Library Stories

Service to students in advocating and creating free or low-cost textbooks is the core purpose of VCU Libraries Open and Affordable Course Content Initiative (OACC). What is not widely known is that student voices and the labor of student employees is a vital voice in the work. Since the start of the Open and Affordable […]

Winners of the 2025 Jurgen Comics Contest are giving viewers new ways to think about the history of art censorship.  Students from across VCU were invited to choose a specific historical incident of art suppression or censorship and create the cover for a comic book telling the story of the event.  The prompt given for […]

You’re invited to eat at Bell Greek Authentic Grill on April 22 in support of VCU Libraries! 25% of your meal charges will benefit the Friends of VCU Libraries Scholarship and the Affordable Course Content Initiative — vital funds that impact the lives of VCU students. Valid for dine-in or takeout, only at the Village […]

February is Rare Disease Month to build awareness of rare diseases and strengthens connections among rare disease patients and caregivers. Patients with rare diseases have a difficult time finding an accurate diagnosis, have few or no Food and Drug Administration treatment options, have to travel long distances to visit disease specialists, often have trouble finding […]

VCU Libraries will be well represented in April at The Association of College & Research Libraries annual conference in Minneapolis. The conference will address current trends and challenges in librarianship. Work prepared by five VCU librarians will be presented in sessions in this well-respected, peer-reviewed event.   Representing nearly 8,500 individuals and libraries, ACRL is the […]

The Friends of VCU Libraries invite students and recent alumni (2020 – 2024) to submit designs for use on VCU Libraries T-shirt and other promotional materials. Deadline for submission is March 16. The prize is $500.  Judging criteria will include: The contest is open to all students– full or part-time, undergraduate or graduate level–and  alumni […]

Junior clinical radiation sciences major Evelyn Gomez and senior psychology major Chelsea Rushbrook are the 2024-25 recipients of the Friends of VCU Libraries Scholarships. “The library staff has been incredibly supportive in helping me succeed. One memorable experience was when a librarian visited our class to introduce us to the library’s online resources. Learning how […]

VIVA has published a new Open Educational Resource that was initiated two years ago in an experimental creation process designed to more efficiently and quickly develop academic resources. The book, Community and Public Health Nursing: A Call to Action was authored by eight people, including VCU Libraries liaison to the VCU School of Nursing Roy […]

Open Education Week, March 3 – 7, is an annual event that celebrates open education and aims to raise awareness about it and highlight efforts around the world. Open education is an approach to teaching and learning that is focused on reducing barriers and promoting equity. Examples of open educational practices include using freely available […]

A creative soul of VCU is gone. Tom Robbins, icon, iconoclast, a man of imagination and a VCU alumnus, died yesterday. He was 92 but seemed forever young. People magazine had once described Robbins as “the perennial flower child and wild blooming Peter Pan of American letters,” who “dips history’s pigtails in weird ink and […]