The fifth-floor stacks in the newly renovated Shannon Library. (Photo by Tom Daly)
HBRA Architects received a national architecture award last week for their work on the Edgar Shannon Library at the University of Virginia. Traditional Building magazine honored the firm with its 2025 Palladio Award in the category of Commercial – New Design & Construction – more than 30,000 square feet.
Many people are familiar with Jewish culture — through food, humor, holidays, or history. But fewer have explored what it means to live a Jewish life, especially in the United States. For religiously observant Jews, that can include honoring the Sabbath each week, studying sacred texts, following Jewish religious law, and practicing daily traditions that bring meaning and connection.
Two fourth-year UVA Library student workers, Andrew Spencer and SuLing Llanes-Trexler, were profiled in UVA Today this week in a story about their unlikely friendship.
The Library’s exhibitions program allows us to serve the UVA community and beyond as an evolving space for discovery and celebration of our shared cultural heritage, by showcasing to the public the rare and unique materials available to the University’s faculty, students, and visiting researchers in a controlled environment, and celebrating them in creative and edifying ways. Exhibitions also allow us to take advantage of partnerships with other institutions and guest curators to bring fresh insight and new treasures to our galleries.
In a competitive application process, 25 archivists have been selected as cohort members in the 2025 Archives Leadership Institute (ALI) to be held at the University of Virginia Library, June 8-14, 2025.
ALI is a grant program funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and aims to meet the ongoing professional development requirements for mid-career archivists. UVA’s grant provides $300,000 for the three-year project, which began in 2024 and will extend into 2026. ALI offers advanced training for the cohort, giving them the knowledge and tools to transform the archival profession in theory, practice, stewardship, and care.
It’s been a year since the grand opening of UVA’s largest Library building, Shannon Library, and the day-to-day operations continue smoothly; including the visible and invisible sustainability choices made during its construction. If you’ve ever noticed the paper compost receptacles or ample natural light, you’ve experienced them for yourself!
Certifiably sustainable
This spring, Shannon Library was awarded LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) is the most widely used green building certification system in the world:
If you have a research software question, whether you’re a student, faculty member, or staff, UVA Library’s Nancy Kechner is here to help. A Research Software Specialist working in the Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library, Kechner answers numerous queries each day about software, tools, and technology; teaches workshops on data visualization; and creates LibGuides for students enrolled in various courses.
April is Arab American Heritage Month! Want to explore Arab American literature but don’t know where to begin? UVA Library holds a substantial collection of Arab American fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Below are some books to get you started. Leigh Rockey, Librarian for Collections Management and Video Resources, coordinated the following list with help from her colleagues.
In 1943, she began taking classes in the evenings at UVA, as women were permitted to do, though most were unable to attend UVA as full-time students. She paid her tuition in part by working in the University’s main library, then called Alderman Library, now Shannon Library.
Fire destroyed the Rotunda in October 1895. University officials immediately pushed to rebuild. In 1896 the Board of Visitors hired the prominent New York firm McKim, Mead & White to redesign the historic center of the University. The architectural drawings are now available online in an easy-to-use format through the UVA Library.
“Seeing Stars: The University’s Earliest Observatories” traces the evolution of astronomy at the University, beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s lifelong fascination with the science.
This spring, Shannon Library was awarded LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) is the most widely used green building certification system in the world: