Claiming Public Space: Athens City Public Library

For this project, we decided to research the Athens City Public Library. The library is open to various community members and would be classified as a 'pseudo-public' space, as described by Mitchell (1995).

Figure 1: Outside view of Athens City Public Library located on Home Street

Athens City Public Library as  "Representation of Space"

       According to Mitchell (1995) a "representation of space" includes how it is planned, controlled, and ordered (p. 115). More simply, this means what was the intended purpose of the public space and how is the space controlled and monitored.

       After completing research and observations about the library, we have discovered this library was intended to be utilized by various community members. Further, the space is meant to provide people with access to different forms of media, including books, movies, and even Internet access. In an interview conducted on November 22 with a Athens' librarian, named Luke, he explained this pseudo-public space is intended to be "a community center to enrich people's lives through media." This same idea can be found on the Athens Public Library home page. On the home page, a large yellow box contains the words "empower," "enlighten," and "embrace," as shown below in Figure 2. These words suggest the library is a place to help strengthen community members by giving them access to library materials, as well as a place to visit and interact with other people and different forms of media. The library can help to empower and enlighten one's mind.

Figure 2: Screenshot of Athens Public Library Home Page. Link: http://www.myacpl.org/about

      Not only is the library's intended use shown via our interview with Luke and the library's website, but its intended use is represented via the organization and order of the space. When visiting the library, there are no restrictions on what kind of person may enter the building; everyone is welcome. Further, the space is filled with various books, movies, and other forms of media, as you can see in Figure 3. The seating is surrounded by stacks of books, movies, and games, encouraging community members to engage with the media within the space as well as other patrons.

Figure 3: A few of the book shelves located inside the library.

     The library includes numerous types of seating for community members to use. There are individual type desks for people to work alone without being disturbed. The library also provides tables for more group orientated work or for patrons to even play games together (see Figure 4). During our visit, we even saw  computers located within the library for multiple purposes, ranging from playing online games to doing homework, as pictured in Figure 5. There is even a section devoted solely to children's activities and books. All of these different organizational features within the library show the public space is indeed intended to be for all community members to visit and access the surrounding forms of media.

Figure 4: An example of the organization of the space. As you can see there are both individual desks and group tables, encouraging all types of community members to visit and utilize the public space.

Figure 5: Computer space for community members to utilize.

     The final aspect of a "representation of space" deals with how the public space is controlled. According to Luke, the library and its staff expects visitors to be respectful of each other, the staff, and library materials. The library's 'Customer Code of Conduct' supports Luke's comment, which is depicted in Figure 6. These rules expect all patrons, employees, materials, and the space in general to be treated with respect. Further, the rules also emphasize the importance of safety within the public space.

        Safety is an important issue in this space and needs to be ensured to both patrons and employees. During our interview with Luke, he explained he rarely sees bad behavior within the public space. This comment along with our observations leads us to the conclusion much of the control is passive, usually enforced by other patrons and the expectations of the library and staff to maintain a respectful environment. Everyone in the library was relatively quiet, polite and did not disturb anyone. Therefore, the passive control of maintaining a community, family-friendly environment was passively controlled.
     One can also see passive control displayed on the library's front doors. There are two signs banning both guns and smoking in the library. However, these are simply signs that help to control the public space, making this a form of passive control. 

     While much control in the Athens City Public Library is passive, Luke explained there are some instances when people are disruptive. In these cases, librarians become 'private police,' as their jobs requires them to perform a policing function and role within the space (Valentine, 2001). Luke explains in these situations, "9 times out of 10, I ask the person to please stop" the disruptive behavior and they "normally stop." However, in those rare cases, Luke has the authority to ask someone to leave the library. Therefore, the librarians serve as the private security of the library since their job allows them to actively control and maintain the space and who is allowed in it, as discussed by Valentine (2000).

Athens City Public Library as “Representational Space”

     According to Mitchell (1995) a “representational space” includes how space is appropriated, lived in, and used. In other words, representational space pertains to the usages of a given space.

    After observing patrons at the library, it became apparent that the space is utilized by a large cross section of community members. Although functioning as a typical library, the space also carries out a variety of other functions. Community members are able to rent bicycles from the library, hold meetings, play an assortment of games, let their children roam around the play area, and attend events such as knitting group or poetry night.  The library also functions as a place of tranquility as well as a safe place for community members to gather in.

    While conducting research on a single visit, infants, school-aged children, college students, middle-aged community members, and the elderly were all observed in the library at one time. The infant children were observed crawling around a designated play area as seen in figure 8. The play area is equipped with many games and toys and is conveniently located next to the children books.

 Figure 8. View of children’s play area

Figure 9. School-aged children using library computers

    The school-aged children were observed using a computer to work on a school project as seen in figure 9. The computers are equipped with Internet access as well as Microsoft Office making them convenient for not only students but for community members without Internet access in their home. The college students were observed doing research and studying on their laptops as seen in figure 10. The library contains many small tables that are out of the way of foot traffic offering a quiet space without distractions. Community members are able to connect to wireless Internet instead of having to use the computers provided by the library. Middle-aged community members were observed holding a meeting in the library a seen in figure 11. The meeting took place in a small closed off room that offered privacy for not only the members participating in the meeting but for other patrons of the library.

Figure 10. Table where college students were studying

Figure 11. Community members holding a meeting

    The elderly were observed using the library computers as well as utilizing the vast expanse of chairs and beanbags for reading as seen in figure 12. Large chairs are found throughout the library. In many instances, the chairs are turned to face large windows with views of the surrounding landscape. Beanbags are also found throughout the library offering patrons a comfortable alternate to chairs and desks.

Figure 12. Community member relaxing on a beanbag

    On the library website, a list of events also describes uses of the library as seen in figure 13. The library hosts events ranging from birth circle and baby story time to yoga for people 50 and up and an information session on how to use social media. Events are aimed at all age groups. A complete list of events located on the library website depicts the age range that each event is designated for. Many events are aimed at older adults and young children but events for teens, young adults, and middle-aged adults are also available.

Figure 13. Screenshot from the library website

    The design of the library allows community members, no matter their age or intended use, to use the space harmoniously without much distraction, supporting its intended use. The allocation of specific areas catering to different groups allows the space to remain calm and ordered. The children’s play area is located far away from the single desks and small tables that allow for quiet study and reading. Private rooms are available that allow discussions to be held behind closed doors. Because the space has a functional design and is well maintained, it seemed as if each patron was content with how the space was being used. Numerous types of patrons ranging from children to the elderly were observed utilizing the public space, proving the space is used as it was intended for.

    One subgroup we did not find at the library during our observation period were high school aged students. The library does host many events that cater to high school aged students/young adults. These events include the teen advisory board and anime card club. The library also has a vast collection of DVDs as well as games that appeal to the younger crowd. However, It would be interesting to conduct observations at multiple times throughout the week to get a better sample of people that utilize the library.

Perspectives of Public Space

The Athens public library as a “representation of space” and a “representational space” coincide together by the fact the library is meant to be used by multiple groups of community members in Athens County. From Mitchell (1995) definitions, we have observed how the library is planned, controlled, ordered, appropriated and used in way that is beneficial to a whole range of people in the examples that we have found.The only way we can see conflict through these two lenses is the way how the space has expanded beyond its function as a library. It has become a place where you can not only access literature and media material but also have access to community events and outdoor activities.

The library’s committee has managed to combine different elements in the way the library is organized through its seating areas, the access to different media and events to attract its patrons. The two perspectives of public space in this case has resulted in creating calm and controlled environment for the people to use the space together in harmony. We do observe that the library is utilized by numerous groups of community members from young children to the elderly. The shows the function of the library as a public space for the community is being fulfilled. 

2 Examples of 'Spaces for Representation'

      The Athens Public Library certainly serves as a ‘space for representation’ (Mitchell, 1995) for several groups that otherwise may have challenges becoming ‘public’. Judging from the events listed on the Library’s website (seen in figure 13), there are two examples of marginalized groups who are given a space in the public through the use of the library to come together and become more legitimate in the public eye. One of these groups is teenagers and the other group is mothers.

     For teenagers, the Athens Public Library acts as a space for meeting and activity that allows teens some autonomy when it comes to decision and use of space. The Library hosts a Teen Advisory Board (http://www.myacpl.org/events/teen-advisory-board-2014-12-03) where any teen in 9-12^th grade may come and give input and make decisions concerning what it best for their demographic in using the space.  This is an excellent example of a group being able to represent themselves and make themselves heard, even if it is within the context of a library. The Library also offers several other events and spaces for teens to participate and make use of public space. These events include a creative writing workshop (http://www.myacpl.org/events/creative-writing-workshop-teens-2014-12-06) and anime card club (http://www.myacpl.org/events/anime-card-club-2014-12-06). All of these events and groups invite anyone to participate. This space and control given to teens in the Athens community is significant since, as Valentine (2001) points out, 'youth' or teens occupying public spaces are sometimes viewed as being deviant or violent. This teen-directed programming through the public library grants teens the ability to contradict that point of view.

      The opportunities that the library provides for mothers to become public are fairly comprehensive and concern issues that are debated when it comes to what’s ‘appropriate’ in public. The two groups that provide spaces for mothers are Birth Circle (http://www.myacpl.org/events/birth-circle-2014-11-26) and La Leche League (http://www.myacpl.org/events/la-leche-league-2014-12-15).  Both of these groups serve the needs of new mothers but also provide a space for experience mothers to join and share knowledge. Birth Circle focuses on the topic of pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood and La Leche League is a group the focuses on the topic of breastfeeding, which also happens to be a topic up for debate as to whether or not it is acceptable in the public sphere. The interesting thing about these groups being a part of a public space is that this contradicts the ‘norm’ of public space being dominated by the ‘masculine’ and that the home is the ‘right’ space for women (and even more, for mothers). For these reasons, women often find themselves excluded or constrained in public spaces (Koskela, 1999). These groups hosted at the Public Library give opportunities for mothers to be in public space and discuss topics related to motherhood. Additionally, they give a chance for networking that might be otherwise challenged by the dominant public or even just challenging to achieve in terms of finding a welcoming and accepting public space that meets mothers’ needs.

      In conclusion, staying true to 'spaces for representation' as Mitchell (1995) describes, these specific groups representing teens and mothers who may otherwise be excluded from public space are able to make claims in the context of the Athens Public Library. 

Rethinking Home

Our group decided to focus on depictions of home for this assignment within American culture. We define American culture as the images and depictions that American society is exposed to in various forms of media and social interactions in our daily lives.

Depictions of Home within American Cultural Artifacts: 

1. Title Sequence Image from the ABC comedy Modern Family (Notice the home in the background)

2. "Home" button (outlined in red) on Firefox Internet browser's toolbar

3.  Dollhouse toy made by the Fisher-Price Company

 

4. Gingerbread house kit made by the Wilton Company 

5. Greeting card to congratulate someone on their new home

6. Image of a home from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, October 2014 issue

 

7. Home logo next to exclusive home offers for readers of the October 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine

 

8.  House Hunters Television show on HGTV. Here is the link to the show's website:

 

                                 http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters/show/index.html

Descriptions of the show's episodes:

9. Pins from Pinterest tagged using the word home. Here is the link to the page:

                                       http://www.pinterest.com/search/?q=home

Example screenshot of the Pinterest "home" page:

10. A drawing of "home" by Everett, 6 years old

Discussion of Home Artifacts:

Several of these depictions of home demonstrate a clear standard of the 'ideal' home in terms of meanings that we associate with home.  The various depictions on Pinterest, the houses shown on “House Hunters,” the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and the Modern Family home all show upper-middle to upper class homes. This manicured, single family home, “idealized” image is further reflected in other media, such as children’s toys (as seen with the dollhouse & gingerbread house) and as far as basic icon imagery (as seen on the magazine posting & browser icon). Everett’s drawing of ‘home’ even reflects this iconic ‘home’ image. Further than just addressing the physical structure of this ‘home,’ this representation also depicts a status or socioeconomic ideal that relates to this structure. We see Valentine’s (2001, p. 72) elements of home, shelter, hearth, heart, privacy, roots, abode, and paradise, throughout the artifacts.

The physical structure of home comes in many shapes and sizes. A home could be a large three-story structure sitting on a vast parcel of land or simply a small studio apartment clustered in the middle of a city. After examining portrayals of the home found in cultural 'artifacts,' it is clear that the 'ideal' home in American culture is a large, multi-story suburban structure situated on a private plot of land. In front of the home, a small well-kept yard, usually led to a porch containing chairs for the family to congregate on. Shutters often surrounded the windows adding to the aesthetic beauty of the home.  Throughout each of the artifacts examined, the home was shown as a single-family entity. The home was not part of a complex system of other living spaces, nor was it physically connected to other homes via a wall or otherwise. The home was simply an individual structure physically separated from other homes by space. Images of the home depicted a private space cut off from the public eye.  The artifacts suggest that the 'ideal' home offers privacy from others and also a safe environment to raise a family. This idealized vision of home in American society is similar to the view held by children in Archambault’s (2012) article. In the article, many of the children depicted their ideal home as a large structure in which they are able to have a room of their own. The children also expressed the need for a private yard in which they could freely partake in activities. It is clear through the examination of the artifacts as well as the children’s responses in the article that a large home containing space for a single family to safely raise children is valued as the ideal living arrangement.

Status and wealth is a unifier when it comes to the 'ideal' home in American culture. The single family home is the home that we’ve come to know and expect. Additionally, wealth is overwhelmingly evident in these actual depictions of homes. The homes we see in these examples are large, they have green yards, and in several cases look very updated and modern. Several of these examples demonstrate diversity when it comes to race, sexuality, and family structure. In House Hunters, the single person looking for a home is a medical doctor. The couples are nearly all heterosexual. There is racial diversity evident. Despite all this, what is most noteworthy is that these home-buyers have the freedom and ability to choose a home that meets their own ideal. This, in addition to their generous budgets, is evident that wealth is a necessity to achieve one’s ideal home. This importance of wealth to a home relates to Valentine’s (2001) observation that consumption and design are critical to modern western notions of home. The Better Home and Gardens magazine and Pinterest both promote consumption in the ‘quest’ for designing the better, more ‘ideal’ home.

With regards to identity and social relations, these depictions vary slightly. The examples where people are represented clearly show an identity for those associated with these idealized homes. The social relations revolve mainly around couples or families with children. It’s also worth noting that several of these depictions of home don’t show people at all. This could be playing into the audience’s own projection of themselves on these ideals. Although in most likelihood, this self-projection probably includes a family or partner since that’s what society has brought us up to expect in a home as evidenced by Valentine (2001).  Gender roles and social structures have been reinforced in various aspects of western culture. It interesting that the image of the opening credits of Modern Family that we chose shows the most ‘typical’ family (closest to the 'ideal') of the show, being the nuclear family with a mother and father. The other branches of family on the show vary in age (between partners), ethnicity, and sexuality. This conscious decision to choose the most ‘ideal’ family shows that even we fall victim to the socialized ideal of the family and the home.

Also on the topic of identity, gender is evident in several of these depictions. The most glaring one is the gendered expectation that the home is the business of women. This is evidenced most clearly in the dollhouse packaging where just young girls are depicted playing with the dollhouse. The packaging is also quite ‘girly’ and there is nothing that would indicate that boys would play with this or any gender neutrality. The greeting card also has a sort of ‘feminine’ aesthetic to it. These depictions align with the gendered spheres theory outlined by Domosh and Seager (2001), where they describe that traditionally the home is the separated (‘private’) sphere of which women are expected to tend. This justifies the dollhouse being for girls and the greeting card targeting a female audience. These overly gendered examples make sense in that they compliment the vast history of ‘home-gendering’ in western society, which Valentine (2001) outlines in her article.

The process of home is evidenced throughout several of the artifacts. The acquisition of the structure of home is demonstrated in the example of the greeting card, the Better Home and Gardens advertisement, and in the links to DIY/remodeling in Pinterest. The gingerbread house is actual physical construction of a house too. The dollhouse also allows for interactive personalization of the home. This interactivity of home and ‘owner’ exemplifies how home is a ‘territorialized space’ that becomes a home by the actions of those who reside within it as described by Wise (2000, p.301). However, contrary to Wise’s argument in his article, none of these depictions of home really outwardly demonstrate the home has being a place of resistance or stepping outside the norm.

Diversity of "Home" Campaign Overview

Based on our examination of American culture depictions of ‘home,’ where we have showed numerous similarities between each home artifact, our campaign decided to focus on the structure and location of home. The artifacts above consistently reflect a cookie-cutter, 'ideal' home. Thus, we would like our campaign to bring about awareness that a home can come in numerous sizes and shapes, as well as different locations than the 'ideal.' We are constantly reminded by images we see that the ideal ‘home’ comes in a pristine large house with white picket fences, filled with beautiful things and situated in a suburban community, where there is low crime rate and good schools in the area.  We are told that is the ‘home’ we need to strive for. Anything less than that perfect house is failure in society’s eyes.

We want our campaign to push past that image and bring awareness that an ideal ‘home’ does not have to fit into society's expectations. Thus, we will expand the idea of home past the normal social, economic, and geographical standards that had been constructed overtime in American culture. The new meaning of home will include various locations outside the suburbs and homes of people with other socioeconomic statuses aside from the upper-middle class. Home can come in all different shapes, sizes and locations for many types of people. Our campaign wants to showcase that you do not need that perfect house with all that material things in the suburbs to have a perfect home for you.

In the articles that we have read on the subject home, we find that authors have many different concepts of home. Dayaratne and Kellett (2007, p. 54) gave a brief summary on the wide range of literature that examined the concept of home and its considerable meaning. It’s says “most significant of these research outcomes is the acceptance that home is central to the human experience of the world and that a ‘sense of home’ is an essential component of one’s being. Although there is considerable cultural variation, it has been argued that there is no other concept so widespread and easily understood by all people as ‘home.'" On that note, we can glean that the concept of home is something everyone strives to have. Further, that the concept of home should fit how American culture defines it.

Dayaratne and Kellett’s (2007, p. 58) article draws in 5 motivations for home-making. They are:-

1.      The desire to own through the acquisition of a piece of ground.

2.      The desire to acquire and conform to popular images and conventions.

3.      The desire for social acceptance, social respect and personal dignity.

4.      The desire to order and orchestrate space to fulfill household needs.

5.      The desire to form a community.

 

Motivation 2 and 3 are central to our campaign. We wish to gain more acceptance of what stands as the normal convention of the home. This is crucial because we understand that the ideal ‘home’ should not be carbon copy for everyone. When there is a certain expectation, there is a risk of misconception and failure. Archambault’s (2010) article articulates that in his interviews with refugee children because the children have been expecting a proper house or ideal ‘home’ based on the society norms; most of them were disappointed when the house they received, as it did not live up to their expectation or even the location where it is situated. With our campaign, we hope to stretch the imagination beyond the cookie-cutter image of home that we have been bombarded with. We want to say it is all right not to have that house in the suburbs. We hope by expanding the definition of home to other sizes, spaces, and locations Americans can focus on what they want in a house and what suits their needs and budgets. Further, we want all Americans to be proud of whatever space they call home without fear of judgement and ridicule from other members of society.

In order to spread our growing message of what 'home' is, it is crucial for the Ad Council to pick up our idea. If the company were to pick up our campaign, we would create more posters and ads that help to expand one’s definition of home in both meaning and geographic location. As explained earlier, many American citizens only imagine the 'ideal,' large, suburban home filled with loved ones and lots of material items. Our campaign wants to debunk this myth of home by expanding the idea of 'home' to include all types of homes that do not meet the standards of an 'ideal home.' Not only will the 'new types' of homes have different shapes and sizes, but they will also be located within other areas of the nation. Further, our research has shown home does not necessarily need to be a shelter, it can be a community or somewhere outdoors. Therefore, our team will work with the Ad Council to find images of 'home' that do not fit the 'ideal' as set by American culture and society. Four non-traditional images of home will be placed in an ad. Each image will be in black and white to show the equality of each home. Further, an outline of the 'ideal home' Americans normally picture will overlap all four images to show these non-traditional homes are indeed a place one can call home. Finally, our campaign’s slogan (“Home comes in many shapes, sizes, and spaces”) will be placed on top of these images. Here is an example of one of our poster ads:

In this particular ad, there is an image of a row home, a tent situated outdoors, a dorm room, and a trailer. It is our goal to expand the public’s definition of a home in the hopes all people’s homes will be accepted by our society rather than judged next to the 'ideal home.' This way people can focus on their lives rather than worrying about obtaining a home that meets society’s expectations. It is important for our society to accept these new images of home, so no one will feel the pressure to conform to society's ideals, especially when they do not have the finances to reach it. A home should only have to meet the needs and wants of those within the space, not the expectations of others.