13 Replies to “Second Library Visit: Special Library Library of Virginia”
Tiffany,
I also visited the Library of Virginia as my Special Library! While it is most definitely a beautiful facility, your use of the word “utilitarian” is quite appropriate. The library is certainly designed with research as a primary purpose. This was my first time visiting the library and I wasn’t sure what to expect. They have much more information about the state of Virginia and Virginians than I was anticipating. It will require many trips to the library to get a full understanding of all the materials available!
That is too funny, that we went to the Library of Virginia. It was my first visit too. They had SO MANY resources. It is a little overwhelming but so much fun. I agree on many trips to the library to get a good take on all of what is available. I knew they had a lot but I was surprised by the scope of what they have collected and the setup really does support research. So you want to Varina Library for your public library. I plan to go to Sandston Library, another library in the HCPL system for my public library. It is smaller than Varina and will complete my HCPL visit card, i.e. I will have visited all the libraries in the HCPL system.
I am very familiar with the Sandston Library! I grew up and went to school in Sandston. I teach there, go to church there and my family lives in Sandston!
Your description of the Library of Virginia has enticed me to want to make a visit next time I’m in Richmond. I can imagine the elegance of the first floor with its marble surfaces and staircase. It sounds like the second floor is where the real work happens though! I imagine the work of the librarians on the second floor would be fascinating. I look forward to learning more about the preservation of special collections such as you mentioned. I would imagine that there is a big effort towards digitizing the collections.
Jennifer, I would definitely recommend the Library of Virginia. It was absolutely fascinating. I did not ask to see anything they had in the back and the public information was just so interesting. The second floor is definitely where it all happens. I think digitizing the collections is an important part of what they do. The idea there could be a fire or a flood or something else that could just wipe out the collection is heart wrenching to me. I am hoping that by digitizing it will preserve the piece(s) for the future.
It was such a delight to read about your library visit! I am planning a visit back home (Norfolk) this summer, and have now decided to include a trip up to the Library of Virginia. Since I spent the first 25 years of my life in Virginia, I find this library to be really fascinating. I know that someday I want to write about Norfolk in particular, so this will be an amazing resource to utilize! I will have to visit some of the databases when I am visiting home this summer since some of the databases require you to be physically in the state to use them (Virginia Ancestry Database in particular).
The Your Humble Petitioner exhibit is fascinating! I read the 1832 Augusta Women petition, the 1852 Hebrew School petition, and the 1821 Nottoway petition. I found myself wondering about the stories that were connected to these letters. What a fascinating curation!
From your post, I also learned about the difference between cataloging “Broadsides” vs. “posters”. This is not a classification that I was aware of, so I am glad that you pointed it out in your observation. I also was not aware of Government Printing Office call numbers. Was there a specific type of document that was classified with that type of call number?
Thanks for sharing about this really cool library!
-Allison
I agree the Library of Virginia was amazing! I think the resources are just so very awesome. I did enjoy Your Humble Petitioner exhibit. I thought it was interesting about Chang and Eng, the conjoined twins. I spent quite a lot of time in that exhibit as there was so much to read. As near as I can figure the Government Printing Office call numbers have to do with government publications and I am thinking they are within the SUDOC numbers frame but I am not clear on the distinction. Next time I visit, I will have to ask.
I also found in my special library observation that the focus of the special library can be found throughout that library. Rubin and Rubin (2020) stated that special libraries “tend to have a relatively small number of users and restricted access to relatively small but highly specialized collections” (p. 198). However, it seems that like the Library of Virginia and the special library that I observed, the collections of special libraries do not necessarily have to be really small. It sounds like the Library of Virginia has quite a bit to offer, collection-wise, and I found the same to be true for the Folger Shakespeare Library that I used for my observation.
I definitely think Library of Virgina and the Folger Shakespeare Library have their focus through the library. And both seem to have extensive collections as well. While their scope is small, the collections are sizeable and sounds like both have a lot to offer in their scope.
Tiffany, I enjoyed reading about your experience at the Library of Virginia. I always appreciate a library website that is neatly organized but thorough in showing what it has to offer. It seems that the Library of Virginia website does just that. The tables and shelves in the room featured in your second picture look very regal and like what I would expect the library of Virginia to have. It is interesting that the most active room was the archive and manuscript room. It seems that this library is frequented by those who are looking to do serious research. I would love to visit the next time I am in Richmond. Thank you for sharing your observations!
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Tiffany,
I also visited the Library of Virginia as my Special Library! While it is most definitely a beautiful facility, your use of the word “utilitarian” is quite appropriate. The library is certainly designed with research as a primary purpose. This was my first time visiting the library and I wasn’t sure what to expect. They have much more information about the state of Virginia and Virginians than I was anticipating. It will require many trips to the library to get a full understanding of all the materials available!
That is too funny, that we went to the Library of Virginia. It was my first visit too. They had SO MANY resources. It is a little overwhelming but so much fun. I agree on many trips to the library to get a good take on all of what is available. I knew they had a lot but I was surprised by the scope of what they have collected and the setup really does support research. So you want to Varina Library for your public library. I plan to go to Sandston Library, another library in the HCPL system for my public library. It is smaller than Varina and will complete my HCPL visit card, i.e. I will have visited all the libraries in the HCPL system.
I am very familiar with the Sandston Library! I grew up and went to school in Sandston. I teach there, go to church there and my family lives in Sandston!
How cool! I enjoyed my visit to Sandston Library. Like I said, I’ve now been to every library in HCPL.
Your description of the Library of Virginia has enticed me to want to make a visit next time I’m in Richmond. I can imagine the elegance of the first floor with its marble surfaces and staircase. It sounds like the second floor is where the real work happens though! I imagine the work of the librarians on the second floor would be fascinating. I look forward to learning more about the preservation of special collections such as you mentioned. I would imagine that there is a big effort towards digitizing the collections.
Jennifer, I would definitely recommend the Library of Virginia. It was absolutely fascinating. I did not ask to see anything they had in the back and the public information was just so interesting. The second floor is definitely where it all happens. I think digitizing the collections is an important part of what they do. The idea there could be a fire or a flood or something else that could just wipe out the collection is heart wrenching to me. I am hoping that by digitizing it will preserve the piece(s) for the future.
Tiffany,
It was such a delight to read about your library visit! I am planning a visit back home (Norfolk) this summer, and have now decided to include a trip up to the Library of Virginia. Since I spent the first 25 years of my life in Virginia, I find this library to be really fascinating. I know that someday I want to write about Norfolk in particular, so this will be an amazing resource to utilize! I will have to visit some of the databases when I am visiting home this summer since some of the databases require you to be physically in the state to use them (Virginia Ancestry Database in particular).
The Your Humble Petitioner exhibit is fascinating! I read the 1832 Augusta Women petition, the 1852 Hebrew School petition, and the 1821 Nottoway petition. I found myself wondering about the stories that were connected to these letters. What a fascinating curation!
From your post, I also learned about the difference between cataloging “Broadsides” vs. “posters”. This is not a classification that I was aware of, so I am glad that you pointed it out in your observation. I also was not aware of Government Printing Office call numbers. Was there a specific type of document that was classified with that type of call number?
Thanks for sharing about this really cool library!
-Allison
I agree the Library of Virginia was amazing! I think the resources are just so very awesome. I did enjoy Your Humble Petitioner exhibit. I thought it was interesting about Chang and Eng, the conjoined twins. I spent quite a lot of time in that exhibit as there was so much to read. As near as I can figure the Government Printing Office call numbers have to do with government publications and I am thinking they are within the SUDOC numbers frame but I am not clear on the distinction. Next time I visit, I will have to ask.
I also found in my special library observation that the focus of the special library can be found throughout that library. Rubin and Rubin (2020) stated that special libraries “tend to have a relatively small number of users and restricted access to relatively small but highly specialized collections” (p. 198). However, it seems that like the Library of Virginia and the special library that I observed, the collections of special libraries do not necessarily have to be really small. It sounds like the Library of Virginia has quite a bit to offer, collection-wise, and I found the same to be true for the Folger Shakespeare Library that I used for my observation.
References
Rubin, R. E. and Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
I definitely think Library of Virgina and the Folger Shakespeare Library have their focus through the library. And both seem to have extensive collections as well. While their scope is small, the collections are sizeable and sounds like both have a lot to offer in their scope.
Tiffany, I enjoyed reading about your experience at the Library of Virginia. I always appreciate a library website that is neatly organized but thorough in showing what it has to offer. It seems that the Library of Virginia website does just that. The tables and shelves in the room featured in your second picture look very regal and like what I would expect the library of Virginia to have. It is interesting that the most active room was the archive and manuscript room. It seems that this library is frequented by those who are looking to do serious research. I would love to visit the next time I am in Richmond. Thank you for sharing your observations!
I really enjoyed my visit here. I did find the website and the whole library really informative.