Local and Family History Forum

The purpose of the Local and Family History Forum is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information for the better use of specialized Virginiana collections and oral history collections.

The Forum Objectives:

To provide continuing education programs annually for interested library personnel.
To assist interested institutions in collection development and management of Virginiana, oral history, and genealogical collections.

Interested in being a member of the Local and Family History Forum?

Complete our brief membership form!

Membership is free and open to ALL VLA members.

Digital Library Collections in Virginia

Many Local and Family History Forum Member's libraries have online digital collections. We will use this space to highlight some of these collections:

Central Rappahannock Regional Library

CRRL provides links to documents from Virginia and Fredericksburg history, provided by the UMW Department of Historic Preservation and other sources.

Newport News Public Library Digital Archive

The goal of the Newport News Public Library Digital Archive is to provide access to items of historical significance to the City of Newport News. This archive includes photos, postcards, booklets, as well as an extensive map collection.

Portsmouth Public Library

Digitized City of Portsmouth, Virginia photographs and school year books are available to be viewed by a partnership with the Library of Virginia. Name indexes to Portsmouth vital records compiled by library staff and volunteers are also available on the library website.