VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Libraries have never been more accessible — online databases have streamlined the process to check out books from across the commonwealth.
Velma Franklin and her husband love browsing for audiobooks at the Central Library in Virginia Beach.
She thinks back to her time as a library volunteer at Point of View Elementary when her kids were students there.
“The kids would come in and stamp their book — ok, stamp the book,” she recalls.
Watch related coverage: Norfolk bookstore sparks kids' love for reading, one free book at a time
Franklin cringes, thinking back to how hard it was then to find the book you were looking for.
“Research papers! I remember the card catalog. My worst enemy! I just couldn’t find anything. It’s so much simpler now,” Franklin said.
It sure is, according to Trinika Abraham, manager of technology services for Virginia Beach Public Libraries.
“You could go to an OPAC, the Online Public Access Catalog. Instead of being a card catalog, it's on the computer,” she explains.
Watch related coverage: Portsmouth elementary students score free books as part of "If You Give a Child a Book" campaign
She tells me the Dewey Decimal System is still alive and well, but gone are the days of getting your card stamped.
“You would find that same item ID that you would on that card for that catalog box, and you would find that on the computer, write that down, and navigate the same way to the shelves,” she adds.
These days, you don’t even have to come to the library to find your favorite read.
“You can do that from home; you don’t have to come to the library. You can check on your phone, search our catalog, and if we don’t have a title, you can suggest that we purchase it,” Abraham said.
Watch related coverage: Local artist brings colorful creations to young patients at CHKD
Now, most libraries are connected, so if your library doesn’t have something you want, you can still get your hands on it.
“We can borrow from a school or a hospital library, so those are the advantages today of being able to find materials in your library,” Abraham explained. “This is what we call our automated material handler machine,”
It's a high-tech and low-tech combo that Abraham says gets books back to libraries quickly, so people who have popular books on hold get them faster.
Watch related coverage: Need a way to calm your mind? Try walking a labyrinth
“This is where our customers return materials outside. It comes in through two different conveyors. We have one conveyor that goes under the floor,” Abraham said."We have bins for different locations. We have ten branches, so this is our big sorter.”
Free and easy access to reading materials makes your local library positively Hampton Roads.
“Those are the advantages today of being able to find materials in your library; it’s at your fingertips,” she concluded.
