Fisher Library, observational methodology, observational insight, personal reflection, Highmore, individual behavior, collective space
In examining everyday life within the confines of Fisher Library, I adopted a framework inspired by Ben Highmore's reflection on every day: "How does everyday life feel to you? Do the habits and routines of the day-to-day press down on you like a dull weight? Do they comfort you with their worn and tender familiarity or pull irritably at you, rubbing your face in their lack of spontaneity and event?" (Ben Highmore, Ordinary Lives)?" It was a focal point of my observations, narrowing down to how the ordinary parts and the library environment affected these regular customers' relations with the environment and behaviors.
[...] (2010). Ordinary lives: Studies in the everyday. Ordinary Lives: Studies in the everyday, pp. 1-194. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203842379 Radford, N. A., & Fletcher, J. (1984). In Establishing and Maintaining a Library: Two Essays on the University of Sydney Library. University of Sydney Library. [...]
[...] Observational Insights The Fisher Library, as the very focal point of academic life, virtually represents a paradox of motion and immobility. The main hallway, the busiest spot on campus, is a constant stream of students (Coleman, 2019). This starkly contrasts with the calmer areas of campus, where it is the opposite, the study rooms, which are the quietest places. The library's free-flowing layout features its high ceiling, with light through the large windows, adding a feeling of freedom. The auditory experience predominates during those nights - the soft sounds of typing, pages turning, and a whisper. [...]
[...] A strong indication of the library's operations as a social and learning hub was clear. It is a place for one's own knowledge and a platform where the students learn together (Radford & Fletcher, 1984). Cultural richness was achieved through the variety of softly spoken languages and groups representing other cultures, which somewhat impacted fellow students' studying habits and approaches. Personal Reflection and Integration Every moment of my observational experience at Fisher Library moved me further toward a more profound reflection on my study practices that would let me notice the environments in which I find myself. [...]
[...] The investigation into the dual functions of the library as both a comfort zone and a source of change mirrors the role of daily routines that can be either nurturing or tiring (Heath & Skirrow, 1998). This is demonstrative of the student's behavior inside the area with institutional norms set out while they, on the other hand, challenge them by looking for innovative spaces for learning and information sharing and in no way forgetting some informal social gatherings. The notion of how individual behaviors can both preserve and undermine social order, as opposed to induced social system change, is particularly applicable in the library environment (Highmore, 2010). [...]
[...] Through such scenes, captured by Highmore in an investigation into the essence of ordinary life, the ordinary circumstances are even seen to provide a sense of comfort and affront, at the same time, though subtlety hinting at the complex interplay between individual behavior and the collective spaces. The very place called Fisher Library is not just where academic provisions of a central kind are located. It crystallizes the essence of routine orientation and unveils how its patrons' simple yet intricate lives come into being. Bibliography Barcan, R. (1999). Privates in public: The space of the urinal. Imagining Australian space: Cultural studies and spatial inquiry, pp. [...]
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