Keturah Royster Land was born in Henry County, Virginia,
March 13, 1908. In 1925 she received a B.S. degree from
Averett College, Danville, Virginia, and taught high school
English in Spencer, Virginia, until 1929. She then attended
the University of Virginia where she studied education at the
undergraduate level and received a M.S. degree in English in
1931. In the same year her career as circulation librarian
started at the University of Virginia, first in the original
library in the Rotunda and then at the new Alderman Library
after 1938. Roy Land held the faculty position as director of
Circulation Services until her retirement in 1977. During this
time, she was away from Charlottesville for only two years: in
1943 she attended the University of Michigan and received a
B.S. in library science, and in 1959 she served as a library
consultant in Hong Kong and Formosa.
Roy Land was always active during her forty-seven years
with the University, both with the library and with outside
interests. She was a charter member of the Virginia Players in
1929 and worked with them as both an actress and a director.
She also served on many professional committees in various
capacities, particularly within the American Library
Association, the Southeastern Library Association, and the
Virginia Library Association. Her interest in Charlottesville
went beyond the university as well. She served on the
Charlottesville Public Library Board and the Board of the
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Unitarian Church.
The Roy Land Papers consist of ca. 3000 items (3 shelf
feet), 1943-1976, during which time Roy Land served as
director of Circulation Services for the University of
Virginia Library. The papers include correspondence and
printed matter concerning Alderman Library and correspondence,
reports, minutes, and miscellaneous printed matter resulting
from Roy Land's membership and committee activities within
various professional organizations that activities within
various professional organizations that included the American
Library Association (A.L.A.), Southeastern Research Libraries
(A.S.E. R. L.), and Virginia Library Association (V.L.A.).
There are also some papers dealing with Charlottesville
organizations such as the Charlottesville Public Library
Board, Lychnos Society (U. Va. Women's scholastic honor
society), and the American Association of University Women
(A.A.U.W.).
These papers are organized according to the association or
group involved. These groups are separated into three main
categories:
1. Papers concerned with Alderman Library and the
University
2. Papers dealing with organizations of the city of
Charlottesville
3. Professional library organizations.