The online website of the Wahab Public Law Library is included on the Virginia Beach public library website. Once you click on the menu on the right under \u201cOn Demand Topics\u201d, a new page is loaded that has two short videos showing the law library and the services that are available to anyone who visits. Most of the books located in the law library are for reference. When I took a tour of the library, the library clerk said that even though it is considered a branch of the public library, most of the patrons that use it as a \u201cpublic library\u201d are the staff that might work in the building. They can access the public library card catalog to place holds on books or see what books are available at another branch. But this library is mainly for legal research and to access laws of Virginia and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The library is located inside the judicial building in the Virginia Beach municipal area.\u00a0 To get to the library you go through metal detectors at the main entrance of the building.\u00a0 From the main entrance you then go down a few hallways and take an elevator to the ground floor.\u00a0 The library is named after a retired circuit court judge (The Honorable Robert S. Wahab) who wanted the laws of the land to be accessible to the public.\u00a0 So even though being in the judicial building, the law library is a place that anyone can access for legal reference, not just the attorneys and paralegals that might be in the building.\u00a0 The library consists of one room with several bookshelves lined with legal books.\u00a0 There are six computers in the center of the room that can be used for research and for printing forms (there is a copier linked to those computers for printing purposes).\u00a0 There is a small area of a few tables and a big screen TV that is used for classes, lectures or seminars that might be held there (the clerk said that sometimes the local community college holds small law classes in that area).\u00a0 There is one small, closed room that can be used for meetings with attorneys and clients, and there is also a small break room for the staff (this is also a closed room that is only accessible with a card fob).\u00a0 There is one table with a community puzzle to work on.\u00a0 The clerk said sometimes the attorneys or paralegals would come and see them for legal work but sometimes just needed a break, so they provided a place for that. \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 The space isn\u2019t overly decorated or enamored with trying to look appealing to the public.\u00a0 It is an \u201call business\u201d type of area.\u00a0 Do your business, do your research and complete your tasks \u2013 use the space for that and then leave. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The library shelves are clearly marked indicating which books contain laws and which books are about law cases, and also makes use of the Dewey Decimal System. There are form books, guidelines, and codes of Virginia and the city of Virginia Beach that are located near the front of the library for easy access.\u00a0 These books seem to be the books that are most used, so the librarians put them closer to the front of the library for quick and easy access for the attorneys and legal counsel.\u00a0 There are books with cases from the state of Virginia as well as cases from the federal Supreme Court.\u00a0 The clerk also mentioned that they do have more materials that are accessible online.\u00a0 Due to space and the cost of printing legal books, it is easier and cheaper just to have those materials available online.\u00a0 There are books with national treatises in them and books with more legal jargon that I had no idea what the clerk was talking about! J\u00a0 She asked me if I was going to school for a librarian or a law librarian because she didn\u2019t want to overwhelm me with the vernacular that she was using to describe the different law books and the different references to them (like Michie\u2019s Jurisprudence\u2026ok, no idea what that means, but it\u2019s in the law library! :)).\u00a0 She was very kind in explaining what was available in the library, but there sure was a lot of \u201clegalese\u201d talk she was using! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The staff there was very nice. As stated earlier, one clerk gave me a tour. She said that there are three and a half staff members in the library (one is part-time). There is one white male librarian, one Filipina female, and the other one and a half staff members are white females. When it came to people in the library, there was only me. But when I asked the clerk, she said patrons come in waves, depending on the docket of the courts. Rubin & Rubin (2020) categorize a characteristic of a special library as \u201cthey tend to have a relatively small number of users and\u2026highly specialized collections\u201d (p. 160). Patrons could include attorneys, paralegals, other legal staff, and common patrons representing themselves in court. The clerk said that sometimes the attorneys who are \u201cold school\u201d use the library more than newer attorneys because of the hands-on books they have available. The clerk said that they have more up-to-date material available online and they help those \u201cold school\u201d attorneys find those materials online. They also help people who are representing themselves find the forms or things they might need. They are not allowed to give legal advice, but they can help them find materials that they ask for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was very impressed by this library and the materials that they made available to those who might need them.\u00a0 While I couldn\u2019t bring a cellphone with me, I was able to take some brochures that had the layout of the library and the materials in it.\u00a0 When it came to diversity, handicap people would be able to access the building and use any chairs or tables, but they might have problems reaching some law books.\u00a0 There were some shelves that were only three shelves high, but then there were others that were five shelves high.\u00a0 I would imagine that the staff would help those who were physically handicap with any needs.\u00a0 There were a couple of brochures about different topics that were in Spanish (divorce, needing legal help, etc.), but when I asked the clerk if there were many non-English speaking people who come into the law library, she said that they don\u2019t see many people who don\u2019t speak English.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s why there weren\u2019t many materials in different languages.\u00a0 This was a very interesting library and, should I need to look up a law about something in the state of Virginia, I now know where to go. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information sciences<\/em> (5th<\/sup> ed.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n ALA Neal-Schuman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today\u2019s library visit brings me to Wahab Public Law Library in Virginia Beach, VA. https:\/\/www.vbgov.com\/government\/departments\/libraries\/locations\/lawlibrary\/Pages\/default.aspx The online website of the Wahab Public Law Library is included on the Virginia Beach public library website. Once you click on the menu on the right under \u201cOn Demand Topics\u201d, a new page is loaded that has two short… <\/p>\n