 2005, respectively. In addition to the main library building, the library manages the State Records Center in Henrico County where inactive, non-permanent records of state agencies and local governments are housed.
The library also supplies research and reference assistance to state officials; consulting services and training to state and local government agencies and to Virginia's public libraries; administers numerous federal, state, and local grant programs; provides educational programs and resources on Virginia history; and offers exhibitions, lectures, and book-signings.
The Library of Virginia houses one of the most comprehensive collections on Virginia, focusing on the varied past of the Commonwealth and documenting the lives of important and ordinary Virginians and their stories. The collections hold government records, private papers, manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs, ephemera and more, including millions of digital records.
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Library of Virginia AI simulator
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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The library is located at 800 East Broad Street, two blocks from the Virginia State Capitol building. It was formerly known as the Virginia State Library and as the Virginia State Library and Archives.
Formally founded by the Virginia General Assembly in 1823, the Library of Virginia organizes, cares for, and manages the state's collection of books and official records, many of which date back to the early colonial period. It houses what is believed to be the most comprehensive collection of materials on Virginia history, government and people available anywhere.
Although the Library of Virginia was officially established January 23, 1823, its history goes back to the collection of materials acquired for official use by the colonial Council and subsequent colonial and state authorities. The first permanent home of the library was a small room on the top floor of the State Capitol. The state's books and records eventually outgrew this space, and overflow books and documents were then stored in several rented locations across Richmond.
In an 1851 survey by the Smithsonian, the library was listed as having 14,000 volumes.
In 1892, the General Assembly provided for a new Virginia State Library on Capitol Square in what is today known as the Oliver Hill Building. Over the ensuing forty years, the library again outgrew that building, and in 1940 it moved to its third location at the edge of Capitol Square between 11th and Governor Streets (today the Patrick Henry Executive Office Building). It shared this space with the State Law Library, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the Virginia Department of Law, and the Office of the Attorney General.
The library moved to its current location at 800 East Broad Street in 1997. The old library buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and 2005, respectively. In addition to the main library building, the library manages the State Records Center in Henrico County where inactive, non-permanent records of state agencies and local governments are housed.
The library also supplies research and reference assistance to state officials; consulting services and training to state and local government agencies and to Virginia's public libraries; administers numerous federal, state, and local grant programs; provides educational programs and resources on Virginia history; and offers exhibitions, lectures, and book-signings.
The Library of Virginia houses one of the most comprehensive collections on Virginia, focusing on the varied past of the Commonwealth and documenting the lives of important and ordinary Virginians and their stories. The collections hold government records, private papers, manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs, ephemera and more, including millions of digital records.