Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Records of the State Archivist of the Library of Virginia, 1930-1990. Accession 27952, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Accession 27952 was transferred from the Office of the State Archivist on March 14, 1973.

Processing Information

This collection has been processed using minimal processing standards: the original arrangement has been maintained, the container list is brief and simple, and the records have not been refoldered and fasteners have not been removed.

Historical Information

The Virginia State Library was created by an act passed by the General Assembly on January 23, 1823, to establish a public library with funds derived from the sale of William W. Hening's THE STATUTES AT LARGE. From 1823 to 1828, the Library was under the control of the governor and council. In 1828, the General Assembly created a joint committee on the library (located in a room in the southeastern corner of the Capitol) to oversee its administration. Use of the State Library was restricted to members of the state government in a policy that continued until at least 1856. The Secretary of the Commonwealth served ex officio as state librarian from 1832 to 1903.

On May 15, 1903, the General Assembly passed an act that created a library board to administer the library, authorized the deposit of public records in the library, provided for the publication of historical records by the library, and established a library fund for the purchase of books and private papers. The Library Board, which was responsible for naming the State Librarian, was itself appointed by the Board of Education. The General Assembly passed an act on March 29, 1944, transferring the power to appoint the Library Board to the governor.

The Virginia State Library adopted the name, the Virginia State Library and Archives, in early 1987 to more adequately reflect its mission and purpose today. On July 1, 1994 the name was changed to The Library of Virginia, evocative of the Library of Congress. In 1997 the library moved to, it's fourth and current location, the 800 block of East Broad Street.

Scope and Content

Records of the State Archivist of the Library of Virginia, 1922-1979, include general correspondence and subject files, as well as material specifically related to the William Barrow Restoration Lab, Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, Jamestown, Virginia Colonial Records Project and internal operations.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I. William Barrow Restoration Lab records, 1924-1979; Series II. Internal operations, 1935-1970; Series III. Correspondence and subject files, 1922-1972; Series IV. Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, 1963-1971; Series V. Jamestown, 1954-1969; Series VI. Virginia Colonial Records Project, 1949-1974;