Current Use of the Room

The Garnett Room continues to function as a repository for the rare books and furniture it contains, and as a wonderful example of a Virginia library from the closing months of the War of 1861-1865. A very real part of its value is that the books are kept together, providing the late-20th century student and scholar the rare opportunity to walk the shelves of a personal library from the last century.

The Garnett Room is a display case and living museum, but it is also very much a working room in the Library. For many years this room served as the office of Anne E. H. Freudenberg, Associate Curator of Manuscripts at the University of Virginia Library, and curator of the Clifton Waller Barrett collection of American Literature. In this capacity it was "Command Central" for Anne's work on the description of the Barrett collection, and for her role as editor of various Library publications, including Gatherings & Offerings.

After Anne's retirement in 1995 the room became the office of David Seaman and an extension of the services of the Electronic Text Center. In our operations the Garnett Room is a highly valued space: it provides an escape from the bustle of the Etext Center for myself and my staff; it functions as an elegant meeting room for guests visiting the Etext Center; and it serves as the ideal peaceful environment for the processing and proofing of electronic texts and images.

Beyond all this, it also allows us to boast of the only Electronic Text Center we know of with its own working fireplace and 19th-century furniture.

David Seaman, August 1996

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