GUEST COMMENTARY: World-Class Libraries Open to Local Residents
What you may not know about library options at the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg
The opinions expressed in this guest commentary are not necessarily those of the Williamsburg Independent.
The residents of Williamsburg and other local communities are privileged to have access to several world-class libraries, including a couple at The College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg. Take a look below to learn more.
Earl Gregg Swem Library
The largest is the Earl Gregg Swem Library on the campus of William & Mary located behind Phi Beta Kappa Hall on Jamestown Road. This library has over 265,000 square feet of space and is open to the Public. On a recent visit the staff were very welcoming and helpful to me. Here’s what their website offers: “As part of a partnership between William & Mary libraries and Williamsburg Regional Library, individuals who live in Williamsburg, James City County or York County can receive borrowing privileges at W&M Libraries at no cost. Members of certain organizations receive visitor borrowing privileges as well, including W&M alumni, OSHER members, and Virginia Teachers.”
The library has 4 levels with extensive book racks, read and relax spaces, access to computers, and many other specialized spaces. The public can also access the library online, borrow books and DVDs, and other materials from Swem as well as the Chemistry and Physics libraries, and even have them delivered to you. Access to the many specialized databases from public computers in the library is especially valuable. For 9 months of the year, we share the space with William & Mary students, but frankly most of them access the library online. I would say it’s not the best library for children who are not yet in high school, but for all other residents it’s an exceptional resource.
“I’m excited to open our library collections to the community, but, even more so, I’m delighted that our W&M community – especially those who live outside the city and counties – will be able to take advantage of WRL’s collections in a way they have never been able to before,” said Carrie Lynn Cooper, Dean of University Libraries, as noted in a post on the College’s website.
Residents can register for a library account in person, or by going to the Swem Library website, scrolling down to the bottom of the page under Resources For and finding the Visitor link. We can also use the materials onsite at the Law Library, Business Library, and Education Library, but you have to be a W&M student, faculty member, or alumni to borrow materials from these libraries.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library
City residents also have access to Colonial Williamsburg’s John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library located at 313 1st Street with its 30,000 square feet of library space. The public has access to most of the materials onsite as well as online. You can borrow materials through an inter-library loan by going through The Earl Greg Swem Library. This library is particularly valuable in researching history subjects including Virginians, Revolutionary War Virginians, American Indian History, and genealogical research.
Build or renovate?
In a previous piece, I described why I believe renovating the current library is a better option for the City than building a new library at a budgeted cost of $40M. It’s worth noting again that James City County is moving forward with their own $49M, 50,000 square foot library only 3.5 miles away from the City location. Do we really need to spend $40M for a new library building instead of $8-$10 million for a major renovation of our existing one?
About the Writer: During a 45-year career, Robert Wilson worked with senior leadership teams to develop and implement innovative strategic and business plans that have fostered growth and profitability. His background includes direct profit and loss responsibility, forging effective multi-functional leadership teams, restoring organizations to sound financial footing, and implementation of best practices initiatives. He has demonstrated a mastery of turnarounds and troubled companies in a variety of business sectors.
Prior to retiring in 2021, Dr. Wilson was Co-COO of a $2 billion operating division of a Fortune 500 Company. He has held the positions of CEO, President, COO, and CFO in several regional and national organizations during his career. Since retiring from corporate life, Mr. Wilson has served as an adjunct instructor in the business school at Christopher Newport University.
Dr. Wilson holds a BBA degree from the College of William & Mary, a MS in Finance degree from the University of Arizona, and a Doctorate in Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honorary business fraternity. Since 1979, he has held a Certified Public Accounting license in the Commonwealth of Virginia (currently inactive) and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and an original member as a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
Dr. Wilson resides in the City of Williamsburg and may be contacted at wilstar2001@gmail.com.