I Am a Camera November 16 2006 These are the compiled answers from student interviews done for the I Am a Camera study on November 16-17, 2006 at the Auburn University Libraries. Interviewer A
Things you always carry with you: House keys, digital camera (use that often, canon powershot 1 st camera ever), checkbook, wallet, ipod, cell phone (disconnected from the world without it; has no land line), bottle of water, chapstick. Lug-a-mug, keys and thumb drive, sudoku book, planner, cell phone, pen and pencil, wallet, ipod, in backpack school version of what she always carries with her. Phone, keys, wallet, ring he wears Backpack All the stuff you take to class: Backpack, purse, textbooks, notebooks, pens in addition to what was listed above. Lug-a-mug, backpack, books, phone, notebook, pen and pencil, paper, soduku book Phone, keys, wallet, ring he wears, messenger book bag, notebook, charcoal, paper, portofolio. Doesn t take books because he doesn t need them in class (graphic design) Calculator, 2-3 notebooks, 2-3 books, pencils, pens, ruler and eraser Something you would call high tech: Her friend s cell phone because it has video and is a camera; high tech because of the size and because of camera function The plotter in the DRL didn t know what it was, but a friend said it was like her left arm, she uses it all the time. Phone and flash drive Plotter in DRL, accurate, good resolution, used sometimes in DRL some. One picture of the library to show a new freshman: Mell Street side of the library at an angle that includes the entire name and is close up enough to read it; to show location, very important to show the name. Mell Street side of the library from across the street, always goes in this entrance, older entrance, shows students waiting for the bus, didn t want one that was just the library because it s not as attractive as it might be, wanted students to know that the library is not just a big building, so the pix was taken across the street. Could be more attractive, somewhat dated, just looks older, not 2
3 I Am a Camera 2006 negative. Could do a lot to build smarter, looking like all the other buildings should not be so important. Mell Street side of the library from across the street, leaves all around it, and light on it. Tried to get a nice angle from campus side, the side they would see the most often. Wanted to get the entire building in pix. Inside of DRL. Scanners, poster printers for projects. Don t think as many people know about it. (Has a friend who works there.) The computer you use in the library showing its surroundings: Brings her own laptop because she doesn t know about availability, and uses it in the group study rooms to avoid distraction. Computer in main bank on 2 nd floor with books, notebooks and pencils around it. Stool workstations on 4 th floor, little quieter, can t study or work on a lot if there is a lot of noise, easily distracted. For online quizzes there is a better connection here. Uses all the computers, no specific ones. Took pix on one in ref area on 2 nd. Prefers the ones with chairs instead of stools. Where you go in the library to get help with an assignment; The reference desk, advised to go there by her RTVF faculty member Circ/Reserve where to find info for research papers, directed to the reference desk. Been able to find way around, not asked much more than that. Convenient to come to the library to print a lot. DRL for graphics work, had to blow up a picture of a single person for a texture assignment. Reference desk. Not that often, just gets online. For English papers, needed books. Not needed help this semester. Came in the summer. Place in the library where you feel lost: The stacks, hard to figure out call numbers, even though there are maps everywhere. Hasn t need to check very much out yet. Really nowhere lost now that she is working on the sustainability study, but took a picture of the stacks, finding a specific book not really that difficult. Stacks on 4 th floor, anywhere with extremely long rows of books. Difficult to get to the right section.
In stacks. Feel lost, hard to see signs and bunch of rows of books. Need signs that are brighter and bigger, that would stick out. Usually needs materials on 2 nd and 3 rd, not much use of library collection in engineering. Your favorite place to study: Library group study rooms; her laptop works well in there, better on our wireless network than in her apt. Cubicle (carrel), but not normally study there. Usually tries to get one of the armchairs on the first floor across from the DRL. These chairs need to be more secluded. Cubicles should be tucked away with no disturbances, sometimes she needs silence, sometimes she needs thing going on. Does mostly papers usually at her home. Library in general, tries to get a 2 nd floor carrel because you can t see and the keeps you in study mode. Carrels could be bigger but usually only had one notebook and one book. 2 nd floor near windows by entrance. Crowded but it is the best spot. Don t want to be there in the afternoon because of the sun. Easy to meet there to work on projects and group study. Your least favorite place to study: Carrels, cubbies: Gets too distracted, uncomfortable chairs (we need ones with cushions) No pix. Couldn t think of a place. Anywhere can be too distracting. High traffic areas, really busy places. It s easy to find a quiet corner. If you re looking you can usually find one. My apartment. Sitting by the computer is too distracting, ends up surfing the net, or goes into the other room and watch TV. Outside the library next to the trash can especially in the cold. Usually anywhere inside is OK. Your favorite person of people to study with: Usually one person, former dormmate, drives her because she has no car; either comes alone or with the one other person. If studying in a bigger group, the dormmate is usually in the group. Roommate. Really good at quizzing her. Usually study in their living room because quizzing is loud. Not much of a group studier. Study rooms a good idea. Roommate, either just with him or alone. Sometimes they quiz each other. Roomie studies in apt and on his bed, occasionally in library, prints off study questions at home. 4
Friend who works in the DRL. Comes by and they study the same course material. Goes over notes and sees what they don t know, quiz each other if it s stuff to memorize. Sometimes another friend but usually 2-3 people. The place you keep your books: Shelf in her room, in a cabinet next to her bed. Includes her books from the previous semester. Purple bookshelf in bedroom, overflowing. Also in car, living room, backpack, on floor in bedroom. On bottom part of compuer desk. Mostly taken up by art history books and sketchbook for drawing class. Taking one drawing class and two design classes. On desk at home, table used as a desk. Pretty neat. Can have things all over sometimes. Needs to spread out to study. Tables on 3 rd and 4 th better to study at. Something you ve noticed that you think others don t notice: Background music playing in stores. (Made a sign depicting that) Lights in library. Neon ones, small art deco ones, recessed cool one, warm recessed ones, florescent, long rows of lights on first floor, looking up the center stairs at lights. Outlet in the new parking desk in really odd place, inaccessible. Wilmore lab, X-ray cabinet like thing, door into lab like one for photographic lab. Your communication devices: Laptop and phone. And webcam, but it was not in the picture. Does email, IM, calls her phone her lifeline. Computer and cell phone. No land line, note since her dorm room. Phone. Computer, too, but not able to get good pictures (?). Has no phone land line. Phone. Usually uses this but does have a land line. Something really weird: A bowl of grits. Originally from Canada. Parents thought sausage patties were grits. Abnormal group of evangelists, all over campus, cult-like, on campus the previous week. 5
Pipe sticking out of the ground with foam and duct tape around it on east Magnolia just past the Auburn Bank parking lot on left almost at the corner. Flags of the nations in Foy Union. Knows quite a few. Used to like to look at a lot of geography. A picture of your dorm room/apartment showing your computer: Apt bedroom with computer desk put together herself from Walmart. Big surface for printer. Likes to spread out. Too confined in library cubbies. Computer in living room of her apt. On a table, cord across the floor, on end table near TV, easy to work on things while everything else is going on. Desk with monitor, 17-19 inch, printer, speakers, headphones, CPU on floor, CDs under router on right slightly out of the pix. On a long skinny table next to where books are with printer, files underneath What you use to manage your time or keep track of your work: Planner. Writes down day to day assignments, appts. On UPC and writes down those dates. Planner. Has entire life on it. Year and a half to two years ago began and kept up with it. Doesn t always have her computer with her and can take it to meetings and class. Not by her computer enough to keep it there. Planner, monthly like success center or Camp War Eagle ones, official campus ones. Keeps due dates, homework stuff, football games, birthdays, events, parties. Planner. Came from engineering events. Lists homework and really important social stuff sometimes. Calendar on computer not easy to carry around. Your favorite time of day: Picture of her bed. Naptime, nighttime, sleep time are her favorite times. Goes to bed at 12-1, has 8:00 class 3 days and 9:00 2 days. Late morning, pix of pretty trees picking up the light. Likes that the library has a bunch of trees around it. She s a morning person. Dusk, from the 4 th floor of the new parking deck looking out at the baseball field, day coming to the end, almost time to go to sleep. Only time of day to be awake and see the beautiful sky. Afternoon being in the lab in Wilmore. Putting coatings on electronic devices. Usually 2-3 hours in lab 3 days a week. 6
The tools you use for writing assignments: Computer, book, sometimes a pen, paper, mostly write on the computer. Got a laptop at 16 instead of her driver s license or car. Got her current one for birthday in April 2005. Computer, any books, note, paper to put notes on. She has lots of writing assignments. Never checked out a laptop, only on library computers for quick things, long on her own computer. Writes papers mostly in longhand, does not compose on a keyboard. Writes one draft and then edits and then types and saves to memory stick. Comes to the library, gets stuff out, writes up assignment, then starts typing and finishes in the draft. Pens and pencils. No computers. All has to be done by hand. Maybe can use a calculator. Something you can t live without: Phone. Can t live without it; it s how she communicates. Phone and pen and paper. Keeps her connected. Really doesn t NEED any of that. Certain times she can go without. Like to write, always has writing things with her. TV. Likes movies, not scary but everything else. Likes games a lot too. Prefers movie theaters to DVDs. Big screen TV at Foy Union. To watch any sports. Not much time anymore. Mostly on the weekends. Your favorite building at Auburn: Wanted to put the football stadium, but took a picture of Foy Union instead. Asst Dir for UPC, has 5 office hours a week there. Likes Tichenor. It s small, she s had 3-4, several classes in it, just always liked it. Nice size, not monstrous or anything. Chemical engineering building. Likes the look of it. Chose to draw it for class. Likes trees and reflecting pool. Wilmore, because of lab work. Enjoys it. Student question: Why are there group study rooms on a quiet floor? Listens to music while she studies. 7