Brooklyn Central Library - Anthropology Fieldwork
Brooklyn Central Library - Anthropology Fieldwork
A space that I have always found rather beautiful and special is the Brooklyn Central Library. Its location at the intersection between Eastern Parkway and Flatbush Avenue on Grand Army Plaza places it at a physical and conceptual cross-section between different neighborhoods, ethnicities, and socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. One of the things that I always found compelling about the library was its capacity to forge a sense of community between otherwise estranged individuals. Knowing that the Brooklyn Central Library is a central hub of community and culture and a place that supported me as a New Yorker from a low SES immigrant home, I decided that this would be a perfect spot to attempt to identify and dissect cultural dynamics in a meaningful way.
My first fieldwork visit to the library was on a Monday morning, not long after its doors were opened. I decided to spend some time in the studying space that I used to frequent in years past. This was my first time since Covid visiting this study room and there were many aspects of it that certainly appeared different. The chairs in the room were more spread out and there was clearly less seating available. The smaller amount of seats did not make much of a difference since the library had much fewer occupants than any other time that I’ve been there. The people in the study/work room were also less diverse compared to the kind of crowd I remember seeing in this room before Covid hit. The majority of people in the room were black males. This made me wonder what the reason for this might be. Was this apparent new lack of diversity related to covid, or was it something else? One theory that came to mind had to do with one of the main reasons that I used to go to the library in my teens and early twenties.
I grew up in a single-parent household with five siblings. At home, things were often very stressful and chaotic. When it got intolerable my go-to safe haven was the library. To me, the library was not only a place to read or work but also a place to find peace, collect my thoughts, and process my feelings. Sometimes this meant finding some beautiful music to listen to on YouTube, and other times watching a nice movie would do the trick. I always knew that the Brooklyn Central Library was a place I could go and get free wifi and a chill environment. Another element that contributed to my appreciation for the library was that in the library I felt that I was not alone. I could see on the faces of many others in the library that this was their place of refuge as well. Indeed, I once had a lengthy conversation with someone I met at the cafeteria, and as the conversation unfolded we ended up realizing that many of our struggles were the same and somehow the library had a way of easing up some of the tension surrounding whatever we were going through.
Now that I was back in the library (post-Covid) and noticed that there was a higher representation of minorities than usual, it made me wonder if what I was seeing was a stronger representation of individuals who needed relief from the homes or streets that they were coming from. Perhaps these folks were in the library because they did not have any other warm or safe place to go. Maybe the reason why non-minority people were not in the library was because they had the luxury of staying home or finding other alternatives that did not involve the risks of getting Covid that existed in spaces like public libraries.
Regardless of why things appeared the way they did, the feeling of belonging and community permeated the room and brought me back to the times when this place felt like home. Albeit the changes that were now apparent in the library, there were many things that remained intact, allowing for the richness that the library always had to continue to manifest and be felt. As I looked around the room, the familiarity of the scene in front of me was unquestionable. Some people were there just to pass time, while others were deeply involved in some cerebral high-level work. No matter what your status or age was, in the library everyone was equal. The students did their thing, the traveler was looking up the next steps of his journey, but in those moments that they shared in the library, they were all together, just human beings trying to find their way. I knew this impression of unity to be true because of my many visits to the library in the past, but I decided to try and make these notions more concrete in my next visit when I would spend my time observing the cafeteria section of the library.
My second visit was in the afternoon which is usually a busier time at the library (compared to earlier in the morning). The diversity of age and ethnicity was slightly higher than that of the day before, but there was really one thing that stood out/occurred to me during my observations on that day. The staff at the library were really so nice to whoever they were talking to. They treated every visitor and every inquiry in a most unique and indiscriminate way. This also extended to the cafeteria, security, and cleaning staff as well. Watching how attentive the staff were during their conversations with the visitors made me wonder if their capacity for kindness was something that they were screened for during the hiring process. One moment that captured this really nicely was when a senior black gentleman ordered a coffee from the cafeteria and seemed to initiate a brief conversation with the white female barista. As he received his coffee and courteously exchanged farewells with the barista, you could see the twinkle in his eyes as his day became brighter from that simple but beautiful exchange.
I am afraid that this short paper will not do justice to the full breadth of cultural benefits that libraries contribute to our society. Nonetheless, I believe that a few conclusions can be made from this preliminary analysis. A library is a public space that naturally invites the blending of peoples and cultures. It is a place where many individuals from challenging circumstances are able to lift themselves up and create better lives for themselves. It may also be a place where we could gather important information about the underprivileged and how society can help them. When people think about race issues they often think about the terrible things that exist and need to be resolved around these topics. There is no doubt an absolute importance and necessity for matters like police brutality and racism in general to be addressed. At the same time, I think that there are also positive trends of equality that already exist that need to be built upon and expanded. Brooklyn Central Library is a clear example of a place where individuals get together regardless of race or other potential differences. These individuals show each other love and respect on a daily basis. There are so many acts of kindness that transpire within this library (and many others) that go completely unnoticed. In my eyes, Brooklyn Central Library is a true example of a community center that must be preserved and strengthened. I think that if we find ways to unite despite our differences, the world can and will gradually become a much better place. I hope that this paper can serve as some form of documentation of the beginnings of this sort of process.
This is a preliminary report about how Brooklyn Central Library appears to be a space that brings people from diverse backgrounds together. I believe that these findings warrant further research into the potential role that libraries nationwide could play in the general fight against discrimination. Since there is already an infrastructure of libraries in place, the use of these spaces as a means to promote and foster diversity, equity, and inclusion, may prove to be a promising avenue to increase unity and combat hate (in our nation, and eventually, hopefuly, worldwide).
Anthropology fieldwork notes:
Monday 04/11 9:38 AM
Brooklyn, NY USA (second floor, quiet work/study section)
The library seems pretty empty and quiet as I walk in
Staff moving carts with books
I go upstairs to observe the study room
Elderly person at inquiry desk
Younger/middle aged white female looking something up for her..
Somewhat empty, people scattered among the desks
Some sleeping, watching movies, reading magazines
Occasional snoring heard
No one reacts to the snoring - seems like a normal occurrence
Some concentrating on laptops, writing in a notebook
Mostly back males, some white males/females
Occasional library staff appearing and disappearing (apparently there are offices somewhere in the area)
As I leave I see one staff member with a carriage - returning books
The library seems to be under construction, I wonder what that’s about..
The escalators are not in use
The library seems more alive as I leave
There are also more people hanging out outside enjoying the weather
Wednesday 04/13 12:46 PM
Brooklyn, NY USA (cafeteria/lobby area)
People hanging out outside is some eating someone on the laptop some on their phones
Security at entrance
Mostly older folks reading writing
Some have headphones
Mother and child
Multiple SES’s
Person figuring out what she wants at the cafe
Staff wearing masks
The workers have name tags
They seem really nice and patient and welcoming
Staff at the information/check out desk looked extremely busy on the computer..
More families with children
Some folks just use the restrooms
You can tell that some are natives and some are foreigners
French speaking guy
Black nanny with two white kids
Mother with two toddlers
Girl with a backpack giving a tour to her friend
White girl at the cafe wishing a senior black man a nice day after giving him his coffee