Public libraries are quite the hot spot for study, resources, and quiet areas. Welcoming everyone from diverse backgrounds in order to promote equity of access to resources (Australian Library and Information Association, 2019). At first glance, libraries don’t seem too exciting, nor do they seem to be anything more than just a ‘collection of resources’ (Heartsill Young, 1983). However, this was only the view I got from walking into my small local library. For the purpose of this assessment, I decided to travel to unfamiliar territory, venture far from home, and towards the Sydney CBD for a bigger and, to an extent, more intimidating study hot spot. What would be different from the local libraries? What type of interactions took place? What resources were provided?
I arrived around mid-morning, welcomed by a large standing structure of glass and stone. To my surprise, the first thing that could be heard when walking into the State Library of NSW was voices. “Is that all today?” asked the lady located in the bookstore to the left, and “How are you?” was exchanged between two women sitting at a table in the cafe. I hadn’t expected my observation to start from the minute I walked in.
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Signs along the wall lead me to an area known as the “Governor Marie Bashir Reading Room”. I was welcomed by a security guard instructing me to put my bag in a locker, unable to take it into the reading room. This was my first confusion; in my local library, I was always able to keep my belongings. I followed his instructions before returning to the room, which was actually located down a large spiral staircase - difference two, the fancy and elegant architecture in comparison to the smaller and basic layout of my local library.
I located myself in a prime location to observe other members of the public and also the staff working at the reception desk. People of all ages and different walks of life were presented - no hierarchy of a particular gender, race, or age. To the left of me, I could see students studying. However, looking to my right was far more interesting. If I didn’t know before what exactly I was here to observe, I have found it now. I could see people, mainly of the older generation, looking upon computer screens - except, they weren’t exactly computers. This intrigued me. I watched as one lady, maybe around her mid-60s, walked towards a wall decorated with filing cabinets. She began looking through a drawer labeled ‘O’ before retrieving something, closing the drawer, and heading back to her original position. She took her seat and placed what looked like a film strip onto a small machine connected to the computer-looking device. Suddenly, a picture popped up on the screen - not very clear though.
She turned a knob on the bottom of the machine and the image became clearer. I was amazed and wanted to know more. So naturally, my observation became participant observation, taking part in the activity to learn the explicit aspect of the routine (Bernard, H. Russell, and Clarence C, 2014).
I followed the unspoken instructions and approached the cabinets, deciding to look through a drawer labeled ‘D’. As I began to look through the drawer, I was startled by a worker, “Did you need any help?”, I informed her that I was just looking. She happily nodded and walked away. In comparison to my local library, I can assure you that most staff members wouldn’t bother asking if you needed help. Difference three; helpful staff.
I replicated the lady's actions on the device and came to learn the film strips all contained different documents from time. I was astonished. Never could my local library provide such information as this.
In my general observations, I found that the generic uses of a library, studying, accessing resources, and interacting when needed, were generally the same. Both locations followed an unspoken rule of silence and maintained quiet chatter - breaking this rule resulting in the polite asking of ‘be quiet’. The biggest difference was the extensive resources available in the State Library. I was welcomed to the knowledge I would never have known if not for venturing out of my local environment. Observing this location provoked me to look beyond the basic expectations of a library and I was provoked to disallow my observations to be clouded by generalizations (Bernard, J., 1945), which is important for an anthropologist to do in order to understand the unfamiliar.
References
- Alia.org.au. (2019). Statement on public library services | Australian Library and Information Association. [online] Available at: https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/statement-public-library-services
- Bernard, H.R. and Gravlee, C.C. eds., 2014. Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Bernard, J., 1945. Observation and generalization in cultural anthropology. American Journal of Sociology, 50(4), pp.284-291.
- Heartsill Young, ed., The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science (ALA, 1983)
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