Pathfinders

Thomas Balch Library Pathfinders are guides designed to introduce users to a selection of the library’s materials relating to a specific research topic. Materials identified span the variety of library’s holding and include reference works, monographs, journals, and special collections materials, such as manuscripts, visual collections, and oral histories.

Pathfinders are available in person at the library. 

Book Indices

Some popular books in the collection of Thomas Balch Library were published or produced without indices or tables of contents, limiting their usefulness. Volunteers and staff have created indices of select items to facilitate research.

• Exploring Leesburg: Guide to History and Architecture, by Kathryn Gettings Smith, Evelyn D. Causey, Edna Johnston in consultation with Kristie Lalire. Leesburg, VA: Town of Leesburg, 2003. [F234.L48 S65 2003]
• The Guide to Loudoun: A Survey of the Architecture and History of a Virginia County, with Maps and 13 Walking Tours of Towns and Villages, by Eugene Scheel. Leesburg, VA: Potomac Press, 1975. [F232.L8 S33 1975]
• Hillsboro: Memories of a Mill Town, by the Hillsboro Bicentennial Committee. Berryville, VA: Virginia Book Co., 1976. [F234.L8 H63 1976]
• The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia: From July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861. by Mary G. Powell. Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928. [F234.A3 P88 1928]
• It’s Just a Way of Life: Reminiscing about the Family Farm, edited and compiled by Allison Weiss; photographs by Brad Shue. Sterling, VA: Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, 2002. [S521.5.V8 I77 2002]
• Local Government in The Virginia Newsletter 1959-2012: Loudoun County and Leesburg related articles appearing in The Virginia News Letter.
• Loudoun County : 250 Years of Towns and Villages by Mary Fishback and Thomas Balch Library Commission. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub, 1999. [F232.L8 F56 1999x]
• Loudoun County: A Family Album by Mary Fishback and Thomas Balch Library Commission. Images of America. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub, 2001. [F232.L8 F52 2000]
• Loudoun County : People and Places by Mary Fishback and Thomas Balch Library Commission. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub, 2000. [F232.L8 F57 2000]
• Loudoun Discovered:   Five volumes are available for in-house use at the Thomas Balch Library [F232.L8 S333]. The books can also be purchased at the Thomas Balch Library.
• Loudoun Harvest: Faces and Places, Past and Present, in Loudoun County, Virginia: A Collection of Stories and Photographs from the First Volume of the Metro Virginia News. Leesburg, VA: Carr Print and Pub. Co., 1973. [F232.L8 L68]
• Memorials Concerning Several Ministers and Others, Deceased: Of the Religious Society of Friends, Within the Limits of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Baltimore: Published by order of the Yearly Meeting, Innes & Company, printers, 1875. [BX7791.A3 B3 1875]
• Middleburg and Nearby, by Vme Edom Smith. Middleburg, VA: Robert Dobson, 1999. [ F234.M48 S65 1999]
• The Middleburg Mystique: A Peek Inside the Gates of Middleburg, Virginia, by Vicky Moon. Sterling, VA: Capital Books, 2001. [F234.M48 S65 1999]
• Society and Government in Loudoun County, Virginia, 1790-1800 by James C.  Bradford,  1976. [F232.L8 B79 1976]
• Within the Iron Gates: A Collection of Stories About Loudoun as Remembered After Rereading the Loudoun Times-Mirror for the Years 1925-1975, by Frank Raflo. Leesburg, VA: printed by Loudoun Times-Mirror, 1988. [F232.L8 R34 1988]
• Ye Meetg Hous Smal: A Short Account of Friends in Loudoun County, Virginia, 1732-1982, by Asa Moore Janney and Werner Janney. Lincoln, VA: [A.M. Janney?], 1980. [BX7663.V8 J34 1980]