Our Plan
Mission Statement
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center of the Eastern Shore Public Library collects, preserves, and provides access to documents, images, and rare published materials that record the rich and complex histories and cultures of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Approved at the ESPL Board of Trustees meeting April 9, 2025.
Value Statement
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center believes that the unique historical resources that it preserves and protects should be available to a wider audience in their search to understand the past, relate to the present and plan for the future. Therefore, we value:
- Historical Stewardship – We collect, preserve and share our rich heritage. We seek to include all the voices in our community.
- Partnerships – We build collaborative relationships with educational systems, cultural institutions, community-based organizations, and local governments.
- Inclusiveness and Discovery – We provide resources for everyone to experience the adventure of exploring documentary heritage.
- Sustainability – We ensure that the past has a future.
Approved at the ESPL Board of Trustees meeting on July 14, 2021.
Our History
Almost from its inception in 1964, Eastern Shore Public Library collected print-based materials – books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, pamphlets, and microfilm – relating to the history, genealogy, and culture of the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA). When the library in Accomac expanded in 1984, the local history collection was allocated the former children’s room. Since then, the Eastern Shore Room has provided research materials for people searching for information about their family history, scholars researching the earliest beginnings of the United States, authors writing stories about Eastern Shore culture, and students learning about local history.
The rare books and manuscripts, along with the expertise of librarian and historian Brooks Miles Barnes, PhD, became well-known drawing visitors from all over the world. The library received the donated collections of local genealogists and historians like Mark Lewis, Nora Miller Turman, and James Egbert Mears.
Over time, donations had to be turned away due to space limitations. Archives pertaining to the Shore started to be donated to the historical societies in Richmond and out-of-state. Dr. Barnes and other local history enthusiasts, genealogists, and historians took this as a call to action to keep the Shore’s history on the Shore. They successfully advocated for the new regional library to have a large, climate controlled room to safely store and preserve Eastern Shore of Virginia printed and media documents.
Because the Library Board of Trustees committee 1,104 square feet of the 20,837 square foot library to an archive room, the library was the beneficiary of bequests from Frances Bibbins Latimer and Kirk Mariner, both significant in linear feet volume and their contribution to the Eastern Shore’s African American historical record.
In May 2022, the library was able to recruit a certified archivist to move the collections to the new ESVA Heritage Center. This professional, fulltime staff member will organize the collections, prioritize preservation and digitization plans, and create robust policies to meet the Board’s vision for the Center. Community members will continue to advice and volunteer to ensure the success of the Center in establishing its place in the stewardship of our nation’s heritage.
Our Work
The Heritage Center is a comprehensive program that collects, preserves, and makes available to the public documents, images, and rare published materials that record the rich and complex history of Accomack and Northampton Counties. The Heritage Center provides the public with access to documents, recordings, and images in physical, digital, and other formats. Staff are available to train and demonstrate the public in family record preservation, organization, and duplication in order to share their history to future generations. Oral history recording is taught and promoted. Programs are created to generate public interest in local history and genealogy within the national context. Traveling exhibits and self-curated exhibits are displayed within the Heritage Center and in other Eastern Shore locations.