Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia
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GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS

With more than 110 million manuscript items housed in the collections of the Library of Virginia, there are an abundance of resources documenting the collective story of Virginia. From the momentous to the mundane, these records chronicle Virginia's history through an amazing assortment of primary sources that are waiting to be explored. Virginia Memory presents digital versions of our collections in a variety of ways, creating many features that make excellent classroom resources. The descriptions provided on this page can guide you to an assemblage of important digital resources all of which can be used to assist students in exploring critical topics in Virginia's past.

For quick list of Online Educational Resources from the Library of Virginia, download this short guide.

Chronology

Use our Virginia Chronology to explore the hallmarks of over 400 years of Virginia's past, while putting national events in a Virginia context as you study history, social studies, or literature. Compiled by members of the Library's staff, it is designed to give users a brief overview of the key events and turning points, whether political, economic, cultural, or social, that make Virginia what it is today.

Uses:

  • Have students compare national events to events which took place in Virginia at the same time.

  • Have students track changes in Virginia and national politics over time.

  • Use entries from the Virginia Chronology to create an ordering activity for your students.

  • Identify topics for further research as a part of written reports or poster presentations using items in the Virginia Chronology.

This Day in Virginia History

Members of the staff have identified one document — whether a letter, petition, diary entry, photograph, or engraving — for each day of the year and are making them available in This Day in Virginia History. Every item includes a digital image of the featured record, brief description, citation, and transcription when necessary. Sign up for our This Day RSS feed and become more familiar with the Library's holdings while learning more about the fascinating stories of people from Virginia's past.

Uses:

  • Share these items with your students to expose them to the tools historians use to write history and to excite them about unique perspectives that historical documents offer.

  • Start your class sessions with an analysis activity based on an item from This Day in Virginia History.

  • Use entries from This Day in Virginia History to supplement your lessons.

  • Assign students a day and an item from This Day in Virginia History as the basis of a research project.

Digital Collections

The Library of Virginia has been digitizing collections since the mid-1990s. Virginia Memory provides access to a variety of digital versions of our most unique collections, including Civil War maps, Virginia military service records, early governors' letters, and more than a dozen photographic collections. Browse the alphabetical listing or the topic list of the available digital collections to a search in our catalog for the resources you need. Come back often to see "What's New" in our digital collections or to rediscover a "Featured Collection" that's been around for a while. You can also explore the Virginia Digital Newspaper Project, a part of the National Digital Newspaper Project, to find digital versions of Virginia's historic newspapers.

Use our Digital Collections to find instructional resources for your classroom, or refer students to the collections to begin or support their own research projects.

Exhibitions

The Library of Virginia offers exhibitions that explore a wide variety the commonwealth's political, social, and cultural history. Based in the Library's collections, the exhibition program also incorporates materials from the larger library and museum community. Consider bringing your students for a tour of the Library of Virginia's exhibitions, as well as its facilities. We also offer children's activity booklets for each exhibition to provide age-appropriate interpretation for our youngest visitors.

While we rotate exhibitions in our galleries several times throughout the year, the web pages supporting these exhibitions continue to live online and offer a wealth of readily-accessible information on Virginia's history. Online versions include key themes and artifacts from past exhibitions that can be mined for primary source documents and educational materials to use in your classroom.

Additional Resources

Tours, Research Visits, and More!

In addition to what's available on Virginia Memory, our Educational Outreach program offers many resources for you and your students that will develop greater understanding of the Library, our collections, and how both complement and enhance the study of Virginia history and the social sciences. Please visit the Library's Web site at www.lva.virginia.gov to learn more, or schedule a tour online.

Find It Virginia:

Find It Virginia offers full text access to a variety of magazines and newspapers, encyclopedias and other reference works, TV and radio transcripts, company information and investment reports, health and wellness information, and homework help, plus photos, charts, maps, diagrams, and illustrations. All you or your students need are a computer with internet access and a public library card.

Publications:

The Library has published a variety of useful books for adults and children on Virginia topics. For information on available publications, please contact Elyse Gefell at the Library of Virginia Foundation at (804) 692-3900 or Elyse.Gefell@lva.virginia.gov.