Yesterday I visited Thomas Nelson Community College’s Library in Hampton and I must say that I had a wonderful time.
The Space
The library is located on the 1st floor of Wythe Hall and there is a lot of construction going on right now. This made parking a little difficult because I had to park further away from the building. When walking up to the library you pass by a couple seating areas and another school building to the left. Once I arrived at the building and walked inside, the first thing I saw was the computer lab which was to the left. Straight ahead was their circulation desk where I was greeted and met one of their amazing librarians. She was extremely pleasant and told me all about the library. The library itself is going through a few renovations since the pandemic so some of the areas were taped off. The librarian answered every question that I asked of her so pleasantly. They also offer study carrels for patrons to use on a first come, first served basis.
Services & Intellectual Access
Thomas Nelson Library did an excellent job of making sure you could find everything easily on the shelves. The one thing I felt that should have been more accessible is the catalog computer. It is hidden off towards the back of the library. There are books and services offered for all people of the community and that is one thing that the librarian reiterated to me.
The Collection
The collection of TNCC library is smaller than what I have seen in other academic libraries, but this may be due to the renovations that they are doing. There are diverse books and resources for all ages including a small children’s collection. Residents of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City County, and York County, who are aged eighteen years or older are eligible to receive a library card at TNCC which I found to be very cool (I got one). They have a good collection of items but only a few of the collections are available to the entire community. For students they offer books (print and digital), laptops, Wi-Fi routers, Kindles, tripods, cameras etc. The community can check out 3 items and utilize the public computers. TNCC uses the Library of Congress system for categorizing their library materials so that was a difference for me since I am used to the Dewey Decimal system.
People/Patrons
The staff was so welcoming when I came into the library. The librarian mentioned that they were a staff of four (2 Librarians, 1 technology staff member, and an assistant) since they lost a good number of staff during the pandemic. Thomas Nelson Community College has a variety of patrons which include students, faculty, and the residents of the community. When I visited, I was able to observe a group of students working on an assignment as well as patrons utilizing the computers.
Digital Access
Thomas Nelson’s catalog is fortunately easy to use. It was easy to navigate through their website which I appreciated. They offer a variety of databases and e-resources for students as well as tutoring. Their catalog system list many of the same things as a public library such as staff, policies, parking information, interlibrary loan info, research appointments, and so much more.
Overall, my visit to TNCC was nothing short of amazing and I attribute a lot of that to my discussion with the librarian. This reinforced how important it is to be welcoming and provide great customer service. Even though I am not a student at this college, I felt so comfortable in this academic library. If you are ever in Hampton, I suggest you check out this library.
References:
Thomas Nelson Community College. (2022). Library. https://libguides.tncc.edu/homepage