Virginia's Academic Library Consortium

VIVA Featured Member Library: Randolph College

An interview with Director Lisa Lee Broughman

What are the top three points of pride in your library?

• Our library fosters a strong sense of diversity and acceptance within the campus community. Some examples include putting pronouns on nametags, creating three all-gender restrooms, and incorporating the feedback of organizations such as the Black Students Association and our LGBTQ+ student group, into our collection development practices to ensure that our resources represent the experiences of the student body. We strive to make the library a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
• We have developed partnerships with several departments at the college to bring programming, services, and artwork into our facility. One example of this is our recent partnership with the faculty in the college’s new Museum and Heritage Studies major; we have offered the walls of an entire wing of the library as a “classroom” for student-curated art exhibits.
• We are proud of our unique collection of rare books and manuscripts, our first edition European and American children’s literature collection, and the international appeal of our Pearl S. Buck (R-MWC Class of 1914) collections.

What is the most popular spot in the library for users?

• We recently repurposed an underused alcove in the library to turn it into the “Relaxation Room”, which is filled with games, jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, and the library’s current fiction collection. Also new to the library is the “Tea Closet" where people can get themselves a cup of tea and a snack. Both spaces are available for everyone’s use, because the students are not the only ones on campus who need to relax! They have proved very popular so far.

Which VIVA resource or service does your library value the most, and why?

• Without a doubt, our robust EBSCOhost collections are the most favored resources offered by our library, which we certainly could not afford without a membership in the VIVA consortium. Additionally, Interlibrary Loans form a core component of the services our library provides for student and faculty research, which could not be done as quickly or as affordably without the VIVA framework.