"Let us show our loyalty to Virginia and the Union": The Secession Crisis and the Birth of West Virginia, 1860-1863 
Thursday, May 05, 2011 
Time: Noon-1:00 PM 
Place: Conference Rooms

Kevin Barksdale will explore the events surrounding the secession crisis in Virginia and how this tumultuous period led to the creation of the state of West Virginia. 

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"Books on Broad" Featuring Joseph Papa: Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life: The Wit and Wisdom of a Legend 
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 
Time: 5:30 PM-7:30 PM 
Place: The Virginia Shop

Joseph Papa will join us to discuss and sign his anthology that reveals the candor and honesty with which Elizabeth Taylor led her extraordinary life. Papa is a publicist and writer living in New York City. A native of Richmond, he has worked for the Library of Virginia and extensively as a stage manager and actor. Light refreshments (wine and cheese) will be served (5:30-6:15 PM), followed by author talk (6:15­-7:15 PM), and book signing (7:15-7:30 PM).
 
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The Irish Builders of Virginia's Railroads 
Thursday, May 12, 2011 
Time: Noon-1:00 PM 
Place: Conference Rooms

In the 1650s, hundreds of Irish people first came to Virginia's shores. In the 1850s, several thousand Irish arrived to build railroad tracks and blast mountain tunnels from Richmond to Covington and beyond. The Charlottesville research group Clann Mhór (which means "big family" in the Irish language) is documenting the Irish and more than 100 African Americans who labored at this mammoth public-works project. The group has examined such materials as census documents, marriage records, and applications for U.S. citizenship. Much of the research centered on the invaluable Library of Virginia archives, particularly the railroad payrolls, which provided hundreds of Irish and enslaved African American names. Clann Mhór is providing answers to the critical question: Ca bhfuil siad imithe? Pronounced kah weel sheed imuhee, the words mean: "Where have they all gone?"
 
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"Books on Broad" Featuring Valerie O. Patterson: The Other Side of Blue 
Thursday, May 12, 2011 
Time: 5:30 PM-7:30 PM 
Place: The Virginia Shop

Valerie O. Patterson, who graduated in May 2008 with an MFA in children's literature from Hollins University, will join us to discuss The Other Side of Blue, her memorable novel of a family dealing with the death of a father. Light refreshments (wine and cheese) will be served (5:30-6:15 PM), followed by author talk (6:15­-7:15 PM), and book signing (7:15-7:30 PM).
 
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Lost Communities of Virginia 
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 
Time: Noon-1:00 PM 
Place: Conference Rooms

Authors Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg will discuss and sign their book, Lost Communities of Virginia, which documents 30 small communities from throughout Virginia that have lost their original industry, transportation mode, or way of life. Using contemporary photographs, historical information, maps, and excerpts of interviews with longtime residents of these communities, the book documents current conditions, recalls past boom times, and explains the role of each community in regional settlement. 
 
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War Shots: Norm Hatch and the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Cameramen of World War II 
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 
Time: Noon-1:00 PM 
Place: Conference Rooms

Charles "Chip" Jones will discuss and sign his book that features some of the most iconic footage of World War II-taken while the photographers risked their lives. Yet the stories-and sheer guts-of the U.S. Marine Corps' combat cameramen have been overshadowed by the heroism of the men with the rifles. War Shots brings these photographers into sharp focus through the career of Norm Hatch, a true American character whose skill with a camera and knack for being in the right place at the right time thrust him to the forefront of the effort to record the Marines at war in the Pacific. Hatch will be a special guest at this event.
 
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ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
 
Union or Secession: Virginians Decide 
Monday, December 06, 2010-Saturday, October 29, 2011 

Time: Monday-Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Place: Library of Virginia, Exhibition Gallery and Lobby Cases

Virginia was central to American identity for its role in the founding of the United States and its political principles. Both the Confederacy and the Union wanted to claim Virginia's historical legacy. Union or Secession explores what Virginians thought and debated as the crisis unfolded. Explore the choices Virginians faced as they decided their fate and that of the nation-Union or Secession.

Through letters, journals, newspapers, official documents and correspondence, and maps and broadsides (the vast majority of these items from the Library's incomparable collections), Union or Secession offers insight into the complex and conflicting geographic, cultural, economic, and political factors that faced Virginians in 1860 and early 1861. The exhibition shows that Virginians' choice on the question of secession was far from certain as dramatic moves were being made outside the state.

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The Struggle to Decide: Virginia's Secession Crisis 
Monday, December 13, 2010-Saturday, October 29, 2011 

Time: Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM and Sundays from 1:00-5:00 PM
Place: Virginia State Capitol Visitor Center, 1000 Bank Street, Richmond 23219

An exhibition presented by the Library of Virginia

In the aftermath of the election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. president in 1860, and the beginning of the secession crisis in December 1860, Virginia had a fateful choice to make: would it remain in, or secede from, the United States of America? In Virginia, the General Assembly called for a state convention to act for Virginia during the crisis. Meeting in February 1861, the 152 men elected to the convention faced the terrible task of deciding the fate of Virginia, and perhaps the nation.

The Struggle to Decide exhibition examines the actions taken by convention delegates and the governor that had a profound effect on Richmond and the Virginia State Capitol.


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The Library of Virginia is located in historic downtown Richmond at 800 East Broad Street. There is free parking for these event in the Library's underground garage, which is accessible from either Eighth or Ninth streets. For more information, please call 804-692-3592. 

Nothing says "Virginia" like a gift from The Virginia Shop. Shop online <http://www.thevirginiashop.org/>  or call 804-692-3524. 

Have breakfast or lunch in the Positive Vibe Express in the Library of Virginia.

For more on other upcoming events at the Library of Virginia, visit http://www.lva.virginia.gov/news/index.htm <blocked::blocked::http://www.lva.virginia.gov/news/index.htm> .


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