Library Visit #3 – Academic

For the academic library, I visited The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

Delvers, S. (2022) William and mary swem library [Photograph] CC BY-NC

The Earl Gregg Swem Library is located on the campus of The College of William and Mary. Swem Library is the main library with there also being an education, business, music, and law library elsewhere on campus. Parking is mainly for staff, faculty, and students but there are a few paid parking spots for visitors. Getting to the front of the building was a slight challenge as this part of Williamsburg is very hilly so I had to climb a lot of stairs to get there. There are ramps around as well but the one by the library is slightly steep. I am not sure what it is like getting there if you come from the front side through some of the campus as my GPS led me to drive to the back. However, if you are coming from the back of the building there is a handicap entrance, you just have to push the button for someone to automatically open the door for you. The library has four floors and looks very much like a church to me, especially when you see the big circle window on the third floor. There is outdoor setting with benches as well as tables, chairs, and umbrellas a little further down from the entrance. To get into the building they have stairs and ramps with the ramps having signs telling people not to put their bike there. Once you are inside you first come across the computer lab with the circulations desk to the left. The first floor is made up of academic advising, special collections, group study rooms, technology such as computers and makerspace, a tutor and writing resources center, a cafe, and more. On the ground floor students will find a theatre, classrooms, studios, interlibrary loan, and so on. Going up to the second floor there is more group study rooms as well as individual study rooms, graduate student commons, oversized books, juvenile collection, current periodicals, etc. Last, the third floor is where administrations, external relations, study rooms, and the board room can be found. There are computers and printers on each floor. There is also plenty of tables, chairs, and couches for people to use, some with cushions and some all wood so it’s whatever is comfortable to the person. There are also signs all over the place and maps so you know where things are located. This library really reflects one of the conclusions Rubin and Rubin (2020) made about “redesigning the physical space of the library, de-emphasizing bookshelves and creating collaborative spaces and spaces for library services such as writing labs and makerspaces” (pg. 158).

Services and Access

Delvers, S. (2022) William and mary swem library signs [Photograph] CC BY-NC

As stated above, the library has many services that are housed in the library. Since it is an academic library, most of the services are centered around students. A few services that they offer are academic advising, tutoring, and a writing resource center. They have maps on the walls near the elevators that show what floor each service is on but there are also signs all throughout pointing to what direction you need to go once you get to the floor. As I walked around I noticed signs for how to find books based on the Library of Congress classification system. It shows each subject such as education, and then breaks down where you would find books on particular parts of education such as the history of education is under LA while special aspects of education are under LC. Computers are spread out on each floor that are dedicated to searching the library catalog. If one of those computers is down or in use, the catalog can also be found on the W&M library website.

Patrons and Staff

As it is currently summer, the library was not full of students like you would see during the fall and spring semesters but there were a few people. The day I went, William and Mary had a lot of potential as well as new students touring the campus so a lot of the people in there were doing the same thing I saw and looking around. The library even had water stations set up and a sign welcoming visitors to the library. Some people I came across were neither but William and Mary has a partnership with Williamsburg Regional Library that allows those who live in Williamsburg, James City County, or York County to receive borrowing privileges at the W&M library at no extra cost. One thing that I found very interesting is that the library not only has a nursing room for mothers but also a prayer and mediation room! I went into the prayer and meditation room while I was there to look around and it even had a few prayer rugs which I was amazed by! I hadn’t seen something like that before and it made me extremely happy to see these rooms in a library. The staff members that I saw were either helping students, answering visitors’ questions, or working on RFID tagging books. It looked like the staff were taking advantage of the fact that there were not as many students. They do have a staff dictionary on the website that gives work email and phone number. There is also an option to request an appointment with a librarian as there are a few with specialization in a certain subject so a student can ask them for help.

Digital Access

URL: https://libraries.wm.edu

The website is very easy to navigate with a lot of information that can be found there. This website serves the students, faculty, alumni, and staff of William and Mary but there is also information on there for visitors too. Not only can the catalog be accessed on the website but the libraries database, journals, primary sources, digital archives, scholar works, and government information can be found on the website too. An account is not needed to look at the library’s catalog but one is needed to save and request. To get in touch with someone at the library, there is an email and phone number as well as a live chat with three different chats depending on if you need help with research, SCRC, or media. Swem Library has its social media listed at the bottom of the home page using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The website also has a page all about accessibility at W&M with information about how to make events at W&M accessible to all, how to add description and alt-text to images on social media so that someone who is visually impaired and relies on a program to read for them, the program will be able to say what the photo is, and how students can request accommodations.

Other

Delvers, S. (2022) Indigenous acknowledgment sign – exhibit warning sign – short story machine [Photograph] CC BY-NC

There are a few other things I wanted to bring attention to. This was a big library so I may have missed a few things but these were a few items that really stuck with me as I walked out of the library. First was that the library had a sign acknowledging the trips who were the original inhabitants of the land that the campus is on. I honestly haven’t even heard of half of the tribes in Virginia so this is a good educational moment for me. While on the subject of history, in the stairwells there were historical exhibits all about Colonial Williamsburg and what was happening in the area such as daily life and political life. I included an image of a sign that I wanted to show that gives a glimpse at The American Anti-slavery Almanac for 1840 that was on display. I really appreciated the fact that while wanting to show images from that time in history, there are people who may feel uncomfortable or not mentally ready to see graphic images. The last item I wanted to mention was one I found on my way out the door that I was really excited for. As you go towards the main entrance, there is a Short Story Dispenser! The short stories range from 1 min, 3 min, or 5 min long. The paper is recyclable, it says if a story is for mature audiences, gives information on the author, and there is a QR code that takes you to read stories in competition for the Long Story Short Award.

References

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.