I chose to visit the Perry Library at Old Dominion’s main campus in Norfolk for my academic library visit. 

SPACE

The ODU library is in a four story building. It is an older building and outdated in many areas, especially on the fourth floor. The first floor is the most updated floor. It boasts a student common area that has an open plan and newer seating. There is also an eating area and a restaurant. There are a few all glass study areas with updated furniture and TVs inside. The first floor continues to be open concept and has many larger study areas at the back of the area and desks with computers in a large middle area. Each subsequent floor has a seating area with computers and different chairs and couches at the entrance of the floors. These entrance areas are more updated than the rest of the floor. Once you leave the entrance area on floors two, three and floor the general area of the library has older furniture and bookshelves.  There is good signage and large maps on each floor. 

The outside space by the library was pretty standard. By the main entrance there are benches and a few trees and flower beds. There are large sidewalk walkways around the building as well. 

I accidentally stumbled into an observation of the library from an accessibility standpoint. I had my toddler with me for this observation and she was in a stroller. She and I walked almost every part of all four floors with that stroller. The elevators were tight and there was not much space to turn the stroller. We fit down all the aisle but with very little room on either side. My stroller measures 24 inches wide and according to Wheelchair Junkie (2020) wheelchairs can average anywhere from 21 inches wide to 40 inches. I do think that someone using the library in a wheelchair would find some of the space hard or uncomfortable to navigate, such as the elevator and some of the aisle. There were elevators at the back of the library, we used the ones off to the side. Perhaps those are roomier. Most of the common area and study areas accommodate the stroller easily. There were also ramps on the first floor to make it convenient to enter. According to the ODU online accessibility information under services, there is one study room that is available for people with mobility needs or needing a soundproof room to study. The ODU library website (n.d.) states “An “on demand service” is available to patrons when the materials are not physically accessible, e.g. aisle is not wide enough, material is too high on the shelf, or call numbers are difficult to read or see”. According to the Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy (2006) recommendations, the ODU library is making reasonable accommodations for patrons with disabilities. I wonder though, is reasonable accommodations enough? 

COLLECTIONS

There are four stories of materials in the library. The collections on the first floor are minimal and include a few shelves of popular/newer books and are located in one area by the stairs. They are neat large bookshelves that are visually appealing. There was a short shelf of reference books with a handful of selected books on the top of this shelf about social justice with a sign showing a collection of social justice books. 

Floors two, three and four all house general collections. The general collections are organized using the Library of Congress system. In addition to general collections, floor two houses journals,newspapers, magazines, microfilm,and  government collections. Floor three houses juvenile collections along with the general collections. It is a small section but it was nice to see that they had some books for younger patrons. There are also special collections and University archives on floor three. They were separate areas behind locked doors. The doors were glass but they did seem to not invite general patrons into the area. Floor four is the quiet study area. Besides the general collection, there is also the student test center here. 

PEOPLE

During my time at the library I only saw two staff. One was going from office to office on the second floor. Another was with a student on the 3rd floor. That staff was assisting the student to find materials in the collections. I saw two tour groups. One as I was coming in and one as I was leaving. They were with a tour guide but no library staff came to greet them while I was observing. There were many posted signs throughout the library with information on how to get a hold of a librarian. These signs included QR codes.  There were not many students in the library Friday mid morning. Most patrons were in study areas on laptops. I saw one patron using a desktop computer belonging to the library. 

The website does say the library is open to the public. There is even information about how highschoolers and highschool teachers can use the library. That being said, I think it would be an intimidating place to go as a member of the public. Especially the day I went, as there were little to no sightings of staff around the library. There is a colorful seating area and murals near the juvenile section that shows an effort to appeal to another demographic of patrons. Still the library is obviously meant for students at ODU and is not a place I personally would think is appealing to many people in the public.  

DIGITAL ACCESS AND SERIVICES

The ODU library website can be found at https://www.odu.edu/library. The online ODU library is extensive. There are multiple tabs including information on services, collections and staff. The website has options to chat with a librarian, reserve rooms and make appointments with a librarian. You can make interlibrary loan requests and search the catalog. These are just a few of the services listed on the website. There’s also information on the specialty libraries at ODU and the archives.    

FINAL THOUGHTS

This may seem like a boring choice of a library to tour but I have never been to the ODU library in person. Despite only living 35 minutes away, despite being a current student and despite being an alumni. This was actually only my second time visiting the campus. The only other time I was there was to sit my comprehensive exam for my Masters of Special Education. My overall impression was underwhelming. The library is impressive in size but feels outdated and static.   

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References

American Library Association. (2006, December 4). Library services for people with disabilities policy. https://www.ala.org/asgcla/resources/libraryservices 

Old Dominion University. (n.d.). University libraries. https://www.odu.edu/library 

Wheelchair Junkie. (2020, November 29). How wide is a standard wheelchair. https://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/how-wide-is-a-standard-wheelchair/