The basement of Miller Library is seemingly quiet. Anyone who walks by can take one look at the scene and gather that students are working productively and independently, exhibiting proper library behavior. However, those who choose to immerse themselves in the culture of the Miller basement know that this perceived silence is actually adorned with whispers, laughs and the occasional headphone slip that results in students mistakenly playing their music out loud.
Four thirty is a distinctively relaxed time in Miller Library basement. There are students scattered around working independently and quietly. Although the work environment is calm—the stress of a looming tomorrow has not yet set in—there is very little conversation between friends who are sharing tables. Many of the tables and cubicles are covered with notebooks and post-it notes, but the chairs at their desks are empty. The fact that tables are claimed and then abandoned, similarly to the way one saves chairs at the beach on vacation, reflects the steadfast nature of basement studiers.
While the majority of the students sitting alone are working productively, those seated at tables seem to be handicapped by distraction. Heads pop up every time someone new comes down to the basement, as students check to see if the new arrival is someone with whom they can converse.
For basement studiers, it is crucial to understand and achieve the unspoken balance between pure concentration and limited social interaction. While this study culture is generous in allowing participants the chance to engage with one another, it is not all-giving in this manner. Each studier must take responsibility for his or her conversations, and cannot use his or her time in the basement as purely a social experience.
Those who have chosen to make the Miller Library basement their study home—or in off-campus resident Whitney Trook’s case, her home away from home—know the proper etiquette of the space. However, for those who have chosen to study elsewhere, the basement seems to be a confusing and unappealing space. As main floor studier Meghan Kelly passionately stated, “That [the basement] is not my scene. I’ve heard it’s a weird combination. It’s not quiet enough to really focus but you’re not really allowed to talk.” Kelly, who enjoys the “seen and be seen scene” that the main floor offers, has recently made the move from a more quiet location to the most public one after getting into law school. The library has become a “fun” experience, as opposed to a more serious one that basement and upper level studiers appreciate. Lindsay Dale ’12 on the other hand, cannot bear the thought of having to study amidst noise: “No, I’ve never studied in the basement. There’s too much noise down there. I think it’s supposed to be a quiet floor, but the constant whispering is too distracting. I need the complete silence that the second or third floor provides.”