Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Because the library is not open to the general public, researchers should contact the library to arrange access to the collection.

Preferred Citation

State Law Librarian Correspondence, 1932-1979, Accession 00031873, Supreme Court of Virginia Archives, Virginia State Law Library, Richmond.

Acquisition Information

These records were transferred from the State Law Library to the archives April 17, 2013 (accession 00031873).

Biographical/Historical Information

The position of state law librarian is addressed in the Code of Virginia, section 42.1-60, originally enacted in 1902. The section enacted in 1902 provides for the "establishment of a State law library at Richmond, with branches thereof at Wytheville and Staunton, maintained as at present, which shall be managed by the supreme court of appeals. The said court shall appoint the librarian and other employees, to hold office during the pleasure of the court." Previously, the state law library in Richmond was managed by the general librarian of Virginia. The branches in Staunton and Wytheville and were managed by the Supreme Court of Appeals clerks in those locations.

The first state law librarian was William W. Scott, who served from 1904 to 1929. (From 1894 to 1904, Scott was responsible for the state law library in Richmond as part of his duties as the general librarian of Virginia.) Scott was followed by Lloyd M. Richards, who held the position from 1929 to 1961; H. Elmer Kiser (1961-1966), Walter S. Griggs, Jr. (1966-1967), and Marjorie Kirtley (1967-1982).

Scope and Content

State Law Librarian Correspondence, 1932-1979, contains correspondence with Supreme Court of Appeals justices, 1932-1979, as follows: George L. Browning, 1932-1947; Archibald C. Buchanan, 1953-1964; Preston W. Campbell, 1935-1946; Herbert B. Gregory, 1933-1950; Henry Holt, 1935-1947; Edward W. Hudgins, 1931-1958, Willis D. Miller, 1952-1960, Lemuel F. Smith, 1952-1957; C. Vernon Spratley, 1936-1974, and Kennon C. Whittle, 1951-1965. Most of the correspondence pertains to justices' requests for reference materials from the library. A portion of the correspondence from the period 1932-1961, during Lloyd Richards' tenure as state law librarian, is more personal and contains additional information about the court and the justices.

The collection is comprised of the correspondence of state law librarians Lloyd M. Richards, 1932-1961; H. Elmer Kiser, 1961-1966; Walter Griggs, 1966-67, and Marjorie Kirtley, 1968-1979. It also contains a folder of Kirtley's correspondence regarding library rules, 1970-1979; a report on the financial needs of the library, 1974; a list of portraits and their location in the state law library, 1970; a copy of a list of books and other publications ordered for the library between 1952 and 1970, and a folder of correspondence regarding the retirement of assistant librarian and tipstaff Edward deRaisne, 1958-1959.