EXPLORE RELIC

November 2021 - The Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center 

for Genealogy and Local History (RELIC)



Start your historical journey here. RELIC's email newsletter highlights upcoming free events and happenings. 

Genealogy and local Virginia history are our specialties as a service provided by the Prince William Public Libraries. 

You can always find more about us on https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library/about-relic. 



RELIC service is available in person at Central Library, 8601 Mathis Avenue, Manassas, VA 20110, 

by email at [log in to unmask], and by phone at 703-792-8380. 



Hours of Operation

Monday – Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Thursday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Closed Sunday





UPCOMING PROGRAMS





All programs are now in person at Central Library unless otherwise stated. Please wear a mask or face covering. In accordance with CDC guidelines, Prince William County requires all employees and visitors to wear a mask or face covering while inside county facilities.



Previous RELIC programs can be viewed on https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library/RELIC-programs.



FINDING YOUR FAMILY IN THE NEWS

Wednesday, November 10, 6:30 p.m.

RELIC’s Don Wilson will describe how a growing number of newspapers online may be searched for items useful for family and local history. Now you can find

 obituaries, marriage notices, court cases, advertisements, news items, local gossip, and photos – anything that might appear between the pages of the hometown gazette.

Register at 703-792-8380, https://pwcgov.libnet.info/event/5253097, or email :[log in to unmask] 



WHAT MADE GEORGE WASHINGTON TICK

Tuesday, December 7, 6:30 p.m.

Professor Peter Henriques seeks to explain the various forces that motivated George Washington

 to follow the difficult road that ultimately led him to be America's most important Founding Father.

First come, first served until capacity is reached.





** RELIC INSIDER **



CENTRAL LIBRARY AND RELIC CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY



After several construction delays, Central Library was officially dedicated on January 30, 1971. The collection of some 30,000 books was moved from the old Prince William Courthouse annex on Lee Avenue in downtown Manassas to the new library, located at 8601 Mathis Avenue, on land sandwiched between the towns of Manassas and Manassas Park. The land was donated by Manassas Park. At the time of the dedication, Philip Place was Library Director and Barbara Kirby was chair of the Board of Trustees. In 1971, the County Library also had a bookmobile and one other location: a room at the GarField Administration Building (now a Police Station). Today, Prince William Public Libraries totals 12 branches spanning from Potomac Library in Woodbridge to Haymarket Gainesville Library in Haymarket.



At the same time Central was opened, the Ruth E. Lloyd History Room (also known as the Virginiana Room) was also created. It honored Ruth Emmons Lloyd, a long-time library trustee who had led the Manassas Women’s Club in 1952 in their petition to obtain the first demonstration public library in Virginia, supported by the state library and the county government.



One of the many civic groups with which Mrs. Lloyd was involved was the Bethlehem Good Housekeeping Club, which published a county history in 1941: Prince William: the Story of Its People and Its Places. While attending a club meeting at Central Library on May 19, 1971, Mrs. Lloyd suffered a heart attack and died at age 79.



During its first decade, Anda S. Lind, manager of adult services at Central also managed the Virginiana collection. Ms. Lind, now retired, later managed Bull Run Regional Library. Mrs. Katherine Pattie Conner maintained the new room, setting up its rare book collection, its serials, and vertical files. Mrs. Conner had been an administrative assistant with the library since the 1950s and periodically was put in charge of all library activities. She retired in 1986 and died in 2005 at the age of 95.  



In 1979, Don Wilson was hired to manage the collection, renamed RELIC in 1994 when it moved to Bull Run Library. The collection returned to Central Library in 2020, into a larger space that incorporates the small room where the collection was first established in 1971. Visit Central Library to learn more about RELIC and its collection, or learn more online at https://www.pwcva.gov/relic.





VISIT THE "TREE DOCTOR"



You can now make appointments for virtual or in-person visits with Don Wilson, "The Tree Doctor." We can set up an hour appointment to discuss and dive into your brick wall research problem. Call 703–792–8380 or email mailto:[log in to unmask] to set up a time.





https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library/relic-new-acquisitions





November 2021 - https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library



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