The Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library is the headquarter location of the Virginia Beach Public Library system and is located at 4100 Virginia Beach Blvd. This location borders a large neighborhood and is just east of the Town Center area of the city. Public transportation is available on VB Blvd in front of the library. The Central Library, as is commonly known, is one of the largest libraries in Virginia Beach and is the home to the historical and genealogical collections of the library system and hosting the only microform machines. It is a large, two-story building with a circular drive and convenient parking on the front and left of the main entrance. Having recently undergone a partial renovation and reorganization, this location is striving to become more accessible and more inclusive for its patrons. The library entrance consists of a large, glass-walled vestibule. To the immediate right of the vestibule is a small dining area that has unsuccessfully hosted different small food businesses. That area also houses two large conference rooms and a small auditorium. These rooms are reservable to individuals and groups as well as the Virginia Beach City Public Schools during preschool enrollments and related informational meetings. No longer a drop in the bin, passing through the inner doors of the vestibule has patrons immediately passing over a strip of glass flooring that connects to the book return drop slot. Here the returned books can be watched as they are carried via conveyor belt under the floor as they begin their journey back to the shelves. Virginia Beach has recently installed self-checkout stations just inside the doors for patrons in addition to in-person checkout and information desks. Adjacent to the information’s desks is a large community information wall that contains information’s on programs, businesses, and offerings throughout the city. This information is directed at people across socio-economic backgrounds and language barriers.
The first three decades of the library’s existence saw the reference area and the children’s area in the upper level. The renovation designated brand-new children’s and teen’s areas on the first floor with dedicated classroom space for kids’ programs, computers in both areas to allow catalog access and age-appropriate gaming capabilities, and comfortable seating. Each area has its own library staffer available to answer questions and aside kids and parents alike. The teen area signage clearly declares it a teen-only zone. This is a vast improvement over the former upper-level location, which was inconvenient for young children and their families to carry armloads up and down the stairs. The children’s collection is cataloged alphabetically and separated into picture books, fiction, and non-fiction. The picture books are on lowered display organizers that allow each access for younger children. Bookshelves for the fiction and non-fiction sections stand at about five feet and are welcoming to browsing. The entire area is tucked just past the main common areas of the first floor and are bright and inviting with a good circulating layout.
Large common areas grace much of the lower level. Comfortable, living room style seating with low tables sits invitingly to the left of the entrance near the magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, and video games. This area borders a wall length, glass display case holding city and library memorabilia and is interspersed with a couple smaller display columns filled with the same. A center aisle divides this part of the library from new, booth style seating with built in outlets for device-charging. These booths replace a bulk of previously installed study carrels and provide a casual environment for people to work, read, or gather and are laid out in a manner that is easily navigable for patrons with diverse transportation accessibility concerns. A few study carrels still sit to the rear of this area near the desktop catalog stations and printing equipment. Reservable study rooms sit behind the staircase. Past that staircase, well-lit bookcases are lined with fiction and non-fiction works. A station with tax forms adorns one interior wall. The rear of the building provides quiet workspace away from the bustle of the main common spaces and maintains a peaceful atmosphere. The common areas house 3-D printers free for patrons to use and a seed library taken care of a collections of businesses and a master gardening organization in Virginia Beach. Signage is clear and accessible throughout the downstairs, though it would benefit from better signage indicating that the new children’s area is this way.
Outreaching and educational programs are a large part of the library. Kiosks display flyers and other information on a broad range of classes and programs to engage members of the community at all levels of age, interest, and skill level. The upper level of the building contains a dedicated computer lab for teaching as well as a flexible class space previously used by the children’s department. There are several study carrels and desktop computer stations for public use. The reference area has been relocated to the former children’s area. The historical and genealogical collections, including filing cabinets full of microforms, are openly available to members of the community. A massive conference table sits in the center of the space inviting researchers to come and spread out all their work. The library staff on the upper level were helpful and knowledgeable with locating information and handling technological issues. Across the board, the staff was friendly and helpful but reserved. No one was particularly outgoing in their interactions with patrons. This was disappointing in the children’s areas in particular but perhaps not unexpected as my visit took place in the evening.
The VBPL is informative and easy to navigate. The online catalog was recently reconstructed to be more user friendly for all patrons and shows the location of items across the city’s libraries. The digital platform Hoopla is available at no cost to library card holders and allows the “checking out” of six titles a month from the library’s collection of ebooks, audiobooks, movies, and documentaries. The branch librarian’s name is included with the location information for each library in the city and the upper-level librarians for the city are listed online but that is where the information stops. Without a good glance at the ID card hanging from the lanyards of library staff there does not appear to be any other identifying information about library staff or their roles in the building. This was surprising and something that should be worked toward remedying in this service-oriented world. Even small signs at each person’s desk at checkout or the reference desks could be invitations to chat and engages patrons and staff in ways that would help build a stronger sense of community. The same can be said for the programming that is offered by the library. There are many excellent programs that cover a gamut of educational and entertaining topics but the two main interactions with information about programming are digitally and at small display pillars that hold fliers. Signage for programming should also be placed much closer to the entrance, in larger formats, and be actively promoted in multiple ways to encourage engagement with patrons across socio-economic spectrums and equity barriers. An expansion of library hours and programming availability into the evening hours would also expand opportunities for access and engagement of patrons that have difficulty reaching the libraries between 9 and 5. This would benefit the most at risk members of our community and could open up new outreach opportunities than currently exist. In today’s world, closing at five is outdated and elitist. Thankfully, the Central library does offer extended hours Monday through Thursday until 8 p.m. which is a great boon for working parents and children and teens with limited options in need of a safe place to spend their time. This library was inviting and comfortable. Its updates inside removed an overwhelming feeling of datedness and is obviously well cared for and respected by the staff and the community. It was an enjoyable place to work and visit. The Central Library is open Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Sunday. More information on the Central Library and the Virginia Beach Public Library system can be found at their website: Virginia Beach Public Library :: VBgov.com – City of Virginia Beach
I used to work at this library, so reading this was fun! There used to be two desks, the information desk and circulation desk, that divided staff members by information and circulation staff. However, it was easier and more accessible to have one front desk with any library staff available to help patrons with reference requests, computer assistance, among other things. Certainly, sometimes they will need to be passed onto someone else, but having library staff trained to help customers regardless of the issue is far more effective than people trying to stay in their lane. As for the hours, they were sadly negatively impacted by COVID. They used to be open until 9 pm Monday through Thursday and open from 1-5 pm on Sundays during non-summer seasons.
I hope that the hours revert back to pre-Covid or better. It would go a long way to improving equity issues to have greater access to the library. And how many students and adults would benefit from having an open workspace to utilize that opened before 10 am other than coffee shops? I would welcome the opportunity to go to the library to work as soon as I got my kids on the bus.
That book return sounds fun! I also love the idea of the kitchen area. I wonder why it has been unsuccessful?
This sounds like a fun library. I love reading about all of the innovative touches that some public libraries have incorporated. I’m not a gardener but I love the seed garden idea.
The book return is a very cool addition. This is one of my favorite local libraries and my children rush to watch their books go along the conveyor belt after they’ve dropped them in the slot! I have wondered if library hours are part of the issue keeping that small cafe space from prospering. The seed library is very popular. There is a second seed library at another location. I hope that it is a program that they expand in the future. I noticed that they have just added free soil sample analysis as well through the local extension office.
I love the idea of self service. It’s probably good for introverts who just want to get in and get out without having to socialize with the staff.
It definitely speeds things up and frees up the librarians at the desks for other needs. Certain items, such as video games, still have to be retrieved by the desk librarian but that’s a small inconvenient for gamers that have free access to pricey materials. I was in the other week and surprised to find PS5 games already!
I love that patrons can watch their books being returned on a conveyor through the glass floor. That alone would make me want to check out more books, so I can simply watch them being returned;)
It stinks that the hours are not very accommodating for patrons. Many people work 9-5 and it would be very challenging to get to the library. I wonder how much the inconvenient hours deter patrons from visiting.
I love that the conveyor belt has gotten so much attention! My kids love it! My hope for all libraries in the future is extended hours to allow more people use of the space and access to the resources. There are several libraries in our system in VB but only one is open in the evening. Here are a couple pictures I took of the conveyor belt enclosure this evening. That’s my younger munchkin watching the books finish their journey.
I love the visible book-return conveyor belt – I bet kids enjoy that particularly. It sounds like this library has lots of comfortable seating and places to work and research. Our library had a few “comfy” chairs that were removed during the pandemic and never returned. Patrons still ask where they are.
What a bummer about the comfy seating! Fingers crossed those types of perks return eventually!
It sounds like an inviting space in the community. It is great that they have been able to undergo renovation in order to make it more accessible and inclusive. I love that they have spaces for children and teens. It is great that they have gaming options and comfortable seating. I love that they have a staff person in each area to help with specific needs or questions.
I agree! It is so convenient when I am there with my own kids to be able to walk just a couple feet if we have questions or want to chat about books and programs.