As the end of the year approaches, we asked UVA Library staff to recommend their favorite books they read in 2024. The books could be any genre, published in any year, so long as they were available in UVA Library’s or the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library’s collections.
Take a look at our extensive list below and check some books out for the holidays (members of the UVA community can even request books ahead of time for easy access). Please note: the publication years listed correspond with the editions in our collections, not necessarily the original publication dates.
Happy reading, and come visit us at any of our six locations before we close for winter break on Dec. 20 … or after we reopen January 2!
Juggling childcare and academia can be hard! The University of Virginia Library wants to make it easier.
Beginning in fall 2024, the UVA Library is offering Childcare Fun Packs for check out at Shannon Library. The Fun Packs are sets of age-appropriate entertainment materials, available to caregivers of all kinds.
The UVA Library, in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, is embarking on a new IMLS-funded project to develop a collaborative community hub, designed as a dynamic resource to support librarians, educators, and technologists in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and open educational resources (OER).
The project will feature:
a comprehensive knowledge base,
a curated resource repository,
and a platform for ongoing discussions on technical, ethical, and legal issues.
The project will also include an AI-OER Fellowship Program, which will convene practitioners to test AI tools, share insights, and contribute to establishing best practices in the field.
We are pleased to announce that Carmelita Pickett, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Content Strategy at UVA Library, has been elected to a three-year term with the HathiTrust Board of Governors. Pickett has been active with HathiTrust for many years, serving in the Program Steering Committee and functioning as the Shared Print Program Liaison. Read the full announcement from HathiTrust.
HathiTrust was founded in 2008 as a collaborative of academic and research libraries. The HathiTrust Digital Library preserves and offers access to more than 18 million digitized items, and HathiTrust programs seek to protect and expand access to library materials.
November is Native American Heritage Month – a perfect time to honor Indigenous traditions, cultures, and histories. At UVA Library, we’re highlighting work created by and about Native Americans.
Thanks to Librarian for History and Religious Studies Keith Weimer, and Curator of Material Culture Meg Kennedy for the book recommendations below.
It’s nearly Halloween, and to celebrate the holiday we’ve put together this compilation of chilling stories about UVA Library covering supposed spirits in the stacks, creepy items found in Special Collections, and recommended horror reading from two of our librarians. Stop by one of our six locations to check out a book, pick up a specialized sticker, or perhaps hunt for a ghost.
The 2024 Open Access theme of Community over Commercialization continues last year’s theme prioritizing approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community.
A University of Virginia professor enlisted students to document the messages—profane, hopeful, despairing—left on library carrels by previous generations.
Ken Elzinga was honored Friday for his longevity at the University and his iconic status among students past and present. University officials hung his portrait in the Graduate Student Lounge of the Shannon Library.
The “Anne Spencer: I Am Here!” exhibition at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library honors Harlem Renaissance poet and Civil Rights activist Anne Spencer. Located in the library’s Main Gallery, the exhibition opened Oct. 22 and will run through June 14.
University of Virginia librarian John Unsworth, who oversaw a four-year renovation to the main UVA library and a two-year pandemic that shut down the libraries and all of Grounds, has announced he will retire at the end of the academic year.