A library for the present and the future: Growth & change

In nature, bright colors are often indicative of danger — poisonous spiders and insects often adorn themselves with electric coloring as a warning to potential predators. Turns out, some books inadvertently do the same.

On Dec. 10, 1938, Herbert Friedman boarded a train in Austria bound for England. It was the day before his 14th birthday. He joined nearly 10,000 children, virtually all of them Jewish, who were rescued from Nazi-controlled territory across Europe and taken to the United Kingdom.

The UVA Library collection is a living thing: it grows and changes every year under the guidance of the Library’s collections and acquisitions teams. One major driver of collection changes is the University’s “Grand Challenges” program, which seeks to drive innovation in key research areas. In addition to University-wide focus areas, subject experts at the Library make purchase recommendations to serve departmental and instructional needs. 

At the University of Virginia Library, accessibility is not an add-on — it’s a foundational commitment. Building on work that’s been ongoing for many years, in 2024-2025 the Library’s accessibility focus took on a new intensity as a part of the University’s efforts following the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II update. Changes this year amount to major steps toward making the Library’s digital presence more inclusive and usable for all, thanks in large part to the newly formed Digital Accessibility Working Group (DAWG).

In early 2025, poet MaKshya Tolbert was selected as the inaugural Art in Library Spaces artist in residence. A 2024 graduate of UVA’s M.F.A. program in poetry, Tolbert was one of five winners of the 2024 National Poetry Series competition. Her first collection, “Shade is a place,” was released by Penguin Books in November.