LIBRARY VISITS

My experiences visiting four different types of libraries

Academic Library

I visited the main campus library, Fenwick Library, at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA both online and in-person. Their website, https://library.gmu.edu/, serves as the main research library site for the Fairfax campus. The library website is extremely easy to use and even gives information to users about how to use the campus library when you visit in-person. The “I need help with….” link itself highlights what I would imagine are hot topics for library users, including help with citations, researching a topic and more. It’s clear by the website that the typical users are students of GMU, but the “User Information” section is very welcoming to anyone wanting to use the library, including visitors. A very comprehensive staff directory is readily available with listings for over 100 staff members and their contact information, job title, and location. Some of the more interesting job titles include “Cataloger and Binding Specialist” and “User Experience Coordinator” along with many specific librarians such as “Social Sciences Librarian” and “Geospatial Resources Librarian”. The Special Collections Research Center is highlighted on the site’s home page as is the Online Research Resources link, which is displayed prominently. Accessibility is also among the top priorities of the university and while I had to search for “accessibility” on the home page, it was easy to see that GMU has several resources for accessibility including locations for Adaptive Technology Labs; an Assistive Technology Initiative; a Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics link; and information regarding the site’s Web Site Accessibility. Overall, the website is clean-looking, easy to navigate and full of information without seeing overwhelming. I had the same feeling visiting in-person.

When I arrived on campus, I actually had a bit of trouble finding the front of the library. I visited on a Sunday afternoon, and the campus was extremely quiet, as the fall semester has yet to begin. I parked in a parking garage and decided to walk to the library, as parking in front of the library was 30-minute only, or handicap accessible. Once I found my way, I was struck by the beauty of the side of the building which runs along the main campus walk. The clean, modern lines marked the side of the building that I found out, after going inside, houses some of the administrative and librarian offices around the exterior perimeter of the building.

Once I found the main entrance, I was welcomed by a very inviting space, both inside and out. The exterior has plenty of seating options for outdoor learning or reading, and the inside lobby area was equally as welcoming, with comfortable, modern furniture in vibrant colors and interesting designs. Study areas in this part of the library are mixed; there are quiet study rooms, comfortable booths and group spaces, and single-seat tables for use by those studying solo. I didn’t notice any usable technology in this space, so students or visitors would definitely have to have their own tech in order to search the online catalog from this space. Just inside the large glass doors, however, there was much more to see. A staffed information desk (with three student assistants for a very slow Sunday afternoon) was clearly marked and again, very inviting. I mentioned to the assistant that I would be snooping around the library and she let me know that if I needed any help, they would be there. All three students were very kind and welcoming.

Within the library itself, there are several computers on which to search the catalog and many others dedicated to specific uses. Around the reference shelves, there are several Media Viewing Rooms stocked with computers and headphones and lots of single desks for students to use. Each section of the library is categorized by noise permissions, as well. There are Collaboration, Whisper, and Silent designations in different areas of the library that are clearly marked so visitors have no question about the amount of noise that is permitted each specific area. According to the floor map, of the five floors in the library, the top two house completely silent study spaces interspersed with offices and even a publishing house, Mason Publishing + George Mason University Press. Regardless of noise levels, the study and collaboration spaces in the library seem accessible to any who choose to visit, with comfortable chairs with adjustable heights and plenty of room for wheelchairs.

In addition to being a traditional academic library in service to a university, one entire wing of the library is currently being used as a Covid testing site for campus employees and students. There is also a Digital Scholarship Center which offers assistance with finding all types of digital information from data management, statistics, data visualization and more. The University Dissertation and Thesis Services are geared toward those aiming to excel with their final submissions before graduation, from templates to draft review services. From Records Management services to Workshop and Event listings, I was able to find information both online and in the library lobby.

The collection itself is fairly easy to search, once you find a station to use to access the card catalog. While the look of the library is very inviting and the familiar Library of Congress classification system is used, I got the feeling that an orientation would be almost necessary in order to function efficiently within the library as a student. There aren’t a lot of signs to help you find online access to the catalog, but since most students bring their own devices to the library and can access the catalog using the free Wifi, perhaps having dedicated computers for catalog access is a thing of the past. Again, even though I was just a visitor looking for information, I felt awkward not knowing exactly where to go and what to do. There is sufficient signage, however, to get the general feel for things, and while there were plenty of helpers waiting to provide information, sometimes, you don’t want to bother asking and just want to explore on your own. After I did a little more research online, I found that the campus’ other library, the Gateway Library serves as the main undergraduate library for research and learning. (Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President, 2022). It is also the undergrad library used to teach freshmen and new students how to research, use GMU’s library system and navigate the many resources. This is potentially why I found it difficult to navigate. Fenwick may be a library for the more seasoned campus veterans.

Overall, the library is a beautiful facility with a lot to offer. I can imagine that during the school year, it would be much more bustling inside. It felt nice to be among a few academics working on the weekend, and I could have searched the government maps collection for several hours, likely, but instead decided to review “We Are Mason: A Student History” which is a curation of relics and documents from throughout the history of the University, as well as the Fenwick Gallery, a display of student work hung prominently in the main lobby. There is plenty to see at the Fenwick Library and I’m sure that being a student with a little more background on its use would have opened many more possibilities.

Public Library

I chose to visit our local community library which has recently reopened after a renovation to see what’s new! First, I checked out the website to see what I could see. Central Library is one of 12 libraries within the Prince William Public Library system. Like many other libraries, it seems that more services than ever before are available online. Most everything you could need to do within any public or community library can be done remotely through the main website at https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library. Anyone living within Prince William County or the City of Manassas can get a library card, sign up for a newsletter, or find out about the many services offered within the physical walls of the library. The website is extremely user-friendly, much more so than the academic library site. It is obvious from the ease of use, that the library is geared to people of all ages, abilities and needs. It is simply designed and spells out everything you need right up front. There are links to social media that take users straight to the library’s accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. The main draw of the first page is the option to search on the online catalog. It isn’t easy to find a staff listing, but you are able to find contact information for the Library Director and the Board of Trustees. It may be too much to list contact info for all members of the 12-library staff. It seems that it may be easier to just phone the library, each of which has a mailing address and phone number listed. In addition to the catalog and contact information, there is a large presence of information regarding a program called RELIC, which stands for the Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center, a special collection devoted to history of Virginia and Prince William County and genealogy services to the public. This is an extremely popular feature of the library and is widely used by citizens in and around Prince William County, including Manassas which is rife with Civil War history.

I went to visit the library after work on a Wednesday, just around 4:30 PM. It was bustling with activity! I was so happy to see this. Not only was the renovation beautifully done, but the staff was equally inviting. Everyone there had smiles on their faces and from all of the chatter I overheard, they will extremely kind and helpful. The new furniture was very comfortable and adjustable for differently sized people. The walls were painted a vibrant yellow-green that seemed so sunny are fresh. I was so happy to be there.

The library is located in mostly commercial area with surrounding residential properties. It not only serves those communities, but also is sometimes used by the middle school directly across the street, only a crosswalk away. The exterior is not very inviting as it’s very dated, having opened in 1971 according to Prince William County Government (2022). It does look like an old doctor’s office on the outside, but as I mentioned, walking inside was such a pleasant surprise. There are many seating options in a grassy courtyard adjacent to the front of the building and places to park your bike next to the large parking lot. There is also a bus stop right in front of the library so public transportation is an option. There were two librarians working there, along with a circulation clerk and several volunteers. A summer reading program table was set up with its own staff member manning the info desk there. The volunteers from the summer reading program are ages 13 and up, which I thought was great. Each of the 16 public-use computers was being used by various patrons, none of which looked the same. I heard one of the staff members speaking Spanish to a patron, and noticed people of all ages actively using the library. The only area I noted that requires special access by a staff member is a makerspace called Studio 8601, which houses a collection of crafting tools such as sewing and quilting machines, a loom, several Cricut vinyl cutters, a 3D printer and more. That area is only staffed and open on Tuesdays and Thursdays right now. This reminds me of the idea of a space becoming a place, as discussed in the article by Brian Mathews and Leigh Ann Soistmann (2020) where they wrote, “places have social and personal significance. They mean something to us. We become emotionally invested in a place according to the nature of what we can do in it and how it makes us feel. It is through this process of accruing experiences that a space transforms into a place.” This is the feeling I got from this space. It made me feel like I belong there, and that is a powerful feeling.

Everyone seems welcome at Central Library. The shelves are only 5 rows high, at their highest, and they were lower in other places. The books are arranged according the Dewey Decimal system except for Fiction books which are all shelved alphabetically by the author’s last name. The children’s section is colorful and fun with a playful mural on the wall and lots of floor seating and comfy chairs. There is also a bathroom located directly in the children’s section so parents of multiple children don’t have to leave the area with their whole family and lots of stuff to find a bathroom elsewhere.

The evidence of special programs is everywhere you look. There is so much to take in. Aside from the Summer Reading program for students, there are special nights where the library is turned into a Laser Tag arena after dark. There is a program co-sponsored by the Sheriff’s Department that allows parents to have a photo ID of their child made to use in case of emergency. They offer passport services and a reading program for adults co-hosted by 4 local breweries called “Books on Tap.” All of Virginia’s libraries also participate in the HelpNOW program which offers free tutoring services to students live via There services are seemingly endless, and this is only one of the twelve locations, mind you. The RELIC room I mentioned above is much more than a room and takes up what I would estimate to be approximately 1/3 of the entire library. It was filled with volume after volume of history. There were several people within its glass walls doing research, and one who seemed to be cataloguing items in a beat up cardboard box. Adjacent to the RELIC room, there were two vacant group study rooms, each with a boardroom-style table and chairs and a very inviting, peaceful atmosphere.

Before I left, I took a moment to ask a librarian if they have any special resources that they circulate. I was pleasantly surprised. Aside from board games and puzzles, they have a collection of American Girl dolls that they loan. They have a backpack program in which each backpack represents a state park. Within the backpack is a guide to that park and passes for entry. According the librarian, they are in very high demand. They even loan SAD Lamps which are used as light therapy for those who struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder! They also loan out WiFi hotspots, which could be invaluable for some of our underserved students in a digital learning environment. Additionally, they loan out mini-collections for younger patrons consisting of a book bag filled with books on various subjects such as bugs, airplanes, or planets, among other things. What a fun idea!

Overall, I was surprised by the new interior and how lovely and comfortable the entire library felt. I couldn’t have been disappointed if I tried, and I’d be grasping at straws to try and find something displeasing to me. After all, those enjoying the cool library on a very hot day seemed more than satisfied. I left there feeling extremely positive, knowing that the staff that was there was making a genuine difference in the lives of the patrons, and that soon I will become a difference-maker.

School Library

It is difficult to visit a school library in our area right now, as most schools are closed for the summer, and those that are opened for summer school programs do not have their libraries open or staffed. I decided to speak a bit about our school’s library at Signal Hill Elementary, one of Prince William County’s 65 elementary schools. We have a pretty typical elementary school library, but it is a much more exciting library during the schoolyear, so I will speak to that! On top of the closure, our library (and our entire school) has embarked on an 18-month long renovation project, so the shelves are covered in dust-proof layers and the open space is currently storage for our cafeteria tables, extra chairs and a bevy of other temporarily homeless items.

Our school’s library website is FULL of resources for parents and students to use. You can visit access the bulk of the information by visiting https://signalhilles.pwcs.edu/about_us/Library. Many of those resources are linked to a student’s public library card, but not all of them. The school actually collaborates with our public library each school year to get library cards to students by just filling out a form and submitting it to the school librarian. The library card applications are processed and the cards are delivered to our school by one of the public library staff. While our library has over 10,000 books to check out within its walls, access to our public library is key and a seamless process makes it even easier for our students and families. Further, there are links to some of the apps that are being used by our classroom teachers for literacy learning such as Starfall and Unite for Literacy, which has over 400 picture books, 1/4th of which are in Spanish. From National Geographic Kids to Audible Stories with books available in five different languages, our links to online learning is fairly extensive.

During the Covid closure of schools, we fostered a curbside pickup program for any student wishing to check out a book. Most of the students who took advantage of this program were full-time virtual students whose parents decided to keep them at home rather than send them back to school on a hybrid, part-time basis. The program was launched as an additional resource for students who were missing the library. Parents browsed the collection at home and requested the books which were then put on hold and delivered to a parent’s car upon arrival to school. The program was a huge success and kept the students engaged with the library even when they were not physically in school.

Our library services students from PreK (age 4) to 5th grade (10-11). We house just over 13,000 books on our shelves and remain one of the most positive and most-valued rooms in our school. Students are always greeted by cheerful murals and a caring staff who take the time to explore titles with them. Students are often given jobs of their own and a re trusted with the task of collecting books from classrooms on non-library days. They learn the importance of taking care of books and how to check them in and reshelf them. They generally take great pride in their work in the library and often this translates to other facets of their school work. We started a collaboration with local therapy dogs who come into our school and library and visit with students for a morale boost. It has become wildly successful and helps with much more than reading anxiety, in my opinion.

Students come to the library as a class when in Kindergarten and then when scheduled by their classroom teacher/when they are able once in grades 1-5. This library is clearly for students and staff for use while school is in session housing a collection mostly consisting of children’s literature, young adult books, and a small collection of books for adults. There are no public hours, and parents are only allowed in the school and therefore, the library during special events, such as the semi-annual book fairs. The books are arranged according to the Dewey Decimal system of classification with the exception of our fiction titles (alphabetical by author’s last name), and the library is staffed by one librarian and one library media specialist. The space is colorful and welcoming with beautiful murals marking the entrance to the library within the school.

I am proud that our library is accessible to all and strives to be a place of multi-cultural inclusivity. Everyone is welcome to come to the library, to use the technology, check out the books, or find a quiet place to comfortably read for a short time during the school day. While our library hosts a weekly Battle of the Books competition for fourth and fifth grade students and is home to monthly staff meetings, I do wish that the space could be used as more of a collaborative space, but with a new librarian starting this school year, change could be on the horizon.

Special Collection/Archives

I very truly wanted to visit the National Archives in Washington, DC as one of my choices, but I was not able to make the trip, sadly. I am eagerly awaiting a time that I can head into our capital and explore this treasure. I was able to find out a ton of information by visiting their website at https://www.archives.gov/. The homepage alone is chock full of information for everyone from the amateur genealogist to historians and everyone in between. Self-described as America’s record keeper, their mission is, in part, to “strengthen our nation’s democracy through public access to high-value government records” (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2022).

Most of the services available in-person are available in some capacity online. As digitization projects progress in the future, more and more information will be available from home. While this is happening, the website is comprehensive in its treatment of digital research methods and, specifically, how to use their catalog. I fell into a quick rabbit hole of personal family research and had to re-focus my efforts to the task at hand. To sum it up, for a history fan such as myself, the NARA website is a treasure trove of information and fascinating facts from the past. The website is user-friendly for the most part, but the vast amount of information available can make it difficult to pare down based on specific search criteria. It really is best, if you are serious about research using the NARA site, to take the time to watch the many tutorials that will help with your quest for information.

Of particular interest to educators, there is an entire section on Educator Resources. These resources are incredibly rich in content and would be fantastic to use in a classroom or school library. DOCSTeach, in particular, looks amazing. You can narrow your search for content by grade level, topic, activity or thinking skill. There are so many activities to choose from, it would take hours to browse them all, but seconds to find a specific topic, if you had one in mind. You can visit https://docsteach.org/ for more information. As a bonus, all of the content on the site for educators is Creative Commons zero, so everything created by the NARA is within the public domain.

The NARA itself, to visit in person, it seems, is inviting for just about anyone with an interest in U.S. history, democracy, and the preservation of the foundation of our country and its citizens. When visiting, you will likely visit the National Archives Museum, unless heading in to do some research with the help of a staff member or archivist. The research room is open by appointment only, but the museum, which is free to visit, is accessible and open every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The building itself looks cold and stately, but very fitting with Washington, DC architecture. The rotunda of the building houses the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. That alone would be worth the visit. Students must be at least 14 years of age to conduct research within the archives, but anyone is welcome to visit.

While the structure of the cataloging at the National Archives doesn’t follow an alphabetical or topical organization system, they are usually organized, according to Carol Buswell (2013), the National Archives organizes things as you would in a filing cabinet at home. A lot of the research that you will do in the Archives will be done by narrowing events down. Sometimes this happens by time period, geographical location, or even major world event, such as World War II. Often, individual items aren’t even cataloged yet, and it’s possible to come across documents that haven’t been seen or touched in decades or even centuries! (Buswell, 2013).

Again, according to the website, the Archives is accessible to all. The purpose of archives and special collections, after all, according to Rubin and Rubin (2020) is access. Researchers are encouraged to enter through the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance, while guests wishing to view the historic documents on display at the Archives Museum should enter on Constitution Avenue at the museum entrance. There are seemingly endless special events and programs ongoing at the Archives Museum, but the real work is being done within the Archives themselves. In addition to the Washington, D.C. location, there are accompanying Federal Records Centers and Archives in many major U.S. cities across the country. In addition to maintaining the archives, the NARA also maintains the Presidential Libraries, of which there are 16, starting with President Herbert Hoover’s library in Iowa. For the research rooms visits, advance reservations are required for those sites outside of the Capital region, and are encouraged for the D.C. location.

From what I can gather, a visit to the Rotunda inside the Archives is worth the visit in and of itself. The incredibly impressive vista must inspire historians of the future to forge ahead, while reminding visitors of their good fortune to be within a building so dedicated to preserving the history of our country.

I’m thrilled at the prospect of visiting the Archives in the near future, and I can’t imagine how I would be disappointed. In the meantime, Google Cultural Institute offers a glimpse inside the building and its contents all from the comfort of your home. You could spend hours browsing the documents and history held within and still be thirsty for more. In person, the Archives is home to “approximately 13.28 billion pages of textual records; 10 million maps, charts, and architectural and engineering drawings; 44.4 million still photographs, digital images, filmstrips, and graphics; 40 million aerial photographs; 563,000 reels of motion picture film; 992,000 video and sound recordings; and 1,323 terabytes of electronic data. All of these materials are preserved because they are important to the workings of Government, have long-term research worth, or provide information of value to citizens.” (National Archives and Records Administration, 2022). How can you not find something you like among this collection? I can’t wait to visit.

References

Buswell, C. (2013, April 8). What’s in the National Archives and how’s it organized? [Blog] National Archives Education Updates. https://education.blogs.archives.gov/2013/04/08/intro-to-national-archives/

Google Cultural Institute. (2022). U.S. National Archives. Google, Inc. https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/u-s-national-archives

Mathews, B. & Soistmann, L. A. (2020, September 1). Encoding Space: Shaping learning environments that unlock human potential. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/09/01/encoding-space-library-design/

National Archives and Records Administration. (2022). About the National Archives of the United States: General information leaflet, Number 1. National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/publications/general-info-leaflets/1-about-archives.html

Prince William County Government. (2018, October 25). Five year strategic plan. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://www.pwcva.gov/department/library/central-community-library

Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President. (2022). If knowledge is power, Mason’s library collections are academic powerhouses. George Mason University. https://provost.gmu.edu/academics-and-research/libraries#:~:text=If%20knowledge%20is%20power%2C%20Mason’s,of%20Law%20Library%2C%20Arlington%20Campus

Reed, J. (2014). The rotunda for the charters of freedom. [Photograph]. National Archives and Records Administration. https://i0.wp.com/prologue.blogs.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2017/08/20140109-01-007.jpg?ssl=1

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

Signal Hill Elementary School. (2022). Useful links. Prince William County Schools. https://signalhilles.pwcs.edu/about_us/Library/useful_links