The Library of Virginia has launched the Virginia in Maps
project. This project consists of three major interpretive
components: an illustrated atlas, a major exhibition and a
two-day scholarly symposium.

The main goal of Virginia in Maps is to increase awareness
of the rich and diverse geography of the Commonwealth of
Virginia through its maps and to highlight the Library's
extraordinary collection of more than 65,000 maps.  By
reaching out to a broad public audience, the story of the
settlement, expansion and growth of Virginia can be told
through 400 years of maps.

The first component of the Virginia in Maps project will be
a symposium on Friday and Saturday, April 23-24, 1999,
featuring keynote speaker Dr. Louis De Vorsey, Jr.,
Professor Emeritus of Geography from the University of
Georgia at Athens. Dr. De Vorsey's address is entitled
"Slippery Witnesses: Early Maps and the Alexandria
Waterfront Dispute." A reception and opening of the Mapping
Virginia exhibition will follow the keynote address.

Saturday's presenters include Marianne M. McKee, Library of
Virginia; John R. Hebert, Library of Congress; Donald H.
Cresswell, the Philadelphia Print Shop; Ronald Grim,
Library of Congress; Richard W. Stephenson, Library of
Congress (retired); Gary W. North, North Arrow, Ltd., David
W. Lowe, National Park Service; John Hutchinson, Valley
Conservation Council; Samuel D. Byrd, Library of Virginia;
Barbara Vines Little, independent researcher; and William
D. Shinar, Virginia Geographic Information Network.

The symposium will take participants from the earliest maps
of discovery through multimedia presentations and informal
demonstrations. Rare and unique examples of the mapmaker's
art will be on display. Space for the symposium is limited
and there is a $35 registration fee. Funding for the
symposium comes in part through grants from the Virginia
Foundation for Humanities and Public Policy, the Library of
Virginia Foundation and a private Richmond foundation.

The second component of the Virginia in Maps project is
Mapping Virginia, a major free exhibition featuring more
than 150 maps and books exploring Virginia's cartographic
history. In five sections and with an interactive computer
program, the exhibition will provide insight into how maps
were made, how maps reflect changing concepts of the
environment, how maps indicate changing society and how
maps suggest Virginia's role in the colonial empire and the
American republic. Among the maps on display will be the
1827 Boye map, the 1755 Mitchell map of British claims in
North America, the 1807 Madison map of Virginia and the
1770 John Henry map of Virginia. The exhibition is open
from April 23 through December 15, Monday through Saturday
from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM.

The third component in the project will be a definitive
atlas, Virginia in Maps: Four Centuries of Settlement,
Growth, and Development, the first fully illustrated
publication of historical Virginia maps. Co-edited by
Richard W. Stephenson and Marianne M. McKee and available
in the fall of 1999, the atlas will fill a significant void
in the history of Virginia's cartography.

For more information about any of the elements of the
Virginia in Maps project, please contact Jan Hathcock,
Public Relations Coordinator at the Library of Virginia,
804/692-3592.