Collections : [Virginia Commonwealth University, Cabell Library]

The Prest papers are comprised mostly of materials pertaining to his work as a hospital chaplain and educator. There are some materials contained in the collection from the Department of Patient Counseling that date after Prest's retirement in 1993. These papers offer insight into how the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program was formed and administered as well as trends in the professionalization of clinical pastoral care. The collection is divided into six series. Materials of particular interest are detailed in the series descriptions.

The Betsy Brinson collection contains materials Brinson collected related to her activism and involvement in various organizations, namely the YWCA and Richmond Peace Education Center. The Richmond Peace Education Center materials include newsletters, as well as planning documents and ephemera for the Eyes Wide Open Project. The YWCA materials mostly include pamphlets, information on a YWCA children's reading program, and news clippings. The collection also contains miscellaneous newsletters and reports produced in Virginia or regionally about women's rights and social justice, pins and buttons that are largely political in nature, and photos from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. There are some syllabi and reading packets from Brinson's time teaching at VCU, but the collection largely reflects the organizations and work Brinson was involved with outside of VCU from 1974 to 2013.

The bulk of the collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Betsy Brinson in 2016 and 2017 with people who volunteered and worked with affected communities in the Richmond area during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. There are seven different interviews on cassette, all about thirty to forty minutes long. The interviews are digitized with links to the files in Series 1.

Collection includes original art by Bob Gorman; promotional flyers from Metal Blade Records on GWAR shows and album releases, as well as other acts signed to Metal Blade Records; promotional flyers for events at Hardywood Brewery, and two Richmond newspapers discussing GWAR.

The Elizabeth Cramer LGBT activism collection mostly consists of correspondence and newsletters that Dr. Cramer collected from various LGBT activism organizations. Although some of the organizations and materials used "LGBT" or covered LGBT issues, especially during the later years of the collection, the vast majority of the collection is focused on lesbian and gay related issues. The strongest subject coverage of the collection was advocacy for legal change related to LGBT issues, most noticeably, the advocacy for marriage equality. Dr. Cramer collected largely from national organizations, with about 25% of the collection from Virginia or Richmond based organizations. The material spans from 1991-2013, with the most material collected being from these organizations: In the Family, 1997-2005; Lambda Legal, 1993-2013; National Center for Lesbian Rights, 1996-2010; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 1993-2009; and Virginians for Justice, 1996-2001. Additionally, the collection contains some organizational resources on legislative action from Equality Virginia and Virginians for Justice. Dr. Cramer also collected materials on the fight for nondiscrimination of domestic partnerships, spanning 1992-2005. Ephemera in the collection includes information from religious organizations supporting LGBT issues, a flyer for an award-winning internationally distributed weekly LGBT radio program, a newsletter from a Richmond organization called the Gatekeepers, lesbian or LGBT themed bookmarks, and LGBT themed magnets.

The collection includes copies of FANFARE, beginning with issues from 1964 and continuing through 2012. Agendas, minutes, and correspondence date primarily from 1983 through 1994. Bylaws, treasurer and committee reports are included in the collection, as well as a 1981 history of the organization, which includes historic information about the Fan District.

The Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia (GSCV) records are composed of documents, correspondence, photographs, audio-visual materials, textiles, and artifacts that chronicle the evolution of Girl Scouting in the greater Richmond, Virginia area and the creation of the Commonwealth Council. The collection ranges in date from approximately 1913 through 2012, with the bulk of the materials falling within 1924-2005. The collection has been arranged into nine series.

The Historic Fulton Oral History Project contains 17 interviews with 32 named interviewee participants. The interviewees are teachers, activists, clergy, and community leaders who grew up in the predominantly African American Historic Fulton community from the 1930s through the 1950s.

The Joan Girone papers, 1970-2012, is a collection of materials used by Chesterfield County, VA politician Joan Girone. The papers provide insight into the administrative duties of local government in the Richmond area during the 1970s and 1980s. The collection also includes senate and supervisor campaign files which deliver a unique look into the logistical and political mechanisms for running a local or state campaign. Additionally, the general Republican campaign files highlight the platforms and grassroots movements implemented by the Virginia Republican Party in the 1970s and 1980s.