Gressitt, director of the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, has worked at the library for almost nine years. Recently, the library unveiled a new Civil War manuscript collection featuring letters and photos of soldiers from and connected to the area.
What made you want to follow this career path?
One does have to have an inclination towards things of historical significance. To know what’s happening today, you must have a social, cultural, agricultural or other understanding of the community in which you live. To understand where we are today, that is, to see it in the present, you must understand the past. I find it very interesting to learn about people, places and things, retain that knowledge, and put together the history of the area. There are a lot of very exciting people out there.
What are some of your favorite items at the library?
We have some early surveyors books, which document the land and who owned it, lots of art. It’s really too hard to pick and choose because each collection has its own interests.
What are a few highlights in the new Civil War collection?
Most of the items relate to Northern soldiers. There’s a picture of Paul Revere’s grandson, which is really interesting because it shows that, no matter the era, the world is fairly small. A prominent figure from the Revolutionary War is connected to a Civil War soldier, and some of that is what interested me about this career as well.
Where do you see the library in a couple of years?
I see it continuing to grow, as well as continuing to collect and document history. I like to see it as a research center, and a major effort I’ve made as director is to get our collections online. I’d like us to continue to do that and continue to make our collections available to researchers. Knowledge presents tremendous opportunities.
– Taylor Holland
