In 2016, a group of academics, publishing and business professionals, and funding agency representatives worked together to help stem the tide of concern on making research data more sharable and easier to access. In a paper published that year, the authors established a set of principles they defined as “FAIR”: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. These guiding tenants were developed, the authors wrote, to create “good data management” and to serve as “simple guideposts to inform those who publish and/or preserve scholarly data.”
Over the weekend, more than 8,000 students graduated from the University of Virginia. Among them were numerous student workers from UVA Library, who spent many hours of their academic careers manning the circulation desks, scanning items from the vault, training patrons in audio and visual equipment, and helping to run the Makerspace.
Students walk the Lawn during during Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
We spoke to four of them just before they graduated about what they’ll miss about their jobs, their favorite books and films, and advice for future users of UVA Library.
In late 2021, a team of conservators and archivists opened a copper “cornerstone” box that had been buried for 134 years beneath the (recently removed) statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond. Sue Donovan, Conservator for Special Collections at UVA Library, was one of the experts who opened the box and preserved the delicate items inside. Among the historians who later analyzed the artifacts, which included books, Confederate treasury notes, calling cards, and Masonic shrine pamphlets, was Ervin L.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, making it a great time to celebrate the richness of these cultures through art. Below, three librarians recommend books, films, and collections, all available through the UVA Library’s catalog.
Recommended by Bret Heddleston, Print Periodicals Specialist
Akira Kurosawa: Adaptations and originals
When I heard that the famous Japanese director Akira Kurosawa adapted a favorite novel of mine, “The Idiot” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the UVA Library was the only place I could find the phenomenal, but not well-known adaptation. It’s still the best way to see it for free!
Guest post by Director of Technology Solutions Carla Arton andEconomics & Commerce Research LibrarianNicholas Cummins
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary in 2026, Americans have an opportunity to reflect on the many communities whose histories are intertwined with the nation’s story. Jewish Americans have been part of that story since the earliest years of the republic, participating in the American experiment while also bringing with them a distinct tradition of Jewish peoplehood rooted in shared memory, learning, covenant, and communal responsibility.
The UVA Library is pleased to join Archives Leadership Institute in announcing its 2026 cohort. The program selects 25 archivists to participate in an institute to be held in June, the third year the event has taken place at UVA.
“ALI is a national leadership development program funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Designed for mid-career archivists, the institute provides advanced training that equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and professional networks needed to lead change within the archival profession and the cultural heritage institutions they serve.
On April 17, 2026, the Library and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences announced the creation of the AI Literacy and Action Lab, a program meant to consider the complexities of AI in higher education head-on.
With two pilot projects already underway this spring, one launching this summer, and two more confirmed for fall 2026, the lab is already off and running. Pilot projects focus on a variety of topics, such as the future of work, critical and ethical thinking, and AI-integrated lesson planning for humanities and STEM courses. Each project involves a librarian facilitator — an expert who is also trained to work as a coach for the team through the entirety of the project.
Guest post from Jenn Huck, Associate Director of Research Data Services & Social, Natural, and Engineering Sciences. Huck assists researchers and teachers in identifying and accessing an array of numeric and geospatial data and is the liaison to the School of Data Science.
Have you, your colleagues, your lab, or your collaborators created a striking image, schematic, model or other visual element in relation to produced research?
Do you ever wish you had a wider audience for a compelling visualization within an article, chapter, or book?
“The Art of Research,” from the Art in Library Spaces Committee,invites participants and viewers to reconsider the visual components of research — charts, diagrams, maps, illustrations, microscopic imaging, radiography, models, and more — not only as technical tools, but as creative acts of interpretation and inquiry. The Committee invites submissions for a special exhibition in its Dean’s Gallery (fifth floor east and west corridors), celebrating the visual language of research at the University of Virginia.
Rare Book School at the University of Virginia has revealed its public summer lecture series focusing on book history, bibliography, and print culture.
UVA Today asked the University of Virginia Library staff to recommend titles for your next road trip, including beach reads and audiobooks perfect for the drive.
Over the past four years, the Class of 2026 has built a sense of community through numerous events and undertakings — from planning First Year Formal to hosting study sessions in Clemons Library during finals — and now, in their fourth and final year, they built this bucket-list to guide them to the very end.
According to Dean of Libraries Leo Lo, the three single-credit AI literacy courses are being offered in conjunction with the AI Literacy and Action Lab, which launched last month and aims to help students and faculty conduct research studies on AI.
