Tidewater Community College, City of Virginia Beach to open Joint-Use Library

Tidewater Community College and the City of Virginia Beach join together to open the Joint-Use Library, one of the most innovative libraries in the region, on Aug. 17 with a community celebration beginning at 10 a.m.

The day’s events include family storytimes, Lego-building, music, a “frozen watercolors” craft for children and families, e-reader and gadget demos, special performances and more.

The 125,000-square-foot library – located at the corner of Rosemont Road and Faculty Boulevard on the TCC Virginia Beach Campus – will house more than 128,000 items and will offer the best of both worlds: the research capacity and longer hours of a college library and the materials, programming and children’s area of a public library. TCC students and city residents will enjoy the full scope of the library’s offerings, a unique feature for a library co-managed by a college.

“The Joint-Use Library will be another shining example of the entrepreneurial efforts by Tidewater Community College, and a jewel to the students at TCC and to the residents of Virginia Beach,” President Edna V. Baehre-Kolovani said. “This partnership creates an unparalleled resource that will benefit the Hampton Roads community for decades to come. That it is being launched during the college’s 45th anniversary makes it even more special.”

Baehre-Kolovani will join with Virginia Beach Mayor William D. Sessoms Jr. for the Aug. 17 festivities, as well as a by-invitation dedication the evening before.

“The Tidewater Community College and City of Virginia Beach collaboration has created an amazing space for citizens of all ages to come together, learn and improve their chances for achievement,” Sessoms said. “The Joint-Use Library highlights Virginia Beach as a ‘Community for a Lifetime’ – and the greatest city in the world.”

An interactive children’s area with themed activities tailored to the City of Virginia Beach is only one of the special features of the Joint-Use Library. An information marketplace with a coffee shop nearby greets patrons when they enter; more than 200 computers scattered throughout the building are for public use; and free Wi-Fi access is available. Work stations will allow students to digitally scan pages from books and periodicals, and 36 rooms will provide space for group study.

The building will be open following TCC’s schedule, meaning that when classes are in session, the public will have access for 16 more hours a week than a typical public library schedule. A community room is available for meetings.

Funding for the $43 million library, which will employ 75, is split: 83 percent came from TCC and 17 percent from the City of Virginia Beach. Construction began in June 2011.