My last few postings have been about ArcHop and plans for developing more affordable, high-density living spaces in downtown Fresno. But now that the Feb. 5 exhibit is over and we’re in data analysis mode on that one, I’m back to having the library on my mind more than ever.
Fresno State just opened a new library this month — find it on facebook by searching “Henry Madden Library.” But already for the last six months, The Anthro Guys and our students have been studying student life for the library. Dean Peter McDonald commissioned the study last year. His goal is to increase student usage, enhance the experience of all users, and make the library central to campus life. That’s a tall order, but when we met him, Dean McDonald was already aware of Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons’ “Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester.“ Rochester anthros Foster and Gibbons, in collaboration with their campus librarians, probed student study and paper-writing habits and translated the results into design insights for library services. Dean McDonald saw the potential for an ethnographic study of Fresno State students to help him achieve his goals for library services, and the study was off and running.
What are we doing? Over the next few weeks, I’ll try to post about our actual research activities. Last fall, we attended the Participatory Design Conference at Indiana University and came away with a wealth of new methodological ideas. Most are united by the reality that merely asking people what they want in products and services is woefully inadequate to inspiring better design for rich user experience. In general, people simply can’t tell you what they want from something as complex as “the library.” However, they do know — at some level — what makes for a rich experience. The challenge is to get that out of them, find the design insights, and translate them into actions and policies. Consequently, one thing we’re deep into right now is Student Theater. In Student Theater, we direct some student participants in the first half of a skit that implicates the library somehow, then invite other student participants to direct the players toward a conclusion. In a related exercise, Bootlegging, students induced elements of library use (who uses the library, what do they do there, what technologies do they use, etc.) onto index cards. We then shuffled the cards, re-dealt them, and asked the students to construct skits based on the new combinations. In these exercises, we are all moving, laughing, thinking on our feet, and creatively trying to put our understandings of the library into action. This catches people off guard and breaks down the barriers of the usual “tell me, what do you want from the library” approach. The value of this technique is that it inspires subjects and analysts to think outside of the box. Looking at the video, we can then induce design insights from the latent, off-the-cuff things the student-subjects produce.
In the last round of skits, a common theme was that someone was misbehaving in the library and other users call them to task. The line, “call security,” kept coming up. Interestingly, our library doesn’t have “security” per se, though we do have campus police who sometimes patrol the building. So why did this “call security” line keep coming up? These are the sorts of issues that our team is now focusing upon.
TheAnthroGeek
anthroguy
Felicia Salcido
23 comments
Comments feed for this article
March 6, 2009 at 10:56 am
kiat
That was well said of our new library. I understand that due to the budget crisis the library was not furnished like it was origionally meant to be. Just from a student perspective I was expecting it to be more comely and inviting, instead I found it empty and uncomfortable. All I want to do there is get my research done and get out of there.
March 25, 2009 at 11:46 am
tamif
The library is a beautiful structure from the outside. I’ve been a student for almost two years and have not “step foot” in the library. Although I keep meaning to take a tour, it just has not been high on my list of priorities. The internet and access to scholarly journals and published articles has made “going to the library” less of an issue. Although, some instructors may have taken the library situation into consideration when developing their syllabi, it has not been necessary for me. On a different note, the skit that you used for the theatre group was great. What an excellent way to get students to participate in a “socially” safe environment while learning something new and possibly looking at the library from a different perspective.
April 1, 2009 at 6:30 am
Merrily Mccarthy
The more I got involved with the library study the more interesting ethnography and observing external phenomena has become to me. I get so much input that now I am prone to write about everything I see. Writing is a practice and the more you do the more you get, but what to do with it all becomes the project. The more involved in Anthropology I have become, as far as my classes have taken me, is that I have deduced it is a field of endeavor where you must be highly creative in order to succeed and inventive. I have learned that most of what we know has come from the experiments of other people who keep on inventing and creating projects for themselves. then they refine what they have learned, present it and it becomes a theory or a science. And then we add more people and more knowledge until we get a field of study whose input is from a multiple of directions or areas of thought. It just keeps going. And if the entity of complied or building blocks of knowledge just keeps going, then so do we. We as humans become extensions of mtDNA , just bigger and more clumsy abstractions of biological refinement.
April 14, 2009 at 9:18 am
57: AnthroNews:TheAnthroGuys Blog « Culture Inscribed
[...] [This is not the end of the blog, for the rest of it, and others go to theanthroguys blog here: http://theanthroguys.com/2009/03/02/the-library-study/ [...]
May 1, 2009 at 11:30 am
elsag
I like how people are including the library in a whole different way. The whole “what do you want from the library” approach is very creative and unique. However, I am disappointed as far as the library design goes. I spend my time here because I really do not have much space to do my work in a quiet place. As an interior design student, I can tell you that the layout is a disappointment. First of all, to me a library should be treated like a sanctuary, quiet, relaxing, and supporting its main function, which is to help individuals study. With the Starbuck on the second floor, this totally throws off these elements. I do like the ideas having a Starbucks here on campus and in the library, but maybe that should have been on the first floor. I understand the concept behind it, which is for people to utilize the whole library. Also, the stairs… I do like the material, it is attractive I am not going to lie, but it is very noisy for the people who are there trying to study. The building is very beautiful, but I feel that whoever did the space planning to this place did not do much of a good job. I feel bad now for complaining about it. It does have some good elements though.
May 1, 2009 at 5:58 pm
ChristinaB
I was really excited when the new library finally opened, it seems like it took forever. However, I myself have only been on the bottom floor to return books and pay fees, but I have heard from other students in my class and it does not seem to be such a great hit. I had a girl in my statistics class discuss how ridiculous it was to place a Starbucks inside. She said it made her feel like it was more of a place to socialize, than to get anything done. I heard there was a Starbucks in the building however, it did not seem like such a bad idea to me only because it seems convenient to have a place where students can have access to food and drinks as they study. Although I have never seen other areas of the library besides the bottom floor after reading some of the posts above it does not seem like it is accommodating all students. I agree with one of the post above who states that they are an interior design students and the workspace is limited. If I had laid out the plan for the library I would have tried to consider every major the school is equipped with and took into consideration the type of homework they have. Who knows maybe one day they will improve the structure of it inside and create a more friendly environment for all majors not just for the purpose of having a place to read and write.
May 2, 2009 at 12:14 pm
JamieO
I am one of the few that has not been in the new library. I have walked by it several times seeing groups of people going in for a tour. I think the outside of the building goes with the new development of buildings; however it does not go with the school that has been around for years. I have heard people talking about the new library and it not having furniture for people to study. That discouraged me from going in and seeing it until it is fully ready. Someone dropped the ball on making sure that it was not fully completed. It looks great on the outside. I am sure that more people who are looking at our school to have their children go to school will stand out. There is a starbucks in the facility for those who are spending several hours writing papers and studying. I am excited to see it when it is completed. This is my last semester and I will not be using it. Maybe some day I will go back to school to further my education.
May 3, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Jessica Huntbach
I have been to the library but like one previous post says, I agree that the library is more like a place to socialize. I see more students in the library, but they are only heading to Starbucks and then leaving. I do see people studying but the majority are just lounging on the few pieces of furniture it has and talking about celebrity gossip. When the old library was there, it was not a place to socialize, it was a place to get work done and study. The new library is always loud and full of people doing a whole lot of nothing. I cannot focus there, so that is why I choose to study elsewhere. I also think that because of the Starbucks, more University High School students have migrated there, and it is really hard to get anything done when a bunch of immature children are being extremely loud making their way to Starbucks and back. I know the library has quiet study rooms, but its not the same. I like the old library, and I kind of wish that they did not spend all this money to make a new library that I have no use for now. I do not think there is anything they could do to make it more appealing to me. I still refuse to go.
May 3, 2009 at 3:28 pm
RKroytz
I thought it was neat how Dean Peter McDonald commissioned anthropologist to attempt to understand what would increase student usage, enhance the experience of all users, and make the library central to campus life. This seams like an interesting endeavor, but at the same time almost a counter productive enterprise. I know for me when we had the old library I was there any time I needed to do a big assignment or study. However it was always to loud for the way I study. I like the new libraries study rooms for a bit more quite and less distractions. However the idea of making the new library the center of the campus seams like it will only make the library louder and less studious. This will ultimately cause more people to go to the library for other reasons than studying and consequently the library will only get louder. I like a Starbucks, as much as the next guy but do we really need one in the library. Lets leave the hang out time and the center of the campus at the student union where people can talk, drink and hang out as much as they want.
I did like the way the anthropologist came to attempt to understand what students thought they wanted out of the library. There were some unique ideas to understand the needs of the students. Who would have thought that skits Student Theater and laughter would be so helpful? My only concern is the students may no what they “want” but is it what they “need.”
May 3, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Jessica Huntbach
I totally agree I think that the USU and the Pit need to stay the center of campus. When I think of the center of campus, I think of the place where all the students hang out and talk and network and take a break from class. I do not think that the library should take over as this part of campus. I want the library to stay quiet and have only one purpose in mind…STUDYING. I do not want to think of the library as the hang out place.
May 7, 2009 at 10:20 am
LauradawnR
I have been watching the progress of the library being built since they began, and have been anxiously awaiting the new library to open. Still since it has been open I have not had a chance to go and visit the library other then to pick up a stack of books. I have been wanting to because I have been waiting so long to have the chance to use it and now that it is open I just don’t have the time to browse around it. However, I do remember using the old library a lot when it was fully accessible. I would go looks through the stacks to find relevant books to what i needed. Then once they removed the stacks and we had to order them, it was a great service but I got used to doing that rather than looking around the section for other books that are similar.
I do plan on looking around the library soon, before I graduate and possible doing some studying there.
Over the past summer I did an internship at a commercial design firm and one of the projects they began bidding for was for a few offices in the Library at Fresno State. I was slightly involved in preparing the bid, which was a great experience and a great thing to ‘brag’ about.
I think that because the library is new, a lot of students who might not have gone to the library before would go now. Just because the fact that it is new and that there are more services in there, including a Starbucks. Starbucks I am sure will raise a lot of crowds and business. It alone would get a lot of students on campus to order stuff from them. Starbucks is another story itself. I am sure there have been studies done on name brand stores and name brands. And the price you pay when you purchase those items. You are basically paying for the name. If you get something simple like a cup of coffee. Because I am sure if you go anywhere else you can get the same cup of coffee for half the price. It is all about the name. There are some specialties that they have which I personally go for. I would of course prefer to pay less, but I am willing to pay the $4 to get what I want which I have not found anywhere else.
On the topic of the library and Starbucks. I think adding a Starbucks to campus was very smart on the schools end because students love Starbucks and they will pay the money to get what they want.
May 13, 2009 at 2:13 am
BrookeM
The topic of library disturbances is very dear to my heart. I am a student that lives at the library. I cannot not sit down and focus at home, I must have complete silence. As a regular library patron, it kills that some people have utter disregard for quiet. Have there parents not taught them proper manners? Have they never been to a library? Do they actually want to study or just socialize? Why don’t they regulate them? These are the questions that run through my mind. I honestly think that people just don not have any respect for others around them. The library needs more “security” in order to keep proper studying by all patrons. This was very interesting to see that our study habits and library usage has been tracked. I am also very, very glad to finally have a library again.
May 13, 2009 at 10:19 am
NestorB
I truly understand your situation. I too can’t study at home and I too prefer a quiet study place such as the library. In the new library, there are places where you can socialize and there are specific spots to study. Being a library patrol at the new library, I can tell you that it is very difficult to control hundred of people at one time. I can also tell you that you there are places in the library specifically made just for studying. The second floor of the old library is made just for that and we as library patrol do monitor that every minute to make sure that all our patrons are being respected. I personally enjoy studying there because everyone is quiet and just doing their own things. I do hate it when there are people out there who just don’t care. It gets me angry when I am trying to study and people are there eating food and talking. I understand your situation very well.
May 19, 2009 at 6:59 am
mayM
BrookeM,You are not alone when it comes to needing quite. If I have to concentrate on a report at work, I really find it disturbing when others are caring on a conversation. I try not to be rude about it but sometimes I have to ask them if they can use the break room to visit. Last semester I heard that Anthropology students were going to do this study on the library. Good idea. It is just another example of what an Anthropologist does and how their research can help. I like using the Library for a quiet place to do research.
May 13, 2009 at 10:11 am
NestorB
I was very excited when the new library opened. I heard many great stuff about it, from the library having a Starbucks and many individual study rooms. I was excited. In fact, I currently work at the library as a Library Patrol (Student Assistant). The new library along with the old library is with many student assistants and many of those student assistants are library patrolmen like myself. We, as library patrols, have the responsibility to make sure that all patrons in the library are being quite and are being respectful to others. In that scene where “call security” keeps coming up, many students probably were talking about us the library patrols. It is also our duties to respond to any disturbances in the library. In other cases, students can wish to call the campus police station and let them know of their problems and what is going on, the dispatcher will then let us know as library patrols to handle the problem and ask us if we need any assistance from a police officer. Other than that, the people who deals with problems within the library are the Library Patrols and Police Officers. Indeed we do have campus security, but their focus is on the parking lots and the surroundings of Fresno State. The library is fully secured, there are always three library patrols and a police officer every hour of the day that the library is open. Just now, as the library is being furnished, the library will too have its own security camera, creating an even safer environment for everyone.
May 14, 2009 at 12:02 am
JamieA
In all honesty, the library serves one purpose to students: it is a learning environment. People who choose to go there are in some form willing to take the time to learn something new. It may range from checking out a book to read, to using the internet, to finding articles, to having an area to sit at where it’s quiet etc. I don’t think that by making a library look nicer and more approachable is the key to getting more students to use it. Having a bigger library with more to offer is more beneficial. Placing a starbucks in a library to get more students to enter and hope to stay shouldn’t be a leading motivator. As a matter of fact, I don’t like the fact that there is a starbucks in the new library because it brings people in for that specific reason then out which is distracting. Libraries have a stigma that promotes a sense of quietness, peacefulness, and a desire to learn. This classic tradition and expectedness needs to remain. I don’t appreciate having to tolerate someone on their cell phone while I’m trying to prepare for a test, if I wanted to be exposed to that type of environment I would have stayed outside.
May 18, 2009 at 8:45 pm
HaliC
A few weeks ago I entered the library because one of my classes got out early and I needed a place to wait for a half hour before my next class started. This library was really nice and very spacious. I really liked going in there for that half hour, and the Starbucks as one thing that kept me coming back. Beside the Starbucks there, I have found my “normal place” to study. I like to study by the window on the second floor. I never was a library person before and I liked studying in my own apartment. Since the time I have entered the library, I have been back numerous times to just study and look out from that second story window because it is so beautiful outside. I live in the Bulldog Apartments, so it is really not that far to walk home and study, but I really enjoy studying in the library. I think the open space, the scenery, and the Starbucks is what draws me in. Also, the library has very good bright lights inside and makes it a lot easier for me to stay awake while studying for classes. My bedroom at my apartment doesn’t have too many bright lights, so I get drowsy easily.
I really enjoy going to the library, and I think that the designers did a great job for drawing in students. I’m also excited that they have installed the furniture recently too!
The only thing that I have heard that is a problem is that the stairs are very loud when anyone walks up them. Once I was studying and an elementary school came for a visit, and it literally sounded like a stampede going up the stairs.
May 19, 2009 at 7:24 am
mayM
Something to consider, are those individuals who truly do not need to have it silent. They propable can’t understand how disturbing it is to those of us who do need silence. It isn’t uncommon to see students in the high school and junior college, doing homework with Ipods in their ears. My own children use to do homework in front of the T.V. before I got rid of it. I think filling ones head with background noise is a way some people are accustom to getting things done.
May 19, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Viet T
It has been interesting to read the responses that deal with the Starbucks in the library, its effect on the noise, and the types of people that surround it. It seems that if the goal is to attract more people to the library to use it for its intended purpose, this is a good idea. Students requested it, no doubt, because they would be more comfortable pulling an all night study session with a little help from a caffeine beverage. I assume Starbucks went along because their studies would tell them that this is exactly the kind of demographic and location that suits them. What I’m wondering is what the library gets from it. Is there a profit sharing going on that helps buy new furniture and books, or does it all go to Starbucks?
I can understand the need for silence. When I study I need the T.V. off and the door closed. This is why I support making as many study rooms available as possible. But as I reflect on my own library usage of the past, I would check things out or copy them and return home lots of times. My best library experiences were when I was involved with study groups that depended more on the resources available from the library than the level of quietness offered. I think that if having a coffee shop was recommended by an anthropological study, it is legitimate therefore to implement the recommendations and then further study their impacts. If more people gather to do more research and reach more conclusions by working together…then we are achieving productive dialogue.
May 20, 2009 at 6:42 pm
mayM
I personally like Starbucks coffee and seem to purchase more then the average person should. I usually drink coffee while I do computer work. I also wonder if the decision to have a Starbucks in the Library based on the Anthropology student’s research? I am looking forward to utilizing this new addition to the Library. I can see how students doing research will benefit; they no longer have to leave the library and disturb the flow of their studies. Most of the time I want to stay longer and finish a project but end up leaving to get something to drink or eat. I usually don’t come back because of the parking or because I broke my concentration mode. It is sad to admit but, if I had a coffee drink that is as filling to me as Starbucks, I would be able to stay at the library longer and complete more work.
However, I am actually surprised drinks are allowed in a library, around the books and computers. I have not actually been inside, since they redid the library, but I plan to go there soon. Even though, my view is different then the others; I can see the point RKroytz makes when saying, students may not know what is good for them. Even if we do know that something isn’t good for us, we often choose to do it anyway.
I have a feeling the disruptions that are happening now will be addressed sooner, then later. People don’t seem to be shy about speaking-up when their rights are being infringed upon. I also think we have to keep an open mind to the changes. Everyone learns differently some with noise and others like me, without noise. The traditional and predictable “quiet” we once new, is conforming to accommodate the generations who can listen to music, write a paper along with an occasional interruption to receive a text message. I will probable find my own quiet area in the library that will meet my needs as students.
December 12, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Edgar Sepulveda
The low budget is definitely a problem that has put the development of the library on hold. Nonetheless, there are a few things that could be improved. One of the main issues for me is the location of the computers in the library. I think the library should set a quiet environment for the students to do homework or study for an exam however, the computer are right in the center of everything in the first and second floor. Everyone walks around that area and there is no privacy when people are always walking behind you and looking at what you are doing or just simply making too much noise with their walking back and forth. The library is so big yet I don’t understand why the computers are in the center of the library by the help desk. I think the computers should all be in one floor, away from all the distractions and a small help desk for one person to attend students in case any complications or questions arise. Also I still don’t know where to go if I need to look for a book or encyclopedia because I have yet to find a map of the library with a legend that tells me where to go. I understand there is a help desk, but that shouldn’t mean I can’t find my way around. And to say the least, the library is in serious need of some good furniture. I really believe the idea of a parking structure is ludicrous, instead why not use that money to make the library a better place for the students. It is always nice to find a peaceful place where to study and clear your mind. The library definitely needs to appear as appealing in the inside as it is in the outside because it is still a bit of a letdown once you walk in. I’m not saying the library is a bad place because it is definitely a great library, but it does need work.
December 17, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Elsbeth Murata
Im glad to hear that the library put what sounds like a lot of effort into the layout and feel of it before it opened. However, I do feel like it fell short in many areas. Now that the library has been open for a full year now we are able to look back and evaluate the successfulness of the environment as a whole.
The library is very successful, in my opinion, in being a place I want to go to study. I dont feel as though its cold or uninviting. I know many people who go there to meet professors for meeting, go to use the computers and printers, get coffee, and so on. There are plenty of desks, and plenty of relaxing couch areas for more relaxation reading, this is unfortunately also where a major pit fall has arrived. With finals week just ending I spent close to 12 hours a day in the library this past week. It is very hard to find a quiet place to study due to the fact that the “quiet areas” dont seem to be enforced during a busy time like finals. Another problem is that it seems no matter where you go there is someone who is munching away on some sort of snack. For a person who has the attention span of a gnat (like myself) it is very difficult to focus when you hear crunching and chip bags.
I love the fact that I can go get some starbucks while studying, but I do not appreciate how I can hear the staff there screaming and rap music from across the library. The area around starbucks is a great place to go and socialize and meet up with people, but we still need to remember that it is a library. To fix these issues the rules that have been placed need to be enforced. While in the quiet area people should be courteous and quiet, this means whispering, no cell phone conversations, and headphones. The food rule is another one that needs to be enforced. Food is only supposed to be permitted in certain areas of the second floor. Employees, who are also students, need to enforce these rules so students who are there to study can focus and get their work done.
The hours that the library is open are also sometimes something to laugh at. During dead days this semester they were open Thursday and Friday from 7:45 am to midnight, on Saturday from 1pm to 5pm, and Sunday from 2pm to midnight. These were considered “extended hours” for finals. The fact that the library was only opened for hour hours the Saturday before finals week is honestly sad. I don’t understand how we don’t have money to have longer hours in the library when there are means of saving money to extend the hours. One way of saving money is energy conservation. When the library is closed at night the lights are left on and the “jumbotron” that is on the outer wall of the library is played all night. These lights should be turned off and the video should not be on. There are also large ~10 foot tall video screens in the library that play the same video all day. The video is of a woman weaving a traditional Native American basket. I think it is great to show the culture and ancestry of a culture, but no one pays any attention to it, and most people think it’s a joke. Another way to save money could be to close two of the floors during slower hours so you need fewer employees to run the library. This could save money and allow the students more hours at the library.
With all the complaints I have written about in this entry I do enjoy the library and go there very often. With a few small changes we can hopefully make it a more conducive environment for everyone.
April 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Ruth T
I found this entry and all the comments really interesting. First I would like to say that they now have a lot more furniture and places to sit in the library. I have always loved libraries but I do not find myself using the Henry Madden Library here at school. One of the reasons to this is that this library is more to socialize than a quite place to study. Even if you can find a spot to sit, all the chairs and couches are set up in groups so you are still by a lot of people that you do not know. Also finding a spot away from the staircase can be hard. It is nice that it is a big staircase but the materials they use make it super loud. The noise just travels up and down the three flights and it is hard to concentrate. It would have been nice if the set up some more semi private areas to study. I do not want to make it seem like I hate everything about the library. The staff is very helpful and friendly. There is also a nice selection of books and materials available to the students.