“You’re more of a teacher in a school library.”-Thomas Worrell, Teacher Librarian at Phoebus High School When it’s time to tour a school library, I reach out to as many schools as I can, trying to focus on those that are open for summer classes. I figure there’s a greater chance of librarians checking their…
Library Visit #3 (Special/Archival): MacArthur Memorial Archives
“He hated MacArthur’s guts, but he knew we could preserve it.”-James Zobel, MacArthur Memorial archivist Googling special and archival libraries in Hampton Roads, there’s a surprising number of options. The rest of Virginia makes sense – near Washington D.C., Langley, Colonial Williamsburg. But even in Hampton Roads, I have a choice. First I find parts…
Library Visit #2 (Academic): Perry Library at Old Dominion University
When it comes time to pick an academic library to tour, the choice seems obvious: despite living less than five minutes from Old Dominion University’s main library, I have never been there. That’s about to change. The first thing I need to do is figure out which library is the main one. For this, I…
Library Visit #1 (Public): Slover Library
“It’s kind of like a cruise ship that’s empty of people.”-Slover Library staff member When I approach Slover Library in downtown Norfolk, the first impression is one of grandeur. Two buildings of historic brick sandwich a glass atrium with nautical metallic sculptures across the top. The effect is one of a futuristic sea ship parked…