“I decided to try something different,” Roane says.

A recent graduate of VCU will take her place at the museum temporarily. Bill Martin, director of the Valentine, hopes to fill the position quickly. It takes years to learn the archives at the Valentine — Roane says it took her five years — and Martin says her near-photographic memory makes her even harder to replace.

“She really knows so well the photographic collections at the Valentine,” Martin says. “She’s going to be greatly missed.”

Roane says the feelings are mutual. “I’m really going to miss learning something about Richmond’s history every day,” she says. “I have learned so much about this city by working here.”

Roane is one of three archivists in the city with extensive working knowledge of the century-old museum. But she’ll still be available to help locate hard-to-find photos, she says. — Scott Bass

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