Ruby B. Archie Public Library - Danville, VA — Attraction in Danville

We are not from Danville but are staying here for a while. My son needed to print out some paperwork and I thought of trying the library as most have printers you can use for a small fee. While my son was at the front desk getting sorted, I toured the first floor of this library. It was a very clean, cozy atmosphere with a lot of computer stations to use, well designed and laid out book stacks, and lots of nooks and crannies to read something off the shelf or look more deeply at a selection before checking something out. Their audiobook selection was large for a town this size (42,000ish) and they also had a large selection of movies on DVD to check out. Lastly, the two young staff, a young man and a young lady, at the front desk were both very helpful and displayed what I always find charming - southern hospitality. Being from the Midwest and West, it never ceases to amaze me at how folks from the South have figured out how to treat one another - as human beings - and do such a fantastic job at it. We all could take a lesson. These two young people exemplified these traits and this library and this small interaction with these two staff left a positive impression on me. Danville is lucky to have a library that reflects the culture and history of...

First time I went to this Library I was given free guest pass to use the computer the second time I went I was asked to pay for a guest pass But when I told them that I have previously used a guest pass without purchase They gave me a free guest pass the third time I went to the library I was asked to pay for a guest pass at the library And a fourth time I went I was asked to pay for a guest pass i am saying all of this I'm going to the library twice use it without paying for guest pass butTwo other times that I went I did not stay at the library because I'm consistently asked to pay for a guest pass thought that was ridiculous if money is needed in the library go to proper governmental...

Shocking!!! I had my own book and thought I would sit inside of the PUBLIC library until a meeting I would attend at the nearby school board office. I sat in the back in a quiet corner to read my book. Typical racial profiling so often experienced by those of us of color was alive and well. I had not been seated 2 minutes before an employee came to the back to pretend to examine books on the back shelves. He never put one book on his cart as it was only a prop to spy on me.

Our public library is named for a black leader who was an educator as myself before she became mayor. I too am an educator. We don’t steal books;...