A Guide to the Virginia State Library, Office of the State Librarian, War Memorial Libraries Records, 1920-1921 Virginia State Library, Office of the State Librarian, War Memorial Libraries Records, 1920-1921 41409

A Guide to the Virginia State Library, Office of the State Librarian, War Memorial Libraries Records, 1920-1921

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 41409


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Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Phone: (804) 692-3888 (Archives Reference)
Fax: (804) 692-3556 (Archives Reference)
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

© 2004 By the Library of Virginia. All rights reserved.

Processed by: Laura E. Drake

Repository
Library of Virginia
Accession number
41409
Title
Virginia State Library, Office of the State Librarian, War Memorial Libraries, 1920-1921
Physical Characteristics
.68 cubic feet.
Location
State Records Collections, Library of Virginia (Record Group 35).
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia State Library, Office of the State Librarian, War Memorial Libraries Records, 1920-1921. Accession 41409, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Virginia State Library, date unknown.

Biographical/Historical Information

For many years, The Library of Virginia had no definitive home. Valuable early records were kept at Jamestown as early as 1676 and were then moved to the College of William and Mary for a brief period at the century's end. By 1780, extant records were moved to the Capitol in Richmond.

Coincidentally, in 1779, the Virginia General Assembly was presented among its legislation, "A Bill for Establishing a Public Library" drawn up by Thomas Jefferson. The bill provided for 2000 pounds yearly to be expended to maintain a State Library in Richmond. The facility was to be a reference library only without books being lent for home use. Perhaps ahead of its time, the bill failed to pass.

The Virginia State Library was created by an act passed by the General Assembly on January 23, 1823, to establish a public library with funds derived from the sale of William W. Hening's THE STATUTES AT LARGE. From 1823 to 1828, the Library was under the control of the governor and council. In 1828, the General Assembly created a joint committee on the library (located in a room in the southeastern corner of the Capitol) to oversee its administration. Use of the State Library was restricted to members of the state government in a policy that continued until at least 1856. The Secretary of the Commonwealth served ex officio as state librarian from 1832 to 1903.

The growth of the State Library was somewhat erratic. Book holdings increased from 1,313 in 1828 to 17,480 in 1856. Lack of funds and politics frequently intermingled to slow library development. General W.H. Richardson, State Librarian in 1852, became embroiled in an effort to remove him "to make way for some politician of democratic principles." At the close of Reconstruction, Dr. George William Bagby, then State Librarian, was terminated and his position abolished at the hands of Readjusters.

Eventually, on May 15, 1903, the General Assembly passed an act that created a library board to administer the library, authorized the deposit of public records in the library, provided for the publication of historical records by the library, and established a library fund for the purchase of books and private papers. The Library Board, which was responsible for naming the State Librarian, was itself appointed by the Board of Education. The General Assembly passed an act on March 29, 1944, transferring the power to appoint the Library Board to the governor.

While many public records somehow survived the Commonwealth's early years, many losses occurred due to fires, the ravages of war and negligence. When the library was moved, for example, in 1895 to a building separate from the Capitol, "chutes were constructed from the upper story of the Capitol to facilitate the delivery of books to the wagons of the junk dealer who had bought them." The move was poorly planned and the library's contents suffered great loss at the hands of those very authorities assigned to protect them.

The new facility quickly was found to be inadequate and efforts were made both in 1910 and 1920 to construct a proper building for the State Library and its collections. Ground was broken for the current facility on December 7, 1938. At last, on December 23, 1940, the newly completed Virginia State Library was opened to the public.

The Virginia State Library adopted the name, the Virginia State Library and Archives, in early 1987 to more adequately reflect its mission and purpose today. In July 1, 1994 the name was changed to The Library of Virginia. It serves as a general reference and research library, as the official repository of state archives and publications, and as a repository of state and federal documents. It provides assistance and advice to libraries around the state, and it administers state and federal library funds. The Archives and Records Division of the library administers the state records management program, arranges and describes records deposited in the division, and provides assistance and advice to state and local government agencies concerning the management of their records. Additionally, the agency produces many publications. The most notable among those regularly issued are the quarterly VIRGINIA CAVALCADE and the annual accession reports of the Archives and Records Division showing its most recent records and manuscript acquisitions.

Scope and Content

The War Memorial Libraries, a system throughout Virginia to "commemorate the spirit and deeds of her heroic dead in the World War" was proposed by members of the American Legion to a committee established by the General Assembly to investigate a suitable memorial to those who served and perished in World War I. There are few references to this system of libraries that was proposed, although the American Legion continued to petition the General Assembly for action on this project for several years.

The War Memorial Libraries did not come about, and more effort was spent in establishing a War Memorial Library in Richmond, as the Virginia State Library building at that time was inadequate. For more information about the War Memorial Library in Richmond, please consult the agency history for the War Memorial Commission (1920-1934).

Arrangement

Each series is arranged alphabetically.

Contents List

I: Administrative Notes, 1920-1921

Contains general administrative notes, including lists of contacts within localities, and correspondence extending the regrets of citizens who were not able to contribute to the development of these libraries.

Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

  • box 1 folder 1
    Lists of Contacts
  • box 1 folder 2
    Regrets
  • box 1 folder 3
    Summary by County
II: Correspondence with citizens of localities

Contains correspondence with contacts within many of the counties of Virginia regarding the establishment of public libraries.

Alphabetical

  • box 1 folder 4
    Accomac County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 5
    Albemarle County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 6
    Alexandria County, 1920-1921
  • box 1 folder 7
    Alleghany County, 1920-1921
  • box 1 folder 8
    Amelia County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 9
    Amherst County, 1920-1921
  • box 1 folder 10
    Appomattox County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 11
    Augusta County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 12
    Bath County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 13
    Bedford County, 1920-1921
  • box 1 folder 14
    Botetourt County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 15
    Brunswick County, 1920
  • box 1 folder 16
    Buchanan County, 1921
  • box 1 folder 17
    Buckingham County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 1
    Campbell County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 2
    Caroline County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 4
    Charlotte County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 5
    Clarke County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 6
    Culpeper County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 7
    Cumberland County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 8
    Dickenson County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 9
    Dinwiddie County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 10
    Elizabeth City County 1920
  • box 2 folder 11
    Fairfax County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 12
    Fauquier County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 13
    Franklin County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 14
    Frederick County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 15
    Giles County, 1920
  • folder 2 folder 16
    Gloucester County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 17
    Goochland County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 18
    Grayson County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 19
    Greensville County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 20
    Halifax County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 21
    Hanover County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 22
    Henrico County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 23
    Henry County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 24
    Isle of Wight County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 25
    James City County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 26
    King William County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 27
    Lancaster County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 28
    Lee County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 29
    Loudoun County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 30
    Louisa County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 31
    Lunenburg County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 32
    Madison County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 33
    Mathews County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 34
    Mecklenburg County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 35
    Middlesex County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 36
    Montgomery County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 37
    Nansemond County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 38
    Nelson County, 1920
  • folder 2 folder 39
    Norfolk County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 40
    Northampton County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 41
    Northumberland County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 42
    Nottoway County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 43
    Orange County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 44
    Page County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 45
    Patrick County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 46
    Pittsylvania County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 47
    Prince Edward County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 48
    Prince George County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 49
    Princess Anne County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 50
    Pulaski County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 51
    Richmond County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 52
    Roanoke County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 53
    Rockbridge County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 54
    Rockingham County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 55
    Shenandoah County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 56
    Southampton County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 57
    Spotsylvania County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 58
    Surry County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 59
    Sussex County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 60
    Tazewell County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 61
    Warsaw County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 62
    Warwick County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 63
    Washington County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 64
    Westmoreland County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 65
    Wise County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 66
    Wythe County, 1920
  • box 2 folder 67
    York County, 1920