Arthur J. Morris Law Library

Dear Library Blog Readers,
Remember last time when I was telling you about the Fine Arts Library, and how cramped and cozy and un-spacious it was?  Well, this week we visited the Arthur J. Morris Law Library, at the UVA Law School.  And if I didn't already know that lawyers have more money than artists, the contrast between these two libraries really drove that point home.  The Law Library is like a cross between The Pentagon and a luxury leather goods executive's living room.  If you look up "spacious" in the dictionary you will probably see a picture of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library.  Here is a picture of the reading room:

Can we just pause for a moment and talk about that perfect row of freshly-lined trash cans, so precisely lined up beside every table?  Why do the lawyers need a trash can at hand's reach?  Are they balling things up and throwing them away at a rapid rate?  Are they puking from stress?  Is this an aesthetic choice? Or do they have them there just because they can?  In any case, the Law Library is tricked out with deluxe accomodations, and many extra mint-on-the-pillow flourishes. Like having one freshly lined trash can meticulously arranged beside each and every table. Twelve, to be precise.  Because if there's one thing the Law Library is, it's precise...

....which leads me to another hilarous contrast between here and the Fine Arts Library.  The cautiounary "don't leave your computer unattended" signs.  In Fiske Kimball it simply says "take your laptop with you, there have been reports of theft."  Here at the Law Library, the signs read:  "Two laptops have been stolen this semester."  So. Specific.

The Law Library is comprised of several floors, and I am sorry that on this particular day, time constraints limited my visit to the first floor.  But what I did see in my brief time here was impressive.  Besides the grandiose Reading Room, replete with trash can row, finely crafted wooden tables and plush leather chairs, the entrance also makes a distinct impression.  Before you enter into the main part of the library, you pass through a lobby that is spacious, formal, and notably clean.  There is an information desk, romantic lighting, and several glass cases filled with relevant documents and artifacts.  One of the most surprising is a shotgun owned by former United States Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren (handcrafted by a Charlottesville gunsmith).

There is also a remarkable collection of oil portraits in classical gilded frames of various Law School luminaries from the past. Among them, Elizabeth Nelson Tompkins '23, the first female law graduate at UVA (and a native of Albemarle County),

and Frances Farmer, the Law School Librarian from 1942-1976.  

According to the inscription beside her portrait, "under her leadership the library grew from 40,000 uncatalogued books in the 1940s to a major research collection of 300,000 volumes by her retirement in 1976."

Judging from the immaculate maintenance, clear presentation of information, and floors upon floors of research materials, I would imagine that Frances Farmer would be pleased with how the Law Library has grown in the years since her reign.  It is one of the nicest libraries I have visited on the tour so far, and certainly one that I would love to revisit and explore more.

*Thanks to Taylor Fitchett, Director of the Law Library, for providing useful information about many items in the Library's special collection.

Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library

For the fifth stop on the Library Tour, we visited the Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library at UVA.  Located on the Arts Grounds (also home to the UVA Art Museum, Culbreth Theatre, and the School of Architecture), the Fine Arts Library is unassuming from the outside.  The entrance is small and narrow and has no lobby, but instead leads directly into the circulation desk area.  The interior is cozy, the ceilings are low, and the aisles of packed bookshelves would be best described as whatever the opposite of "spacious" is.  A dimly lit stairwell straight out of the 1970s leads you to the upper floor which offers a more spacious study room off to the left, with windowed walls and a view of the Architecture School.  But if you continue straight, past the windowed study room, the walls close in again and you are offered more cozily packed bookshelves, a few small study carrels, and a small white staircase leading to the secret third floor.  It is really more of a loft than an actual third floor, with more tightly packed bookshelves and a small circular balcony that wraps around the low ceiling and looks down on the shelves below. 

The collection of books, even in what feels like a slightly cramped space, is impressive.  I was particularly struck by the volumes and volumes of art books written in other  languages- Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese- that filled the shelves.  It would be a fun place to go back and explore, as it is clearly overflowing with books on every type of painting, drawing, fabric art, landscaping and pottery throughout the centuries.  I would certainly like to revisit and check out some more of these treasures, but I'm not sure I would use it frequently as just a place to hang out.  

One final note: of all five libraries that I have visited on the tour so far, the Fine Arts Library was by far the most deathly silent.  I appreciate a respectful and quiet library environment, but in the two and a half floors that I explored I did not hear even a whisper or a clicking of keys typing- and there were many people in there!  It was silent almost to the point of being tense; every time I took a step I felt like I was disrupting the ecosystem.  But if my main complaint about a library is that "it's too quiet", I suppose that is really not a horrible thing.  And the next time I need some artistic inspiration, I know where to come!

Greene County Library: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

For the fourth stop on Library Tour Fall 2014, we traveled north to the Greene County Library, a branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Greene County is Albemarle's scenic and mostly rural neighbor to the north. The Library is located in Stanardsville, a quaint hamlet about 30 minutes from Charlottesville with one Main Street, tiny buildings marked "Post Office" and "Voter Registration", and lush mountain views.  The library building itself (a plain, new-ish brick building with an expansive parking lot) is unremarkable, particularly in the context of antebellum architecture in the homes, churches and picturesque storefronts that surround it.

The interior was simple, but with everything you would expect from a small town library: adorable children's section with tiny tables & chairs and seasonally appropriate Halloween display; small but adequate row of adult-sized tables; Information Desk with sweet, chatty ladies who seemed to know most of the library patrons by name.  The atmosphere was not particularly quiet (toddlers making toddler noises, librarians chatting up the regulars), but it was comfortable and relaxed.  I can't say that I would make the thirty minute drive again, just for the Library. But as small town libraries go, this one appears well-stocked, well-staffed, and popular among the locals.