For my public library I chose Chester Library, which is a part of Chesterfield County Public Libraries. The website for this specific branch is library.chesterfield.gov/153/Chester-Library. The website a county-wide website that allows the user to first choose a branch. Some of the staff members are listed on the website, they mention the branch manager, assistant branch manager, as well as a customer service position. There is a page listed on the website called “just for…” that lists activities, books, and resources specifically for kids, adults, teens and seniors. The catalog for the library is accessible from the homepage. The website is rather nice, it is clean with simple colors and very user friendly.
The library itself is in a town near numerous apartments and townhomes. Upon entering the library I was greeted by the staff at the circulation desk. Inside there are numerous spaces such as a business suite, study rooms, and there was even a movie showing for kids in one of the front meeting rooms. The space was welcoming, but slightly dated. Aside from this the space was accessible, for instance, the children’s books are on smaller and lower shelves so they can reach all of them. I did not observe any areas of limited access or special services.
Aside from the catalog that patrons can access on the website at home, there were also desktop computers with the catalog screen pulled up at the ends of isles. The books were organized by genre, there was signage as to where fiction or non-fiction books were.
This library services the general public. The patrons were very diverse, many were using the computers to do some research and some were even catching a nap in the comfy chairs. The majority of the staff was at the circulation desk, but one woman was putting books back on the shelves. Materials such as dvd’s, cd’s audiobooks, books, magazines and newspapers were all available to the public. As a part of a special collection, the library offered bookbags. These bookbags were themed for instance there are, traveling trunks, local museums, VA state parks, and even tools for success which was full of things to prepare for a job interview.
I though it was so cool that the library had a movie showing for kids and other events throughout the week. There was also a community room with lots of flyers and free information regarding community events and things like job fairs and festivals. Lastly, there was a games corner where games like monopoly, scrabble and trouble could be checked to play during a visit to the library. Overall, I was impressed with my visit to this library as it was my first time visiting that location.
I love the fact that the Chester Library provides multiple activities, such as a movie room and games corner, for their younger patrons. I feel that the library’s outreach to patrons at an early age is important because it allows children to fall in love with literature early on, explore various resources in the library, become familiar with its services – this will prove to be beneficial to them later in life.
I noticed that you mentioned the diversity of the patrons at Chester library. Do you feel as though the resources and services that were provided reflected the patrons that were visiting the library? Is there anything that the library could have incorporated to increase its accessibility for these patrons?