The first floor contains stacks with mobile shelving as well as the Tibetan Collection and Government Documents. The floor also contains a room with study carrels and a conference room. Much of the first floor is dedicated to staff-only departmental space for Library employees, including Preservation Services’ Remediation Lab. The purpose of the lab is to freeze materials that need pest/mold remediation, usually incoming collections or collections affected by a natural disaster or environmental issue.
- Shannon Library first floor map
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Stop 1: First floor central area
As on each floor, we’ll start in the central area. Here on the first floor the central area is primarily shelving for materials held here temporarily before being distributed throughout the building. The central area has easy access in every direction, although the east, west, and south portions of the first floor are staff-only areas. The bulk of the public spaces on this floor are to the north of this central area.
Extra credit
The social sciences and humanities collection is housed in Shannon Library and on the first floor of Clemons Library, which is connected to Shannon by an interior passage on the second floor. The collection is arranged according to the Library of Congress call number system, beginning with A on Clemons’ first floor and ending with Z up on the fifth floor of Shannon. Here on the first floor of Shannon the stacks hold call numbers H-J — Social Sciences, Political Sciences, and some Law materials (the bulk of Law materials are held in the Arthur J. Morris Law Library on UVA’s North Grounds).
Next stop
Move through the stacks to the north to the Tibetan Collection Room.
Stop 2: Tibetan Collection
UVA’s renowned Tibetan Collection is housed here in a purpose-built room. The Tibetan Collection supports the University’s teaching and research program in Tibetan Buddhism and has been systematically acquired since the late 1960s. The core of the research collection here consists of about 3,300 pecha volumes. Pecha (Tibetan for “book”) are in the format of single sheets, block-printed on both sides of various qualities of paper. Some are bound, but most pecha volumes in the collection are unbound. Nearly all the collection was published in India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet, with extremely small press runs, and this material is out of print and unique — virtually irreplaceable. The room is open to the public from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The space has tables and chairs and is also available as study area.
Extra credit
While you’re here, be sure to check out the two reproductions of thangkas on the walls outside the room. Thangkas (“thangka” is literally “thing that one unrolls” in Classical Tibetan) are Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala (a symbolic diagram).
Next stop
Head next door to the Government Documents Room. If you’re facing the Tibetan Collection Room, it’s to your right.
Stop 3: Government Documents
The U.S. government distributes materials in a variety of formats, including electronic, CD, microfiche, and paper. The Government Documents room contains about 25,000 materials on the shelves, including Virginia, U.S., and international documents. It also holds about 9,000 microforms and microfilms which can be accessed using high-tech, easy-to-use readers — providing a different experience from that of the old-style readers some visitors may be familiar with.
Extra credit
The U.S. government is the largest publisher in the world. As part of its publishing program, it deposits certain classes of federal documents free of cost to designated libraries throughout the United States and its territories — the UVA Library is one such U.S. federal regional depository.
Next stop
Feel free to explore other public areas on the first floor. When you’re ready to tour another floor, make your way back to the central area (stop 1 on the map). From the central area, use the central stairs or elevators to go up to whichever floor you’d like to visit next. On that floor, we’ll also begin in the central area between the central stairs and elevators.
If you are done with the tour, feel free to continue to explore Shannon Library and take advantage of the building’s spaces, services, and resources. To leave, you can exit Shannon Library on either the second or fourth floor.