Students at 30 colleges can check out something besides books at their school libraries this fall: Starbucks.
I do not oppose this trend, which so far has been wildly successful, but it is a sign of just how far things have gone.
How to get students into the library
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If by “… just how far things have gone.” you mean your worry about book reading being on the decline, then I guess I agree. I heard you worry about this on the podcast with Russ. To me, it is a typical issue of opportunity cost. There are many other things competing for people’s time, the internet not least among them. I find myself much more willing to start a novel here in Yemen than I was back home. There just isn’t much to do here… I think having a Starbuck in a library will certainly bring more people there, but I doubt that it will get more people reading.
Isaac Crawford
Blogging in Yemen
http://www.isaharr.com
From what I’ve seen from my university’s library Starbucks it does nothing to get students to read. You can’t bring drinks into the library for one thing. But mostly it has turned the library into a recreation facility. It may look like working from a far but up close it looks like a bunch of undergrads surfing myspace.com.
But why should we want to get the students in the library? Make everything available via the network and turn the buildings into something useful. The various book-scanning projects will need to be finished and the results made available, but the day is not far off.
I can see how this would be beneficial to those of us who stay at the library all night doing research or studying. Instead of having to walk 4 blocks in the dark to a vending machine or coffee shop, I can just go downstairs to a Starbucks vendor and get a cup of coffee, drink it, and get back to work.
Better than the venerable vending machine alternative.
We saw one in the College of William and Mary this summer.
Of course students need tasty caffeine sources located inside the library!
Our library at UNLV allows food and drinks except in certain areas. People have pizzas delivered to the group study areas all the time.
At my school we have Starbucks in the bookstore and Java City in the library. Starbucks has better coffee but Java City takes Flexbucks that come with the meal plan.
Most libraries in the UK do not allow food or drink in the libraries. So I do not see any correlation between a coffee shop and library usage.
My faculty has a great, manned common room with subsidised coffee, smoothies, soups and food. There are also vending machines which work out-of-hours. But one still has to leave the library to use any of them.
The main library I use is the British Library, a butlered, quiet and civilised space where pencils and laptops are the only things allowed in the reading rooms. I doubt they will let coffee near da Vinci’s notebooks any time soon, just so many more could be attracted to the Library!
This is a TEST Comment
Salman Khan
Salman Khan
http://www.google.com/
Of course students need tasty caffeine sources located inside the library!
Best Regards Pioneer
I am a student at a university that has a coffee place in the library and I dont think that it has any sort of effect on getting students to read or study in the library. Most students that go to the library go there to study b/c it is quite and has resources that you need. I dont go to the library b/c i can study in my room just fine rather than walking there. Going to the library would make me lazier and wanting to stay in my room, so maybe libraries should placed in the dorms to get students in the library.
“just how far things have gone”
Thats an odd metaphor in this context. How “far” have we gone from where? and, to beyond an acceptable border? What border?
What “things”? commerical invasion of libraries? Serving caffeine to 18 year olds?
And, “gone” where? Does a few libraries represent the relocation of things elsewhere?
Just asking.
In my opinion this could be a good and bad trend in college libraries.
On one hand, this could lead more students to the library, but it does not
mean that they are going to study more than before. We have a coffee shop in our
library on campus and I rarely see students congregating around the tables there. Maybe because they do not offer a huge sitting space. But it seems as if the number of students that go the libraries that have Starbucks, is only increasing because of the Starbucks. And when they mentioned that the spilling on books has deacreased, maybe it is because they are not using the books as much as they are sitting in Starbucks and socailizing. Libraries should be used for people who want to study where as, big coffee chains are usually used for social gatherings. These two should be kept seperate.
From my point of view, people should try to get away from the classical thinking that the library is only a place to read books and that quietness is a necessity. Certainly, libraries must have enough places where a student can study without disturbance, and I am sure that every library provides this.
Although, to learn effectively, a human being must also take breaks, but even breaks must be organized efficiently; they must provide a feeling of relaxation, and I think that most of the people enjoy it to have a cup of tea or coffee with their friends.
Because time is a shortage, students must make the best out of their breaks. Surely, Starbucks might not get people to read more. Whereas I don’t even think that its goal is to do so, but to give students an opportunity to make the best of their narrow free time. Starbucks provides a comfortable place to have a cup of coffee and a chat with friends. Moreover, we should not forget, that caffeine rises the concentration, so after their break, students are able to start their studies with new breath and energy.
I don’t say that it must be Starbucks; it can be any lounge, but it should be as near as possible to the library. To illustrate the opportunity cost, let’s think of an alternative, e.g. a canteen, which is about ten minutes away from the library: obviously, most of the student’s free time would be lost by the round-trip, so, his or her opportunity costs would be higher. To implication is: the nearer the leisure area is, the more time he/she can use effectively.
Finally, as a result of efficient learning, students might be contented by this way of pausing, and places as Starbucks could indeed get more students to the library.
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Well, I certainly wouldn’t oppose the trend but what I would say is that Starbucks coffee is not near as amazing as what people make it out to be. I live in a country where there is no Starbucks, and then I visited a country where there is only a few months ago and honestly wasn’t blown away by its sheer awesomeness like many claim that it should. I have honestly tasted much better coffee at the local shop.
They say if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. In inflicting this long, verbose rant on you, dear reader, I have chosen to be part of the problem
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