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Friends of the Library Inaugural Event

More than 50 guests attended the inaugural event of The Friends of the Janet D. Greenwood Library on Friday, April 27, 2007. The festivities began with a reception in the library's Information Center, which recently installed collaborative workspaces as featured in the Spring 2007 issue of the Friends newsletter.

The mission of The Friends of the Janet D. Greenwood Library is to support library services, facilities and collection development activities through fund raising events, membership and social gatherings. Events for 2007-08 are currently being planned.

Nationally known author and historian Henry Wiencek spoke in the library's atrium about his research for his most recent publication, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, including a revealing exploration of Washington's views on slavery throughout his life. He also spoke about the experience of relocating to Charlottesville from Boston with his wife, Donna Lucey, also a noted author and historian.

Wiencek is the author of The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999, Mansions of the Virginia Gentry, Plantations of the Old South, and Old Houses. He was also the editor of the twelve-volume Smithsonian Guide to Historic America and wrote two volumes in that series.

After the presentation, the group moved upstairs to the recently opened Special Collections Room where Wiencek autographed library copies of his works as well as copies of An Imperfect God and The Hairstons, which were available for purchase. Lucey also signed library copies of her books, including her most recent work, Archie and Amelie: Love and Madness in the Gilded Age, about a Victorian-era novelist and her wealthy but eccentric husband.

To learn more about the Friends of the Janet D. Greenwood Library, please see the Friends home page.