Project #1 Worksheet

Hayden Library Entrance

What are the intended functions of the place?                  

To enter into the underground library, a place to sit and rest in the courtyard, and enjoy something from the Café.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

It’s a place of study and knowledge.  Café Bibliotecha means cafe library or something to do with books. I saw a sign listing the hours of the library and a sign saying to not smoke within 25 ft of the entrance.

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

There’s only one way in, and one way out.

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

I didn’t see any signs of littering—which is surprising. Some ash is in the ashtrays but nothing else. Cardboard boxes sat near the café’s rear entrance because the café workers were restocking their inventory.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

Obviously the entrance was installed after the library was built. It looks more 90s and the fact of a café being there lets me know it was added during a time when cafes became popular and synonymous with books.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

Groups of friends talked to each other on the stairs. It was a busy environment, but people found time to socialize between classes. Sometimes people ran into familiar faces on the steps and chatted right then and there; people had to walk around them.  Some people held doors open for people; I saw a lot of students making an effort to do this. Nobody skateboarded because there were stairs. I didn’t see anyone use the elevator because disabled people should use it. Smokers smoked EVERYWHERE.  25 feet doesn’t make a difference when you’re in a giant underground concrete square with not a lot of ventilation.

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

Inside and outside kind of fuses here.  You go from outside/ASU, walk downstairs to an enclosed courtyard, then walk through the doors of the library.

Who owns the place?

Arizona State University

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

A critical aid in study and intellect. Studying simply revolves around using resources.

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

My parking pass has a picture of it, but it’s only showing the entrance—and shielding the fact that it’s underground.

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

I don’t see any remodeling taking place.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

People who were late for class seemed frustrated at the fact they were late. I saw boredom on the faces of the people standing in the café line.   

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

There are some architectural and design representations of Arizona: through the Santa Fe style metal beams, terra-cotta  paint, teal blue color on the ceiling, and smooth concrete exterior. It’s not a typical ‘library’ building of wood molding, bricks and iron work, it has an Arizona feel.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

I’d say that every ASU building is completely unique in every way.  There aren’t a lot of buildings on the ASU campus that look like each other. I think this was done on purpose to create a special ‘place’ for certain majors and to separate interests from each other.

What questions do you have about your place?

Why did they decide to have part of the library underground? Do people really not know about smoking laws? Was the underground entrance added later?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way?  Not a lot of libraries have underground entrances.  And the entrance looks very different than the library building next to it.  The building is white and very 1970s, and the entrance is underground, desert-themed, and looks like it was constructed in the 90s.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers? This is the only way to get in and out of the Hayden Library building.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use? It’s a very busy place and people either ignore others, keep to themselves, or block out the world through music or electronics.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.) I asked the girl working at the café what music was playing and she didn’t have a clue and didn’t really understand why I was asking.  Not a people person, for sure. The point of this paper is to highlight the fact that people only interact with others if they’re comfortable with them, or out of pure necessity.  

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

I took a lot of notes about the building design and the way the rain fell. I used figurative language and sensory images. I don’t think they transferred well to my rough draft.  The only dialogue was found in the café. People didn’t like to speak outside of that environment.

I want the impression of my analysis to be slightly scientific, yet engaging and documentarian.

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it? People walk through these doors every day and I can tell a lot of them don’t think much about it or try to analyze it.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

When was the last time you talked to somebody in the Hayden Library Entrance?  What do you usually do when you arrive? What time do you usually arrive? Do you come here often? How does an underground setting influence your studies?

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research? There’s a website to search for books in the library but other than that, it’s not very helpful.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see? I focused a lot on the people walking in an out of the doors. They were a constant presence and there was always something new to notice as I sat there for an hour. When I analyzed the second time, I saw that people were more open to congregating with friends. But they still didn’t talk to strangers unless it was necessary.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience? I liked that the Hayden Library changed when it was rainy. It wasn’t the same place as it was when the sun was shining. When it was rainy, it caused me to reflect more, slow down, and realize that I wasn’t going anywhere for the time being (unless I wanted to get drenched.)  I might as well just be ‘in the moment.’  When it was sunny, I tried to do this, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to fix my eyes upon.  There was a harsh glare from the sun, and about 6 people smoking, so I sat in the café and looked out the window because my lungs hurt.  I didn’t feel ‘involved’ as I had when I sat outside.