Good news for bibliophiles: the books in Alderman Library’s fifth-floor stacks are now fully moved in and available to patrons! Browse the shelves to your heart’s content and, when ready, take your selected books to a circulation desk on the second or fourth floors for checkout. (Throughout the renovation, these books were available in Clemons or “by request” through Virgo.)
It’s Love Data Week! This year’s theme is “My Kind of Data,” and we have a guest post from Laura Hjerpe, Senior Research Data Management Librarian.
In recognition of Love Data Week 2024, I’m featuring Charlottesville data stories from the University of Virginia Equity Center and local data from the City of Charlottesville, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the U.S. Government. I chose this because my kind of datais a data story with human interest, backed up by reliable data sources.
On a warm day last June, visitors flocked to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library for a “Family Day” event in celebration of the library’s blockbuster exhibition, “Visions of Progress: Portraits of Dignity, Style, and Racial Uplift,” curated by UVA Associate Professor of History John Edwin Mason. Since its installation in September 2022, the exhibition, which showcased portraits that African Americans in Central Virginia commissioned from the Holsinger Studio in the early 20th century, had drawn national media attention and attracted more than 10,000 visitors, nearly double the average amount. On this day in June 2023, families came to say goodbye to the exhibition just before it closed, and to have their own portraits taken as well.
Since 1976, the U.S. government has officially observed February as Black History Month, with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History designating a theme each year. The theme for Black History Month 2024 is “African Americans and the Arts,” and UVA librarians are excited to offer recommendations for books, films, and even datasets that examine Black culture, history, and creativity.
Earlier this week, Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar spoke out about a deepfake video surging on social media in which Tendulkar appeared to be promoting a gaming app as an easy way to make money. “It is disturbing to see rampant misuse of technology," Tendulkar stated on X (formerly Twitter). Tendulkar is just the latest victim in the rise of deepfakes.
Students, faculty, staff, and community members streamed into the University of Virginia’s newly renovated main library when its doors opened to the public at 9 a.m. sharp for the first time in nearly four years.
The University of Virginia Library is pleased to announce that its main library, which has undergone a transformational, four-year renovation, will reopen to the public on Monday, Jan. 8, at 9 a.m.
The renovation brings the library up to current standards of safety, accessibility, and service. A new north entrance makes the building easily reachable from University Avenue, and a larger south entrance makes the space easier to access from Grounds. The building offers better layout and natural light, including in two new study courts for study, research, and socializing.
Much-loved features such as the McGregor (“Harry Potter”) Room remain — they’ve been renovated and optimized for comfort and character, preserving the essential elements of their unique identity.
Below, photographer Tom Daly captured images of the quiet library days before its opening. For an additional sneak peak of the renovated building, follow our Instagram account.
As the end of the year approaches, we asked UVA Library staff to recommend their favorite books they read in 2023. 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. Please note: the publication years listed correspond with the editions in our collections, not necessarily the original publication dates.
After a nearly four-year closure for renovations, Shannon Library has re-established itself as the University of Virginia’s main study spot. This December marks a full academic year since five floors of expanded seating and a grilled cheese café joined historic reading rooms and the checkered entrance hall students first crossed back in 1938.
Book-loving adventures over five decades inspired a California couple to make a $3.1 million donation to Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, the largest donation in its history.
A new exhibition at the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections sheds light on an often-overlooked Harlem Renaissance poet in UVA’s backyard.
This scary season, if you find yourself on a midnight dreary without a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore to ponder, the University of Virginia Library has recommendations for you.
