Keeping in Touch Back Home
We know it is important to keep in touch with loved ones and friends back in your home country. And in this era of instant communications, access becomes easier every day. You may use your own telephone calling card, buy a calling card at many retail outlets or take advantage of free Internet access available at Sentara and the public libraries. Local libraries close to the downtown Norfolk area also may provide news from home in your own language.
Access to the Internet
Sentara
Visitors to Sentara hospitals may log onto the Internet at any of our Cyber Café locations. They are located in the cafeteria – such as the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital cafeteria -- under a neon sign that proclaims Cyber Café.
Norfolk Public Library
Internet services are available at all Norfolk Public Library locations. To use the Internet, call or walk in to any library 24 hours in advance to reserve time on one of the machines. Patrons may use the Internet one hour per day. If printing information, the first five pages are free. Additional pages cost 15 cents per page.
The two Norfolk Public Library facilities closest to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital are the Kirn Library and Van Wyck Branch Library.
Kirn Library (Main Library)
301 E. City Hall Ave., Norfolk
757-664-7323
441-READ (441-7323)
Kirn Memorial Library is Norfolk’s main library, located in downtown Norfolk across from MacArthur Center mall.
Library hours.
Van Wyck Branch Library 1368 DeBree Ave., Norfolk
441-2844
The Van Wyck branch is located one block northeast from the intersection of Colonial Avenue and Princess Anne Road in Ghent.
Library hours. The smaller branch library has fewer Internet computers. Call ahead or drop in to reserve a time. Free parking is available in the lot or on DeBree Avenue.
Foreign Language Newspapers/Magazines
The Internet has, by and large, become the most convenient way to access foreign language newspapers and magazines. Some libraries will also carry these publications.
Old Dominion University Libraries Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23529
(757) 663-4154
Old Dominion University's library also subscribes to a few foreign language periodicals. You may visit the library on campus at Hampton Boulevard and 45th Street, or call 683-4154 and request the reference section. They will search for a publication by its specific title.
El Eco De Virginia
101 W. Plume Street, Norfolk
(757) 625-1341
El Eco de Virginia, a regional Latino newspaper, is published bi-weekly from offices in downtown Norfolk. It recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and is the state's oldest Spanish-language newspaper.