For my academic library visit, I chose to visit my former community college on a weekday afternoon. Richard Bland Community College primary serves students, but is also open to the public and allows members of the community and alumni to check out books only if they are at least 16 years old. The website is: rbc.edu/library/. The website is simple, clean, and easy to access. A link from the normal college page will take you to the library page. The website lists four links, find items, get help, library services and about us. The staff are listed under the about us section of the website. There are four positions listed, head librarian, access and technical support librarian, public services and out reach librarian and student success librarian. While there is a special collection, it is not mentioned on the website. Users can access the library catalog from the website in two places, under find items or under library services.
The website provides a plethora of information for students like how to conduct research. The website walk students through the process from choosing a topic to actually conducting their research. The website also encourages students to email, call, or even schedule a face to face meeting with they need help with a variety of projects that may be assigned. Rubin says in chapter three that, “community and junior colleges devote almost all of their energies to teaching and continuing education and their collections and services reflect this emphasis.” (Rubin 2016, p. 138).
The library is located on a very small campus and is one of three buildings. The space is welcoming and I was very surprised and excited to see that the space has been updated since my graduation 2016. A section of chapter three “Creating collaborative Spaces: the Information Commons,” talks about this type of space (Rubin, 2016, p. 147). He says that spaces in academic libraries need to be used for group study and collaboration; Richard Bland has done a great job in creating this type of space for students. The space seems as if it is catered towards students having a place to not only study, but socialize as well. The bottom floor has comfortable tables and chairs for students to lounge or study in. It also has one study room downstairs. There is also an area with about 30 desktop computers for students. The upstairs part of the library is reserved for silent study. There are more study rooms upstairs and this is where all of the books are housed. The space is accessible there is a ramp outside of the library and an elevator inside of the library to take patrons to the second floor.
There were no special services or programs observable. The only signage I saw, was TV’s with a series of various messages about the community college being displayed. I was also intrigued to find that the books are housed in movable shelving, I assume to save space. The library is organized by the Library of Congress and there is a poster for students to better understand the classification system and where to find books.
The library primarily serves Richard Bland students and the library is set up for students having comfortable furniture and a study floor. During my visit, I saw no staff, only a student worker. Upon my exit, I noticed that all of the staff were in their individual offices. According to the website there are four librarians with various titles as aforementioned. I know from my time at the school that they do hire student workers. The college itself is very diverse, but while I was there I saw a total of four girls using the bottom floor of the library. Two were on there computers, one was using a study room, and the other appeared to be reading a textbook.
On the bottom floor of the library there was a display and some books for women’s history month. There is one special collection known as the “Virginia Room,” which is a room that contains archives of the college and local area that is accessible by appointment only. Also, they had a table set up with binge boxes that were available for two week checkout. These boxes are a collections of movies and sometimes have the book that the movie is based on.
Overall, I was impressed by my visit to this library. I love that students have a nice modern space to socialize or study. Although this library could use a few more minor updates, I think it is a very nice space to be in at a local community college.