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Library secures NEH grant for shelving upgrade, advances digitization of Free Black registers
Summary
State Archivist Greg Crawford reported use of Microsoft Purview to manage governor’s electronic records, a $350,000 NEH grant for a 4th Floor Storage Project to replace cantilever shelving, and continued progress on the Virginia Untold project to digitize Free Black registers across the commonwealth.
At the Sept. 15 Library Board meeting, Greg Crawford, State Archivist and Director of Government Records, described steps to ensure accurate appraisal and transfer of Governor Younkin’s electronic records, including use of Microsoft Purview to support appraisal workflows. Crawford said the Library secured a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund the 4th Floor Storage Project, which will replace cantilever bookshelves with archival shelving to nearly double storage capacity and improve long‑term preservation outcomes.
Crawford also reported that the Virginia Untold initiative continues digitizing and indexing Free Black registers from across Virginia to increase access and preserve historically significant records. In the Librarian’s report, Dennis T. Clark added that construction on the State Records Center expansion is on schedule and within budget, adding 32 miles of high‑density shelving and advanced retrieval systems; Clark also said discussions continue with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and other universities about housing portions of their collections in the expanded facility.
Board members heard that renovation planning for the Library’s public spaces is progressing, that an architectural firm was selected, and that the project scope was expanded to include the fifth floor to provide greater flexibility for public engagement; a related budget request will be submitted to the General Assembly for FY26.
Next steps: staff will implement the shelving project funded by the NEH grant and continue coordination with partner universities and renovation planning teams.
