I decided to take a picture of the Starbucks that has been added this year to Carrier Library. As a senior this was definitely very surprising to me. All of a sudden there was the largest franchise coffee shop in America sitting right next to where I spent hours writing papers and studying for exams. Then I started to think about what it was like to be a freshman walking into this situation. When they picture Carrier years from now after they graduate one of the lasting images that they will remember is the gigantic wood stained Starbucks logo just right of the entrance. What I always knew as a place of knowledge will have a double association for them. They will know it as a library/coffee shop. In class we have been discussing the clash of the private and public sectors and this picture is a perfect example of that collision. Here we see kids studying right next to Starbucks. When they get tired they know that there is a cure just feet away. Not only is this convenient for the student but it also serves the purpose of slowly getting the student to associate studying with Starbucks. This shows the private sector literally being built into this public sector since Carrier is consider a public library. To the freshman this will become commonplace though and it is interesting to see the next public institution a Starbucks will show up in.
As a freshman who spends considerable time in Carrier, I have actually never noticed the Starbucks logo on the wall! However, Starbuck's presence is definitely felt and heard. I think there really is a clash between the university wanting to make money while maintaining a public space. I also think it's a big selling point to get people to come to Carrier and JMU in general. You are correct, when I graduate I will remember the Starbucks in Carrier, but not because I love it so much !
ReplyDeleteJordan Lawson Mulrooney
I am also a freshman. Although I do not spend as much time as I should in Carrier, I have been there and am aware of the atmosphere that has been created by the presence of Starbucks. I feel that the Starbucks, being incorporated within the confines of the library itself, has made the library more casual and more of a public, social space. Carrier is a place where students go to meet with other people, or alone, for schoolwork, and having a Starbucks makes Carrier more of a draw to students to simply hang out and make the occasion more sociable and interpersonal. I certainly agree that I will always have a double-association for Carrier and that JMU is mixing public and private sectors in this particular instance.
ReplyDelete-Greg Forsberg's comment for Dr. H
Starbucks is a private, for-profit business entity, and many people would argue that such a company has no place in a public library. Mattson himself would argue that it is this kind of subtle privatization of space is a threat to the public, social atmosphere of Carrier Library. In this particular instance, I would disagree, since there is no other area that Starbucks could expand to in Carrier, and that this Starbucks itself has become a part of our local, public atmosphere due to the amount of students who work and socialize in it and the students who actually work there.
ReplyDeleteThis situation reminded me of the book “Feed” we read in class. In “Feed”, the schools were operated by private companies looking to make money. With Starbucks moving into Carrier Library, it seems Anderson’s ideas are accurate in modern times. As a sophomore I will be here at JMU a few more years. I am looking forward to what other private businesses will be built into JMU’s campus, but am also hesitant to see the affects on the student body.
ReplyDeleteTedd M. Gimber for Dr. H
I decided to comment on this picture because it is of one of my favorite places on JMU’s campus. I am in Starbucks in the Carrier Library almost every day either ordering a drink or spending some time studying with a friend. Along with serving JMU students with drinks and food this Starbucks also provides a social area for students to come together and hang out in between class or to meet to discuss class work.
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Woodford
I agree with the photographer that this space is definitely one where public and private space come together. You can be sitting in Starbucks, quietly studying, yet right next to you two students sharing coffee will be discussing their plans for the weekend. Starbucks is not only a place to get coffee during your study break, it is a place to meet with friends. This space attracts many different people according to what day it is. For example, on the Saturday morning before exams, Starbucks will be filled with students lined up to get their morning coffee and breakfast before they begin studying. However, if you observed this space at the beginning of a semester, you would see many excited students, reuniting after some time apart. The energy in this space can differ depending on what time of year it is, which is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Thomasma
It is a very interesting perspective to hear about Carrier pre-Starbucks. As a freshman, I could not picture Carrier library without the big Starbucks logo. I think of it as an integral part to the library and the study experience. I never realized Carrier and Starbucks as the perfect example of private sector and public sector collision, but this proves that often the integration is taken for granted.
ReplyDelete-Cynthia Knott for Mulrooney's class