A survey carried out on users of the Beaubourg Library shows the multiple uses of this place for the various castaways of society: a place of life, respite and sociability, at least as much as reading and documentation.
Sociological works on libraries are few in number and the book by S. Paugam and C. Giorgetti appears with a general publisher (PUF) rather than specialized. This is notable because sociological production on this subject is often the work of specialists in this narrow field with the status of sociologist but also specialists in information and communication sciences, or library professionals. Paugam and Giorgetti’s book is part of a tradition of works produced by sociologists specializing in other fields and who make an incursion into the world of libraries during a survey and from their field of origin. Coming from the sociology of culture, J.-C. Passeron had thus opened the way by The Eye on the Page (1985) made with Mr. Grumbach and several other disciples. F. de Singly, who was interested in reading, carried out a survey in 1993 (Young people and reading) in which he studies libraries. For the book in question here, S. Paugam approaches this subject based on his knowledge of the field of poverty.
Observe the library
The book is based on a vast observation and interview survey within the Public Information Library (BPI) from the Center G. Pompidou. This was carried out over two non-consecutive quarters (one in winter and the other straddling summer and autumn) in order to vary the observation conditions. The investigators stationed themselves in the place and observed users in a discreet and informal manner, both those in situations of social difficulty and other users around them. 29 interviews were carried out but with difficulty because poor people do not appreciate this request. There BPI stands out compared to other public libraries by its impressive size (more than 10,000m²), by its installation within an institution and a prestigious building but also by the fact that it does not offer a loan service. It is therefore a place for “ stayers » since the use of collections is conditional on the use of space. It therefore encourages stay but this is not reducible to the use of the collections as the survey largely shows. This characteristic results in the fact that it is normal for users not to have a card and therefore to be anonymous or “ undocumented “. These particular characteristics of the place of observation are not without effect on the poor public observed.
Rich in his analyzes of the “ social disqualification » as a process, S. Paugam and his colleague Camila Giorgetti analyze the relationship of the poor to the library by distinguishing the three phases of fragility, dependence and rupture. The material collected is organized based on the differentiation of these three distinct situations. Each phase corresponds to a specific relationship to the library and is accompanied by its own uses.
Report to the library and phases of disqualification
People in vulnerable situations begin the process of social disqualification. Because they struggle to enter the job market or because they have been excluded from it, they feel a gap growing with the majority of the population and the norm that it conveys. They are economically fragile and subjectively weakened but do not wish to resort to social assistance which would threaten their status. This concern not to fall into a disqualifying situation translates into great compliance with library order. These users are very respectful of behavioral standards and their desire to blend in with the mass of users makes it difficult to identify them. They can be “ betrayed » through their office hours. They find resources at the library to seek to escape their fragile condition. They can train or improve their mastery of French and find information that can support their job search. More broadly, their use of the place consists of consolidating their status by keeping disqualification at bay. The place and the conformist use made of it allow these people to value themselves and to experience a form of social integration capable of getting them out of their difficult situation or at least of not falling into the following stages of the disqualification process.
When fragility persists, people end up needing to resort to social services to compensate for the deterioration of their economic and housing situation. They enter the dependency phase and will step into this role and rationalize it. In this context, library attendance takes on a special meaning. Unlike forced contacts with social services, the library is the result of a positive choice and, if this is not explicitly mentioned in the survey, it seems that one can come from far away to satisfy it. In this place, it is less about finding resources for a project to get out of one’s situation than about taking care of oneself and building a positive self-image from contact with the collections but also often with other users. As much as they can, these people “ live » at the library, they stay there for a long time and deplore the weekly Tuesday closure. They move from one activity to another, hold a lounge, come to surf the Internet, watch television, read the press or books. But they also make the place their own, including for activities that are rarely associated with the library: sleeping, eating, washing. As one of them testifies: “ I lived here in the winter “. This implies a form of privatization of space and diversion of the library’s mission to which the institution demonstrates an appreciated tolerance. The norms of the place are negotiated and users in the dependence phase defend their uses such as that of sleep…
People experiencing a breakdown experience difficulties in their family relationships (often non-existent), distance from the job market, health problems and degraded living conditions. These often isolated people face life on the street and those who come to the library find shelter there from both the harsh climate and the violence of the street. It is a place of respite and rest which also provides documentary resources. Their challenge is to be accepted in this place despite their sometimes repulsive appearance. You have to pass the entry filter but vigilance remains required afterwards because the threat is exclusion. Other users are quite tolerant but sometimes some complain about their nauseating smell. These broken people often internalize their point of view and distance themselves or take measures not to leave a trace of their passage, for example by protecting the seats from their dirt.
The library, a place of social connection
Defining itself exclusively by its collections and its holdings, the library appears in this investigation as a place of production of citizenship. The cohabitation, in a valued setting, of these poor people and a (largely) student public highlights the reality of the participation of all in our society. In this way, this work makes a useful contribution to the ongoing reshaping of librarians’ discourse on libraries.
It remains that this function of producing social bonds cannot be reduced to the population of the poor. Libraries are populated by people who are not part of the process of social disqualification and who find there resources to build themselves, comforting smiles, an alternative space for self-definition, an appreciated atmosphere, etc. Other surveys should be carried out in public libraries of different sizes to bring to light all these uses which cannot be reduced to the documentary dimension. This work could form a preliminary step for professional reflection on how to build the service offered by libraries so that they fulfill this function in the best possible way. For the moment, initiatives exist (we are thinking, for example, of the Signy l’Abbaye media library which brings together social services within the equipment space) but they are not based on reflection nourished by work of methodical observation. They would be able to answer, for example, a question about the critical size necessary to offer a feeling of anonymity. If the poor find BPI a favorable location is that its large size and the absence of registration offer conditions guaranteeing anonymity ; how can small libraries fulfill this function in their own way? ?