Advocacy and Achievement: VCU Hosts Archives Fair on Oct. 28

By Sue Robinson
VCU Libraries

October brings many things: cooler weather, changing leaves, football and Virginia Archives Month.
During the month, librarians and museum leaders across the state join in an effort to advocate for collecting, preserving and providing access to materials of enduring value. The 2011 theme is "Celebrating Advocacy for Archives."  And the public is invited to observe this month by attending the lectures, book talks, tours and other events hosted by VCU and local institutions.

The big event in metro Richmond is Friday, Oct. 28. At the Archives Fair at James Branch Cabell Library, representatives from archives around Virginia will be available to talk about their collections and institutions and to assist with research needs. The Virginia fair introduces students, educators, historians and genealogists to primary source materials preserved in area museums, libraries, universities, historical societies and associations. Archivists will be available to talk about their collections, their institutions, and provide expert tips about archival research and preservation.

The fair will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of Cabell Library at 901 Park Ave. in the center of the Monroe Park Campus.

In addition, Special Collections in Cabell Library will host a book talk and signing. Author Brian Burns will discuss his just-published book, "Lewis Ginter: Richmond's Gilded Age Icon," at 2 p.m. in the second floor multi-purpose room of Cabell Library. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture at 3 p.m. in Special Collections and Archives on the fourth floor. The events are open to all. Burns used the VCU Libraries collection during the research phase for the book.

The Special Collections and Archives at Tompkins-McCaw has a vast manuscript collection that includes the personal papers of nurses, physicians, dentists and others as well as the records of various professional organizations. Collections are always being added and are available for use by faculty, staff, students and the general public. Special Collections also holds a wide array of medical artifacts, rare books, photographs, and portraits. Special Collections and Archives in Cabell is known for his historic collections and its book art and comic arts collections.

Archives Month is a collaborative effort to celebrate the commonwealth's archival and special collections repositories and the rich cultural record they protect. It is a project of the Library of Virginia, in conjunction with the Virginia State Historical Records Advisory Board, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference.
Participating Organizations include the Catholic Diocese of Richmond; the Library of Virginia; the Museum of the Confederacy; the Newport News Library; the Martha Woodroof Hiden Collection; the Norfolk Southern Archives; Old Dominion University; Randolph-Macon College; the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg; University of Virginia, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library; the Valentine Richmond History Center; the James Branch Cabell Library at VCU; the Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences at VCU; the Virginia Historical Society; Virginia State University and Virginia Union University.