Begin, at the Beginning

This week we've gone back to the beginning. 

Why have decided to research this area- why are we certain that we should continue to celebrate the physical presence of a book? 

How do people behave in bookshops, libraries and second hand book stores?

We don't want to create a new Library Management System- we want to create a flight of fantasy: 

So this week we've been spending lots of time listening, watching and talking to people who work with books, and the people who buy them. 

Joe Salter- Deputy Manager at Blackwells on Park Street generously gave us a couple of hours of his time, and a wealth of knowledge (from 7 years working in an independent book chain) about how people behave. It was an amazing conversation- that really highlighted the fact that people love to feel like they Want to discover something. A new book a new idea- that they have a personal relationship with. In all the different catergories of Book store user, this came up again and again. Quite thought provoking. 

We then went to the fabulous (but incredibly cold) Book Barn . A huge barn full of millions of books. Full of everything and nothing- where you have to let your mind wander. It was interesting watching people navigate- make choices, and feel our own satisfaction or confusion as we made decisions to get ourselves going: where do you look first? What does that make you think about consequentially. When do you feel information overload? 

Tomorow we're stepping back into a library.. Will let you know what we're thinking afterwards.