The gallery, located in the Central Library's meeting complex lobby, offers library customers an opportunity to share in the enjoyment of the visual arts, allows artists and community residents to share creative talents and information, and enhances the visual environment in which library service is delivered.

Individual artists are invited to submit slides of their work through a call for entries published annually in November in local newspapers and art publications. Selection is made by the Gallery Coordinator through a juried process based on quality of style and presentation and appropriateness for display in a public space.

Leonette Adler, our first Art Gallery Coordinator, created the Art Gallery for the Virginia Beach Central Library to be a quality hanging space to highlight the diversity and richness of art in the Tidewater area.

For more information about the Central Library's gallery call (757) 385-0110.

Displays in cases and on the tops of tables, and floor and wall-mounted exhibits constitute a forum for community expression in the public library. It is defined as a "limited public forum" and enjoys constitutional protection. The Library may prohibit displays concerning certain subject matter, if it has a reasonable basis for excluding such content, but it may not discriminate based on viewpoint.

The Library plays an important role in assuring a sense of community among citizens and an opportunity for citizens to understand complex public policy issues. It is committed to a neutral viewpoint and provides information on all sides of an issue. The development of displays and exhibits must parallel the development of the Library's materials collection in its commitment to these principles.