I visited the main branch of the Campbell County Public Library located in Rustburg, Virginia. The library is located in the municipal building area of town and the school board is located next door.  The library, itself, is a basic brick building that looks like any other municipal building. There is black signage that is visible which identifies the building as the library. The courthouse is located across the parking lot.  There is designated parking for library patrons, which is nice, because the overflow from the courthouse could easily fill those spaces.  It is a medium sized brick building with basic brick architecture which resembles the school located on the other side of the street.  It also feels like a school library. There is an automatic door which makes it easy to enter and exit with an armful of books. There is handicapped parking directly in front, but the wheelchair parking with the ramp is on the end. The ramp’s location may make it difficult if more than one person needs to be near it to access it. There is outdoor seating. There are a couple of picnic tables outside, where employees can eat lunch or patrons can read.  There were some students outside at the tables with their backpacks when I visited. There isn’t public transportation available in this area of the county but there is a bike rack.  There is no sign that says Wi-Fi is available outside. There are no outside lockers, but there is an outdoor cabinet for supplies for various events. This library does provide the services listed in Chapter 3 of Foundations of Library and Information Science, such as internet, Wi-Fi and e-books (p. 77).

Upon entering the building, there are several bookcases full of books for sale and a table with community information available. There are posters on the walls but the color of the walls is a neutral color.  There is a children’s section on the other side of the circulation desk, separate from the adult section, which is brighter and has color on the walls and colored carpet squares. It is more welcoming, and it appears more money was spent on this area recently. There is a “light wall” that young children can interact with that was donated. The furniture in this section is more colorful and there are wooden tables with computers in them.

The adult section does have comfortable seating by the windows and the newspaper area.  It was somewhat welcoming but could use some updating. There is a small table in the center of the chairs where can lay a newspaper down. There are also other tables with plastic chairs that students can student or adults can use.  There are outlets that can be used to charge up a laptop or a phone.  There is a row of computers available for public use by the circulation desk.  They have limited time use but are available for those that need to use a computer.  This is an example of “digital inclusion” (p. 96). Patrons can access both Wi-Fi and internet access in this rural community. Patrons can also receive faxes. The entire library is a quiet space, but there are enclosed meeting rooms for events.  The library is on on the first floor of the building.

This branch of the library serves the surrounding community which is in a rural and agricultural area.  This location is closed on Sundays and is only open from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Rubin and Rubin explained that many rural libraries have restricted hours in comparison to urban libraries (p. 98). The surrounding community is predominately white and older, but the library does have an active youth program since it is across from the local middle school.  This particular day, there were students doing homework as well as older men reading newspapers. It was a weekday afternoon so most people may have been at work.  There were a couple of mothers with young children in the children’s area.  In terms of staff, there was one young lady behind the counter. She was friendly and greeted everyone and said “have a good day” when I left. There is a office behind the circulation desk that more staff may have been located.  The area is not that diverse so I didn’t see who may be considered not-English speakers.  This is a county library, so I also didn’t notice any homeless people, which are very visible in the neighboring city libraries.   There was no one hanging around outside the building except for high school or middle school students with backpacks. There was another staff member returning books to the shelves.  There were not many patrons in the library since it was a weekday afternoon.  The other patrons were older adults and were looking at books. 

The special services available included free income tax forms and other community information. There is also a public fax machine that charges $1.00 for 5 pages, which is cheaper than most places. Another service that was evident was the youth outreach.  Since it is March, the theme is St. Patrick’s Day.  There were leprechaun trap kits available for elementary and preschoolers.  

There was signage evident and easy to find.  There is also a literacy and tutor program in person and online, and that signage was also visible.   The library catalog is clearly accessible and stands alone in the front of the library, near the computer area and circulation desk.   There is curbside pickup, notary services, scanning and food boxes on designated days.  When I looked at the books on the shelf, it appeared that they were organized using the Dewey Decimal system. There are limited librarian reference hours at this location. They are for 2 hours one day per week. This location has a crafting group and book discussion group that meets monthly.  There are flyers for each that are clearly visible.

It appeared that the main focus of this branch is fiction books.  There were several displays featuring different authors, but the books were clearly fiction.  I was not surprised by the focus because most of the patrons at this branch appeared to be older. The collections that were evident by being in the front of the library were fiction books, DVDs, audiobooks and the Young Adult section.  There was a magazine section and newspaper section located near the comfortable cloth covered chairs by the windows.  Most of the collection seems older yet it does have graphic novels. There is a collection of other items called “Beyond Books” that has board games, a telescope, a stepladder, a knitting kit, cake pans, a tool kit and a travel destination kit. These can be checked out for two weeks, but you have to call ahead to check to make sure the item is checked in, first.  The fines are more expensive, if returned after the due date.

The website for the library is:  https://campbellcountylibraries.org.  The website is managed by the Library of Virginia Library Development and Networking Division funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museums and Library Services.  It seems like a generic website that is functional but not very creative. The Facebook page has more specific event information. Patrons can see what is located at that one particular branch or available in e-book or audiobook format on the website. It isn’t evident who the library serves from the website.  That is evident by knowing the surrounding community.  One of the largest evangelical universities is located about 10 miles away.  In terms of diversity and inclusion, the books in the children’s area had labels for different AR levels.   There are books about controversial topics such as The 1619 Project available at another location that can be checked out. This particular location did not have LGBT physical adult books. There were two books in the Young Adult section.  All of the other options were downloadable as e-books. Patrons can place items on hold after searching at home and then pick up at this branch. The digital collections include Overdrive, Libby, Hoopla, RB Digital Magazine. Information about the staff is also available online.  There is a director that covers all 4 branches, there is a branch manager, adult services librarian, youth and community outreach coordinator, youth and community outreach programmer and literacy program manager.  The staff also includes support staff, which includes part time personnel and volunteers.  The library is not very diverse. There is one African American female librarian, and she is at another branch, which is in a more diverse area within the county. This branch does not have male staff, but another location does have male staff. As Rubin and Rubin explained Covid had a major impact on this library (p. 108) This location was closed but later curbside service. They are encouraging everyone to come back and use the library.

The library is a small library, but it seems to meet the needs of the surrounding community based on the demographics.  It was a quiet place to work, but I wouldn’t want to stay there all day and read. There was signage pointing out different areas. The service areas were also marked, such as the fax and curbside pickup area. There is also a bulletin board near the restrooms with community information.  I can’t say I enjoyed being at this library. It wasn’t because of diversity or inclusion. It just didn’t feel very comfortable like a Barnes and Noble.  This may be due to the budget. The mission is to meet the “evolving educational, informational, and cultural needs of the public.” The youth programming is awesome, which did surprise me. They have a program for pre-kindergarten children that incorporates what Rubin and Rubin as a commitment to “emergent literacy” (p. 113) I did not see much for teens at this branch. There was one event coming up and I wonder how many teens will show up. They are making an effort to provide a fun trivia event based on PI day with trivia and actual pie. This is an example of “games” and how they break down barriers, according to Rubin and Rubin (p. 114). I hope the patrons do return and the library does evolve, providing a welcoming and comfortable space better than a Barnes and Noble.

Campbell County Public Library (n.d.) Campbell County Library. https://campbellcountylibraries.org  

Campbell County Public Library (n.d.) Campbell County Public Library. [Photograph of Leprechaun Trap Kits]

https://campbellcountylibraries.org  

McMillion-Jackson (2022, March 15). [Photograph of Campbell County Public Library and School Board].

McMillion-Jackson (2022, March 15). [Photograph of Campbell County Public Library Front Entrance].

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