Hello, Marshall recently read “Long ago — say, 15 years back — our third-place choices were pretty slim. There was the library, where you couldn’t talk.“ from the below article. That statement disappointed me and I figured that it warranted discussion.
Is being the third place a goal that libraries should plan for?
If so, what changes need to happen with libraries and/ or the customer’s perception?
For a good definitionof third place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place
Howard Schultz memo can be found at: http://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/_/2007/02/starbucks_chair_2.html
Starbucks Is Still theThird Place to Be
So It’s Let Itself Go a Little — But Where Else Can You Lingle?
By Lenore Skenazy Published: March 19, 2007
So I was reading the Howard Schultz memo, and it hit me: He’s right! I haven’t smelled real coffee beans in a Starbucks for ages! And the baristas don’t make the espresso themselves — they press the button and here’s your soulless coffee. No wonder they don’t look as happy as they used to. They’re drones! And then they’re selling these breakfast sandwiches made with pre-cooked eggs that look straight out of Blimpie, and they give you a pre-packaged blip of cream cheese that barely covers your bagel — how tacky is that? And why does everyone always screw shut the milk container? It’s there to pour out the milk, right? So why do we have to keep unscrewing it? Calling Howard — leave it open!
You know how sometimes a passing remark can have an unduly large impact on your life? (Like the time my friend told me my college boyfriend was so cute that I stayed with him another three years thinking, “Why throw out a cute one?” even though he was actually not that cute.) That’s what the Schultz memo was like. It changed the way I saw things with my own eyes.
I spent the next week just loathing Starbucks. Gleefully, I noticed that the bathroom at the Starbucks nearest me had no coat hook. The toilet paper was on top of the dispenser instead of inside it. The front half of the soap dispenser was actually lying on the floor. That nailed it for me: Starbucks had become as depressing as McDonald’s. “You deserve a break today,” said I to myself. “Leave!”
So I did.
And then …I had no place else to go.
No place but home or work, that is. But like an estimated 30 million Americans, according to a Yankelovich study, I wanted to be in a “third place.” A place where I could hang out, be part of the stream of life and (this is very important for those of us who work at home) read without falling asleep.
Long ago — say, 15 years back — our third-place choices were pretty slim. There was the library, where you couldn’t talk. The diner, where you couldn’t really read (and had to tip). Bars were a sad place to be during working hours. And the gym (for me) was sadder. Of course, there were always the town squares, where young lovers paraded arm in arm and old men fed pigeons. Unfortunately, those were all in other countries. America just didn’t have a public gathering spot, except for the mall. Gag me with an Auntie Anne’s pretzel.
Then along came Starbucks, and suddenly we had the kind of public life we hadn’t had since the death of Main Street. People lingered, mingled. They lingled.Moreover, unlike McDonald’s, which killed off an indigenous American burger culture, Starbucks didn’t have to kill anything to achieve its hegemony. Maybe it squeezed out a few independent coffee shops here and there. But it probably was responsible for the birth of far more.
With this cafe culture — even this somewhat homogenized, corporate cafe culture — came a new way of life. At first, it was almost an illicit thrill to buy coffee that cost as much as a vote. (I’m from Chicago.) But once I got used to it, I became a Starbucks person, with the card and the lingo and the addiction and everything. I made it my meeting place, study hall and place to kill time between other places. To have that kind of a sanctuary where no one gets mad at you for overstaying your welcome and the rent is paid with a cup of coffee — it made me feel rich.
That’s why it really doesn’t matter if McDonald’s wins a coffee taste test or Dunkin’ Donuts is on a roll. Those places gave us fast food. Starbucks gave us an extra living room. If it spruces up a bit, brings back the coffee smell and gives us just a little more cream cheese, it will remain the place
America goes to lingle.~ ~ ~
Lenore Skenazy is a journalist who lives in New York.
If you want to learn more about great public spaces — as third places — go to http://www.pps.org/ — the Project for Public Spaces. Take a spin through the Image Center. Then, look at the pps April Newsletter has an article on Libraries as Great Public Spaces http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/april2007/. Food for thought.
If you want to see some great third places, visit the Project for Public Spaces http://www.pps.org/ and take a stroll through their image collection. Also note the April Making Places Newsletter lead story “Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever”. http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/april2007/
[apologies if this note shows up twice. it didn't publish immediately the first time, so I redid it.]
The Third Place issue for libraries is huge. The challenge of creating comfortable, warm, inviting spaces where people really want to be is one of the major issues for libraries today. My own experience is that libraries have lost that edge to bookstores and cafes, and now must work hard to catch up in the race. We have many wonderful things to offer in our buildings, but it’s not helpful if only a select few know about them.
We must continue to be inspired to make our buildings as open and accessible as possible to be our customer’s first choice for a creative and comfortable gathering places for our communities. Whether we do that by scheduling innovative programs and inviting the community, or by having the coolest teen programs around (and hoping that the teens continue to use us when they grow into taxpayers in 10-15 years) we must do what we can to stay in the running.
Thanks Marshall for bringing up this topic!