Public Library

Hours

10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Saturday

LINC

LINC, the Library Information Network of Chesterfield, is the library’s integrated online information system. It allows library users both within and outside of our library buildings to view the collection, place reserves and renew items. Customers can access their record to find out which items they have checked out and when they are due. Users are also able to see if the item they want is available, charged out or on order.

Library Cards

Library cards are issued to all Chesterfield residents without charge upon proof of residency. Agreements with many neighboring localities make it possible for Chesterfield citizens to use other area libraries and for our neighbors to use Chesterfield libraries at no charge.

Loans

Items, except for video materials (e.g., videocassettes, DVD's), may be checked out for two weeks. There is an additional one week grace period before late charges are assessed. Items that are overdue beyond the grace period accumulate fines from the original date due. Except for videos the fine for overdue items is $.10 a day, with a maximum of $5 per item. Lost items incur a $5 processing fee in addition to the cost of replacing the item.

Video Materials

Video materials (e.g., videocassettes, DVD's) are for home use and are available for the recreational and educational needs of all library customers. Library customers of all ages may check out video materials. The loan period is for one week. The fine for overdue video materials is $1 per day with a maximum overdue fine of $5 per video material item. Parents who wish to restrict their children¦s access to video materials may request a special library card. This card will allow access to all library resources except video materials.

Renewal

Most items may be renewed unless they are on hold for another patron or overdue. Library materials in the grace period are overdue and cannot be renewed via the Web catalog. However, a staff member can renew these materials via the telephone during regular hours of operation. Please have available your library card and item(s) to be renewed when you call. Branch phone numbers are available here.

Outside Book Returns

Outside book returns are available at all branches.

Reserves and Interlibrary Loans

You may place a reserve on any circulating item in the Chesterfield Library system at no charge. Reserves may be placed through LINC. Books not in our collection may be requested on interlibrary loan for a fee of $.50 per item.

Circulating Materials

All Chesterfield County libraries have a wide variety of materials to circulate. You may check out audiocassettes, books on tape, compact discs, encyclopedias, foreign language materials, large print books, fiction and nonfiction works. The library also has a video collection (videocassettes and
DVD's) that includes feature films, documentaries, acclaimed television series, and instructional and educational programs. The branch libraries circulate most periodicals for a two-week period; only juvenile periodicals circulate at the Central Library. The availability of any circulating item can be found through LINC.

Reference Services

Librarians are available to help anyone needing assistance finding information in print and digital formats during library hours. Reference materials stay in the library but may be photocopied for $.15 per page. Resources found online may also be emailed to an individual’s address. The library subscribes to an online database which includes full text as well as citations to general, health and business periodicals and is available through LINC.

Outreach Services

Program Overview

Outreach Services brings the library to those individuals residing in Chesterfield County who cannot easily visit their local library because of physical challenge, socio-economic constraints, incarceration, or other limiting circumstance.  In our effort to provide library service to special populations, we seek to recognize the individuality of each customer and the uniqueness of his or her needs.

Children's and Youth Programs and Services

Preschool Programs and Services. Preschool storytimes and book service is provided weekly at designated Headstart sites.  Children's programs are also held at Dupont Square Apartments, a refugee resettlement complex in Chesterfield County.

School Age Programs.  Programs are provided to school age children from Bermuda Run Apartments as part of their after school homework assistance program.

Services to Special Youth Populations.  Library services are provided on a weekly basis to the Chesterfield County Detention Home.  Teachers have an opportunity each week to request materials.  An assortment of magazines is provided for teacher and student use and videos are provided for classroom use.

Winchester Greens Resource Center.  Outreach Services operates a resource center at Winchester Greens Apartments, which is a federally subsidized housing complex in Chesterfield County.  Funded through a grant, the center provides recreational and informational materials for use by residents.  Math and reading interactive software is available for use by students.  Software for word processing, spreadsheet preparation, creating banners, flyers, brochures, and invitations is also available for use by residents.  High-interest, low-level adult reading materials are available, as well as Internet access.  Encyclopedias are available on CD.  Library programs are conducted at the center for several age groups.

(Special summer reading programs are held June - August.  For more information, call Outreach Services at 804-748-1768.)

Adult Programs and Services

Senior Outreach.  Outreach Services provides programming to several facilities in Chesterfield County that house seniors:  Lucy Corr Village, Ginter Hall South, Hodges Manor, Manor House at Bellgrade, Chippendale, and Bon Secours retirement communities.  The program topics include reminiscence, discussion of current events, reviews of current books, travel, and storytelling.  A multi-media, multi-sensory approach is used with the goal of actively engaging the participants, and for some, renewing an interest in their surroundings.  Books, videos, audiotapes, and other library materials are provided for activity directors and residents.  Monthly program are also provided at nutrition sites sponsored by the Capital Area Agency on Aging:  the Ettrick-Matoaca Friendship Cafe, and the New Covenant Friendship Cafe.

Chesterfield County Jail.  Outreach Services provides library service to individuals incarcerated at the county jail.  Inmates are served on a weekly basis.

Homebound Library Service.  Regular and large-print books, audiocassettes, magazines, and other library materials can be delivered to a customer's home if certain eligibility requirements are met.  The service utilizes volunteers to deliver these pre-selected library materials.

Chesterfield Men's Diversion Center.  Periodicals are delivered for use by incarcerated adult males at this work-release site.

For more information contact:

Clara Hart , Outreach Services Coordinator
9501 Lori Road
Chesterfield, Virginia 23832
804-748-1768

Meeting Rooms

Meeting room facilities are available to non-profit organizations on a first come, first served basis at most branches. Call your local library for additional information.

Local History and Genealogy

The Central Library has a Local History room that contains non-circulating materials about Chesterfield County history, Virginia history and the Civil War. The Local History room is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month. Knowledgeable volunteers and library staff are available to assist customers during these hours. The library also has Chesterfield County census, birth, death and marriage records from 1749 -1900 on microfilm.  For more information please contact Jay Taylor at taylorj@co.chesterfield.va.us. 

Law Library

The Chesterfield County Law Library is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Holdings include the law codes of Virginia and the United States, Virginia law reviews, law reports, legal encyclopedias and legal treatises.  All material is for use in the library only.  The Law Library is located in the Central Library and can be reached at 751-4986.

Youth Services

Library staff are available to assist you and your child in choosing recreational and educational materials.  Library staff are always willing to help children and families with the library's various resources, but parents and legal guardians are responsible for deciding what library resources are appropriate for their children.  The library encourages parents to take an active role in guiding their child to appropriate library materials as well as in guiding their child's access to the Internet.

Preschool

Picture books, audiocassettes, compact discs, and videocassettes are available for parents to share with preschoolers. On LINC, the Kids’ Virtual Library links to sites of interest to preschoolers and their families and provides suggestions of good books for this age group. Family Resource Centers in each library provide materials for children up to age five and include materials for their parents. Preschool storytimes are also offered at each branch. Check LINC or call your local branch for storytime schedules.

Elementary School Age

The library has material for beginning readers and fiction and nonfiction titles for more advanced readers. The library also provides Super Smart Search, a tool for guiding kids to the best of the Internet. Super Smart Search contains filtered search engines and directories designed specifically for kids to use to search the Web. The Kids’ Virtual Library on LINC contains links to book suggestions for kids; it lists recommended web sites that may help with homework or simply entertain. Reading lists for this age group are widely available to meet a variety of needs.

Middle School Readers

Materials in both the Children’s and the Young Adult sections are selected to appeal to middle school students. Favorite authors and titles are often available in paperback. On LINC, the Kids’ Virtual Library and the Teens’ Virtual Library provide lists of recommended books and web sites for this age group. Super Smart Search and Teen Surfin’ provide these students with filtered search engines and directories designed specifically for families to use to search the Web.

High School Readers

Young adults will find needed materials in the Children’s, Young Adult, and Adult sections of the library and on LINC. Of special interest are resources about colleges, careers, social issues, and popular culture. To guide teens on the Web, Teen Surfin’ is provided for filtered web searching. Suggested reading lists are available and lists of award-winners for young adults can be found in the Teens’ Virtual Library. A ready-reference web page to aid in homework and/or research is available in the Virtual Library on LINC.

Youth Programs

The library offers many exciting programs during the year for youth including storytimes and the Summer Reading Program, a special summer celebration of reading and listening activities for children and young adults. Check your local branch or LINC for information and schedules.

Programs and Displays

All branches have ongoing exhibits, book displays and booklists of interest to adults. Book discussion groups and a variety of programs for adults are offered throughout the system. Check LINC or call your local branch for additional information.

Business Resources

Although business resources are distributed throughout the system, our largest collection is located at the Central Library. Available are Dun & Bradstreet directories, Moody’s manuals, Thomas Register and other well-known business and industrial directories on international, national, state and local levels. People interested in starting or running a small business will find a variety of helpful materials at the library, including information on business plans, marketing, financing, personnel management, franchising, record keeping and law. Several libraries also have subscriptions to investment resources such as Morningstar, Value Line and Standard & Poor’s stock reports. Online access to business periodicals and to telephone directory information is available at all locations.

Job Search Resources

The Central Library subscribes to a selection of regional Sunday newspapers and also has Help Wanted USA, which is a microfiche reprint of the Sunday help wanted ads from 64 cities. The circulating collections at all locations contain a variety of resume, interview and career planning guides.  Many business directories make it possible to research industries and to locate companies by name and geographic location. Additional material is available online.

Volunteers

The library welcomes volunteer help. For information contact the branch librarian or call 748-1772.

Friends of the Chesterfield County Public Library

The Friends of the Library assist and support the library system in many ways. They hold book sales, fundraisers, and also sponsor the libraries’ copiers and typewriters. They have raised funds to purchase public access catalogs, have provided many activities and programs for youth, and presently subscribe to Help Wanted USA. Ask for a membership form.

Copy Machines, Typewriters and Computers

The Friends of the Library provide copy machines in each library that operate at $.15 a copy. Most libraries have typewriters for public use for a small fee that are also provided by the Friends.

Computers for Public Use

The library now utilizes a self-service computer reservation system. The system allows users quicker and more equitable access to the library’s popular public-computing services. Using your library card number and personal identification number (PIN), there are multiple ways to to reserve a computer:
In the library, if there is an open research or express station, go to the station and you can make an immediate reservation for that computer. If all research and express stations at the branch are in use, go to the branch reservation station. You may have the next available reservation or make a future reservation up to seven days in advance. From home, school, work or anywhere you have Internet access, go to the library home page and click on the "Reserve a PC" link to the left. Make your reservation at any available time that is convenient for you.
Laser printing is available. You may print up to 3 color pages or ten black and white pages, or a combination of the two, per day, at no charge. The fee for additonal printing is $.15 per page for black and white printing and $.50 per page for color printing. Most branches now also have library catalog-only workstations so you may easily access your customer record or do a quick catalog search. These workstations do not require a reservation. We encourage you to come to the library and register for or update your library card in order for you to use the library computers.

For additional information please see the Library's "Guidelines for Computer Use".