For my last library visit, I chose the Prince William County Public Law Library in Manassas, VA. The website for the library can be found here. The website is one page on the Prince William County website under Court System. I found the website to be easy to navigate. They offer an online catalog with aw-related sources and materials. The materials and sources cover local, state, and federal law.
With its collection, the library definitely serves the law and judicial community as well as the public as anyone can access the collection. The collection, which is housed on OPAC, has electronic sources, audio sources, and physical books. While the staff is not listed on the website, there is a phone number and email patrons can use to get in contact with the library. I did not notice any virtual programming or services on the website. While the website is not entirely inviting, it does have all necessary information.
The library is located in the Prince William County Judicial Center in Manassas VA. The room where the library is housed in on the 3rd floor of the Prince William County Judicial Center. There are elevators available in the building for those who need or wish to use them. The room is located at the end of a hall in room 305. The room itself is not that big. There is limited parking right near the entrance to the building. Most of the spaces are reserved for people who work at the judicial center and for police. There is street parking available and a parking lot available about a 5 minutes walk from the building. There are a few benches outside and to enter the building you have to go through metal detectors.
There is one table in the center of the room with about 3 chairs around it for people to sit at. There is also a high table set up for the computers with chairs for each computer. I also noticed two upholstered chairs against the wall that looked a bit more comfortable than the other seating options. There was a section that was for staff only that looked to have filing cabinets in it. The space definitely seemed like a business/research area. The walls were a light grey color and the carpet was a dark greenish/grey. It didn’t feel that welcoming and the room could use an update to match the rest of the areas and offices on the floor. Based on the collection and technology the space is definitely for adults. With the collection being centered around the law, someone with a good understanding of the law and policies would be able to utilize the space appropriately.
Special libraries should be “a more active and collaborative participant in the organization,” (Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 201) but I didn’t see where this library was active and collaborating with Prince William County other than offering books on local, state, and federal laws. During my visit to the library, I did not see any special services or programs in the library. There was signage up for Wifi access, how to research case law on the Westlaw patron access site, and a sign informing visitors that if they needed library assistance to dial a certain number. There was also a map of Prince William County that users could reference. The library’s catalog can be accessed from the public computers in the room. The books were organized by the Library of Congress Call Numbers and the shelves took up two walls of the room. Even though it is a public law library, it felt that the audience was mainly people who work in the judicial system or people who are studying to work in the judicial system.
The collection did offer a handful of books that seemed geared more toward public users with topics like divorce and wills. During my visit, there was no staff on duty in the room. If a patron needed help they were to dial a number for assistance. Rubin and Rubin (2020, p.199) wrote that “shrinking budgets mean fewer personnel, and often a single person might perform multiple functions.” I wondered if this was true for the staff at this library and because they have to perform multiple roles that were why they had the assistance number in place. The only other patron in the library was a Black man working at one of the computers. It seemed he was doing some research and was familiar with the library. When I walked in he asked if I was looking for the probate office, which was attached to the library via a door in the corner. While walking up the stairs to the library room I did notice all sorts of people working and visiting the Judicial Center.
The books in the collection were specific to local, state, and federal laws. The books offered in the library covered many different topics. Some of them are family law, personal unjust law, trial handbooks, specific law codes, house and senate journals, and court reports. The physical collection can not be borrowed out and can only be used within the library. While visiting I noticed that the library has five computers. Three of the computers were for public use and the other two were for PWC Bar Association member use. There were also a few printers and two scanning stations.
The collection is definitely a special collection in that it only focuses on one thing. Considering this is the law library for all of Prince William County I was surprised by the size of the room the library was housed in. Before visiting I expected something bigger, maybe the size of the GMU Mercer Library I had visited before. The room was incredibly small and there wasn’t much seating. I did feel a bit out of place visiting this library. It seemed that in order to use this space I would need a strong understanding of the law and judicial proceedings.
Resources
Merico, C. (2022). Image of Front of Judicial Center. [Photograph]
Merico, C. (2022). Image of Map of Prince William County, VA. [Photograph]
Merico, C. (2022). Image of Research Signage for Prince William County Public Law Library. [Photograph]
Rubin, R. R. and Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
After reading your post about the size of the library, I wonder if they prefer you to find your material more online than actually in the library? From the link you provided, it seems that you can access a lot of material online. When I visited a law library, the librarian there said that it was easier to have up-to-date cases and policies online than to have it physically printed and in the library. Just a thought. Thanks for the post!
Thank you for sharing that thought as it was one I had not even considered. It would make sense to focus on online and electronic materials as they are easier to update. I wish there had been someone working the desk when I visited so I could’ve asked more questions about the size of the library and its collection.
Caitie, I think it’s interesting that I can picture a Law Library in my head and imagine this big, studious space, housed in, perhaps a building with a lot of historical architecture, but I can also see the space you’ve described perfectly well for it too. This space sound similar to the old location of our Law Library, when it was housed in the building with our courthouse. It felt like a very drab and grey space with much to be left desired. It sounds like this space is also being hit with a lack of adequate full-time staffing needs. But like I shared on another classmate’s post about their Law Library visit, it’s interesting to read the similarities and differences of ones we’ve been to!
Caitie, it is unfortunate that the library was unwelcoming. I would think that the general public would be the ones who would be using the library within the courthouse even though there were computers available for attorney use. It is unfortunate that there was no one there to assist or at least to direct patrons to the available resources. It is good that there is an online option.
As others said, it’s a shame that this library was a bit unwelcoming for the general public. However, they do have a lot of materials available online and I could imagine a lot of patrons using the online resources instead of going to the actual library. You did mention that the physical collection couldn’t be borrowed out and can only be used within the library. The fact that someone has to stay in the library to use the resource that they need would be such a hassle, at least for me.
Caitie, I felt for you as you made your way through your visit to the PWC Law Library! It doesn’t feel like an accommodating space for, well, anyone, much less someone without a specific research-driven purpose within the judicial system. As Lisa suggests, I wonder if even those individuals might favor accessing materials digitally versus in the physical space — none of the lawyers I know live near here, but nor do they frequent physical libraries in their regions, alas. You make an astute connection to the Rubin & Rubin text with regards to budgetary cuts eliminating personnel; I suspect your hunch is right where the PWC Law Library is concerned. Thanks for braving this space and telling us about it!
With the advent of online research and legal drafting software, the public does not seem to need law libraries any longer. As a former attorney, I know I used the library for research (usually on some arcane matter). Law libraries on law school campuses are much more extensive and have much larger collections with a librarian who has both a JD and a MLIS degree. It is a shame that the public is not able to readily access the same information that is available to law school students.