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Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA

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Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA

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Part of the University of Virginia Library, we house more than 16 million objects including manuscri

10/29/2026

Edgar Allan Poe’s 10 months as a UVA student had a lasting influence on him.

The new “Edgar Allan Poe at UVA: 1826 | 2026” exhibition at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA celebrates the 200th anniversary of Poe’s time on Grounds. The exhibit is on view through April 9.

“He was, like many of his classmates, rambunctious,“ said Christina Richieri Griffin, an assistant professor of English and a co-chief curator of the exhibit. “He excelled in his classes. He was part of clubs. He was the secretary of the Jefferson Literary Society, and he also had a penchant for drinking and gambling.” https://uvatoday.me/3UMRvOh

10/28/2026

“This is our Poe – Poe University of Virginia .”  poe200th exhibition curator and Assistant Professor of English Cristina Richieri Griffin’s feature in UVA Today explores artifacts from our exhibition on Poe’s student life at the University. Take a closer look at a windowpane from Poe’s 13 West Range room (likely etched by his hand), and a promissory note from Poe’s final days at the University in December 1826.

Students today decorate the Beta bridge or display signs and art on their lawn dorm rooms—Poe allegedly etched a poem on his window, made drawings inspired by Byron on his walls, and gambled for a book of prints by English artist William Hogarth. And just as students today take out loans or apply for financial aid (and sometimes spend more than their means), so too did Poe borrow money: “It’s a reminder of his humanness … He was a human being who made some bad financial decisions that impacted his education, which is something I think is not restricted to the year 1826.”

10/27/2026

November 4, 2026 marks the 60th Anniversary of the flooding of the banks of the Arno River in Florence, Italy, in 1966. This event is considered the birth of the modern profession of conservation. On every November 4th we reflect on advances in the profession and welcome questions from the public. What questions do you have for UVA Library’s Conservation and Preservation teams? Drop them in the comments and we’ll answer them the best we can!

10/13/2026

On view now through June 4, 2027: “Taming Waters, Transforming Worlds: Law, Land, & Belonging in 17th Century England & Virginia.”

Wetlands drained, lands seized, entire ways of life disrupted—all in the name of so-called improvement.

Tracing a transatlantic story from the English Fens to the Indigenous homelands of the Virginia Chesapeake, this exhibition unravels how the logic of improvement, codified in law and made visible through environmental interventions, redefined belonging and access to land.

Featuring cultural heritage objects on loan from the Pamunkey Indian Museum and Cultural Center, and with commissioned works by Ethan Brown (Ethan Brown ) and (coming soon) Alicia Gear (Alicia Aldaz | Native Artist ).

Information about hours and parking via link in profile.

10/05/2026

Free tickets now available to our exhibition opening celebration on Tuesday, October 13, at the Small Special Collections Library. Join us to celebrate two new exhibition openings! RSVP for more information and the opportunity to print a keepsake poem with Josef Beery.

https://at.virginia.edu/2026-exh

10/03/2026

Behind the scenes of our next exhibition, “Taming Waters, Transforming Worlds: Land, Law and Belonging in Seventeenth Century England and Virginia.” A transatlantic story from the English Fens to the Indigenous homelands of the Virginia Chesapeake, unraveling how the logic of improvement, codified in law and made visible through environmental interventions, redefined belonging and access to land.
Opens Tuesday, October 13 in the Main Gallery of Harrison/Small!

09/24/2026

Before Edgar Allan Poe was famous, he was a Wahoo.

Celebrate the bicentennial of Poe's transformative time at the newly founded University of Virginia. From his studies and life on the Lawn to the debts that forced his early departure, this exhibition reveals how Poe's brief time at UVA shaped his literary imagination.

On view in the First Floor Gallery of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library through April 9, 2027.

Poe illustration by

09/14/2026

“Reading Intimately: What is an Artist’s Book?” is the first event in our Activating Artists Book Series. Drop by the Harrison/Small Auditorium anytime this Friday September 18 from 2-4 to explore and read contemporary art works!

Activating Artists’ Books is part of the 2026-2027 AFK: Away from Keyboard series generously supported by the UVA Arts Council. Check out the link in bio for more information!

Item ID: “How Books Work,” Julie Chen and Clifton Meador, N7433.4.C436 H68 2010

09/09/2026

This Fall semester, and community educators will schedule nearly 100 classes at the Small Special Collections Library—bringing upwards of 2,000 students, some experiencing the opportunity to research with primary source materials for the very first time. All this with just one dedicated instruction librarian!?!

In October 1824, Thomas Jefferson designed the University’s course schedule so that each of the schools “shall be held two hours of every other day of the week: and that every student may be enabled to attend those of his choice, let their sessions be so arranged, as to days and hours that no two of them shall be holden at the same time.” (Minute Book of the Board of Visitors (1817-1828)—RG-1/1/1.381)

Students! How is your course schedule this Fall? Is Special Collections on your syllabus?

Do you have classes that start at 7:30 a.m. ... or take place on Saturday!?

07/30/2026

If you’re interested in the Civil War, then you’re in luck: the Small Special Collections Library has an extensive collection of correspondence, photographs, objects, and additional materials curated by John L. Nau III. We are working now to curate a major exhibition featuring the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection, slated to open in Fall 2027. In this video, Nau Civil War History Center intern Drew Dillman shares his work this summer researching exhibition themes within the collection. But don’t wait for the exhibition—the Nau Civil War History Collection is open for research and accessible every day in our reading room!�https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/repositories/3/resources/941

Video description: Drew pulls archival boxes and examines the collection to find items that illustrate the forthcoming exhibition themes. The video highlights the extensive online finding aid and teases a small example of the tidy organization of the more than 255 boxes in the collection. Objects in the video include an interior depiction Libby Prison and a photo print of Gettysburg.

Address

170 McCormick Road
Charlottesville, VA
22904

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://small.library.virginia.edu/, http://smallnotes.library.virginia.edu/, https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/speccolHome

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