On 8 March 2022, I had the pleasure of observing the Manassas Park City Library located in Manassas Park, Virginia which serves a population of 16,423 (About, n.d.). It is a small public library located in the back of a subdivision, housed in an old golf house about 100 yards from the road. It has a huge parking lot, and the only signage is about 20 feet in front of the library. It has been there for a year and a half and will be moving to the new City Hall building later this summer which will have three times the room and books.
Upon entering the building there is a checkout desk, book display, bathrooms, and a copier. To the left is a large meeting room, staff area and storage room. To the right are DVD racks, the bookshelves, two tables with cushioned bench seats, a quiet room that can fit four patrons comfortably, a storage room, a conference room that does not have a door, and a computer to search the library’s database. The library’s website is: https://manassasparkcitylibrary.org/, and is very easy to navigate. Its digital collection has over 14,000 e-books and audiobooks that are in English and Spanish and there is a Dial-A-Story. One can also register for classes, request to volunteer, view the monthly calendar, and suggest books for the library to order.
There are no special collections or sections, about three fourths of the library collection is dedicated to children and teenagers, all the Spanish and large print books are mixed in with all the books, and the books are arranged alphabetically by author. There are laptops patrons can check out, but they must stay in the library to use them. Its Mission is, “To enrich lives, build community, and foster success by bringing people, information, and ideas together (About, n.d.). The library has many in-person and virtual activities throughout the month that bring people together as its mission states.
One thing that surprised me was the vast number of homeschooling resources which include: how to begin, State Requirements, and various Support Groups…just to name a few. There were two staff on duty. Rubin and Rubin wrote:
A 2019 San Jose State University of Information survey found that attributes most in demand by employers were (1) communication/interpersonal skills, (2) familiarity with new and emerging technologies, (3) project management and supervisory skills, (4) collaboration/teamwork skills, (5) reference/research and readers’ advisory skills, and, increasingly, (6) the ability to work with diverse communities (2020, p. 399).
The staff were polite, engaging, and professional. While checking out books they informed patrons of upcoming activities, shared pamphlets about the library and its services, and engaged in short personal conversations. They gave tours and discussed the future plans for the library with people that said they did not know the library was there and wanted to look around. The library had a welcoming and relaxing feeling, and I will definitely return.
References
About. (n.d.). Manassas Park City Library. https://manassasparkcitylibrary.org/about/
Rubin, R. E. and Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
What a fun little library. It is very warm and inviting inside. I imagine that with the cozy atmosphere and their in house collection being geared mostly toward children and teens, it would be a good resource for homeschooling families. It definitely could use a bit more signage to let people know that it’s a public library, but I imagine that is not in the plan with their upcoming move to City Hall. It would be kind of fun to see what their new space looks like once they move. Hopefully they’ll have a few more books for their adult patrons. I’d also be curious to see if they keep their entire collection in alphabetical order. The library I visited had the adult books arranged that way but used the Dewey Decimal System for the children and teens section.
That’s definitely something I will be paying attention to on my upcoming library visits. How do they organize them in the library where you work?
Hello Jennifer,
My library uses the Dewey Decimal System for children and adult non-fiction; everything else is in alphabetical order.
Because a majority of the library is youth and teen the staff and or volunteers go through the shelfs weekly to keep everything where they should be. I have not been with the library long but when I was younger, I was never told to put a book in a bin so it could be shelved correctly or how shelving was done. I would find a book, go read it for a while and if I didn’t like it, I would go put it back, sort of where I got it from. This must have drove the librarians crazy because most of us kids did that, and some would just put them back wherever. With the move to City Hall they will have three times the amount of space and books they have now. They will be on the first and second floor and there will be a café attached to it. It is in an up-and-coming area across from a ton or apartments. Once everyone is moved from the old City Hall to the new one, they plan on tearing down the old building and replacing it with a 5-story parking garage and a movie theater (which is about a block from the new City Hall). Parking was an issue that kept companies from leasing the areas below the apartments, but now that this will be fixed the City has started talking and completing contracts with retail and eateries to fill those spaces. The drawing look pretty impressive so we will see.
Let me start by saying how adorable this little location is! From the outside, it looks like something from a movie. I am learning that almost any library you go to from these posts seem to have very welcoming insides and spaces that make you feel comfortable as soon as you walk in. I liked your note about all the materials for home-schooled children. I grew up near an Amish community and several parents in my hometown homeschooled their children. It is great to know that some locations have thought about all members of a community. Also, I travel a lot for work and the idea of over 14,000 audiobooks sounds so enjoyable. I would have a hard time choosing! I appreciated your blog post and am excited to see where you go next.
Hello Lindsey,
I spent a few years in Pennsylvania with the Amish all around us and I miss all the tasty homemade food they would sell; jams, pies, cakes, cookies, bread…mmmmmm, so good!
It was mentioned that a local homeschooling group will meet there at the monthly Craft and Create activity and use that as a part of the school day. I think it is nice that there is a group that meets so the kids an have interactions with other kids and can build their social skills. The digital library is a huge bonus and they have many e-books in a lot of different languages for their patrons. They have eight different digital libraries to select from and patrons can check out three to seven e-books per month depending on what each digital library allows. The staff like to showcase the kids digital books because the site reads to the kid and as the voice reads the story it highlights the words it reads.
Hi Jason!
I enjoyed reading about your visit. What an unusual space – they must be excited to leave for their new digs, but will miss their current building. I would LOVE to live in a neighborhood with its own library!
What is the space in your third picture used for? It definitely fits the golf club theme. It seems like it would be a great space for club meetings or board game nights.
I think it’s great they have such a huge amount of e-books online. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what Dial-A-Story was before I looked it up. That’s a really great idea! I was actually surprised when I couldn’t find it right away on the website since it seems like a great resource! Do you think it’s kind of out of date with so many books being read on YouTube?
Thanks for sharing the details of your visit!
Hello Karen,
Even thought the library has been there for a year and a half with a four-mile walking trail a few feet away from it that a lot of people use, there are people that live a few streets or blocks away that tell the staff they never new the library was there. Sounds like more publication should have been sent to residents other than a few online post, a newspaper article and a street sign next to the main road (but that sign I was told was there for two months).
The room in the third picture is used for their monthly Craft and Create, storytimes, author talks and other big activities they hold and can also be reserved for meetings; for example the Boy Scouts use it very Wednesday for their meetings.
I think the Dial-A-Story is a cool idea, but I personally do not know a child that would sit through it unless the parent sat next to the kid and made them. Since you asked about it, I just called it to hear how it sounds and I believe it is a robot voice at first, but once the story begins a real person was reading it. There was an echo with many words and it sounded gritty. I do think it out of date because children love stories on YouTube. They can follow the words while seeing a lot of activity on the screen. Thanks for reading about my visit.
OH MY GOSH IT’S ADORABLE. It sounds like your experience was equally sweet. I am also surprised at the number of homeschooling resources. Truly, I wouldn’t even think to check a public library, but now it makes plenty of sense, as I bet the library is a very popular place for homeschoolers. The areas in the library are so clean, neat, and welcoming. They seem very airy and light, in the best way. I was also surprised at how much of the library is dedicated to youth resources, but it also got me thinking. If I was to design a library and was forced to make a decision over whom to serve, of course the youth would take precedence. Maybe it’s because I’m a mom to a four year old, but when I think of little local libraries, I think of taking my son. If I were to visit one on my own, it would likely be to utilize the space, not the resources within it. Of course, the library serves a TON of purposes and individuals, but I bet my experience is not entirely unique, at least among those similar to myself. Thanks for the tour of this nice place!
Hello Rachel,
My library has a max checkout of 30 books. I see parents or grandparents bring the kids in and return 30 books and then check-out another 30 books. They do this every few weeks and it is great to see the kids doing this. Also, the area I live in has a large Spanish speaking population and we have been trying to grow our Spanish book collection and today we got in 80 Spanish board books, Early Readers and Picture books. This will definitely help our Spanish storytime and ESL class. Try to help the youth as much as we can.