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Museums & Libraries

Using Innovation to Study and Archive the Past and the Future

Libraries and museums are central to the intellectual life of the University. Libraries of the future will continue to fulfill that role, but will change dramatically to foster the creation, discovery, and dissemination of new knowledge in the twenty-first century. New and evolving University programs require new content and new support expertise. New learning methods require innovative facilities and services to house the University’s collections.

The University must reconfigure twentieth-century facilities that were designed and furnished for antiquated modes of study and research. New facilities must support new technology and provide access to information and knowledge. These new libraries and museums will foster collaboration and interactions among faculty members and students in a multidisciplinary environment.

In addition to creating state-of-the-art facilities, the University must invest in librarians, curators, and professional development for its current staff.

Seymour Schwartz

Changing the Past

Seymour Schwartz

Renowned map historian Seymour I. Schwartz, M.D., has pledged his collection of antique maps to the University of Virginia.

His collection of more than 200 rare maps is considered among the finest in the world. It includes one of the oldest maps of the western hemisphere (1508), the first map of Florida (Hernando Cortés’s 1524 map of Mexico City), and an eighteenth century map of the Ohio River Valley drawn by then unknown surveyor George Washington.

The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library now has a map room named in Dr. Schwartz’s honor. An exhibition, On the Map, runs through December. The exhibition is also available online, where visitors can browse among more than 50 of the maps, zoom in on details, and see how the exhibition is organized.

Dr. Schwartz, distinguished alumni professor in the University of Rochester’s department of surgery, has published extensively in the fields of surgery and cartography. He is the founding editor in chief of the popular textbook, Principles of Surgery, and is the author of five books about historic maps, including The Mismapping of America and most recently, Putting America on the Map.