RELATIONSHIP-CENTERED SERVICE DESIGN FOR HOSPITALITY AT BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY

R O L E

Ethnographic Researcher

C O N T E X T

Public servicesService designLabor

T I M E F R A M E

2019

A F F L I A T I O N

Parsons DESIS LabBrooklyn Public Library

What does it mean to be ”hospitable” in the context of (free) public services? Through ethnographic research at Bedford Brooklyn Public Library, we observed and documented interactions and show how the inconsistent service delivery at the front line is deeply intertwined with entrenched systemic issues. We advocated for a shift from patron-centered service design model to relationship-centered model in which the library workers are recognized as part of the communities that they help to build and maintain.

P R O J E C T B R I E F

C O L L A B O R A T O R

Ruimin Ma

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .

RESEARCHMETHODS

Looking at interactions between staff and patrons across different temporal and spatial arrangements, how objects and interior are utilized.

O B S E R V A T I O N S + I N T E R V I E W S

To understand what it means to be “hospitable” in the context of public services such as the library, we observed and documented the interactions between library workers and patrons in Bedford Library, a neighborhood branch in Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) system. To peel back layers of motivations, attitudes, and behaviors, we utilized a wide range of methods, from observation to ethnographic interviews, mapping, and cultural probes.

R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G I E S A N D M E T H O D S

Looking at how space are setup so as to accommodate different needs and programming. As most branch started to utilize open space model, this is critical to see the diversity of spatial configurations across branches.

S E R V I C ES C A P E S

Bedford library situates within a neighborhood with diverse racial, ethnicity , and economic background. Through mapping exercise, we visualized the connections (or the lack thereof) between different persons and spaces within the community.

M A P P I N G R E L A T I O N S

While staff has specific roles, they often take on many other responsibilities and identities to cater to the diverse and contingent needs of the communities. Through visualizing exercise, we wanted to understand how they hold multiple identities and the type of labor that went into it.

R O L E S +I D E N T I T I E S

Observations and anecdotes were collected as insights were distilled concurrently and feed back into the research process.

S Y N T H E S I Z I N G + D E F I N I N G P R I N C I P L E S

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .RESEARCHMETHODS

There is a fuzziness when it comes to the definition and delivery of hospitality in public services: library staff have to respond tactically to different types and intensity of needs within the community. Patrons can take for granted public services, while the library system pushes for unrealistic agendas: the library workers sit in this unique position, internalizing the sacred notions and values of libraries as an institution while exposing themselves to burnout, identity conflicts, and under-compensation.

ANDREW, LIBRARY WORKER AT BEDFORD BRANCH

“I am exhausted

today”

“The Mean Lady”

“No”“How can I

help?”

Welcoming

“Yes”

“They only count what can

be counted”

FUZZINESS AT THESERVICE DELIVERY FRONT LINE

TO FOSTER LEARNINGAND THE LOVE OF LEARNING

TO SUPPLY TRUSTED, UP-TO-DATEINFORMATION RESOURCES, AND GUIDE PATRONS TO THE ONE THEY NEED

TO CONNECT RESIDENTS TO EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

TO STRENGTHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND PROMOTE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

TO PROVIDE INCLUSIVE AND INSPIRATION PLACES

ADAPT FROM BPL STRATEGIC PLAN, 2018

M A N A G E M E N T / B A C K O F F I C E

SCRIPTING AND IMPROVISATIONTO MEET STRATEGIC DEMANDS

INDUSTRIALIZED VERSUS CUSTOMIZATION/RELATIONAL

P A T R O N S

POWER STRUGGLE, CLASS AND RACE, CUSTOMER-CENTRIC

D I S O N A N C E B E T W E E N E X P E C T A T I O N A N D R E A L I T Y O F “ H O S P I T A L I T Y ”

2 .INSIGHTS

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .RESEARCHMETHODS

T H E U N D E R L Y I N G S T R E S S O R S : C E N T E R I N G C O N V E R S A T I O N S O N T H E W O R K E R S A N D T H E I R F O R M S O F L A B O R

F U N D I N GPublic libraries, one of the last public

infrastructures in cities like NYC, are stretched thin to provide adequate services for all

populations.

M A N A G E M E N TA G E N D A S

The duty of library staff extend well beyond lending books. They have to be the social worker, the first responder, and advocate for the underserved.

D I V E R S EF O R M S O F L A B O R SManagement agendas are influenced

by funding structures, municipal-level political agenda, and

community needs

S E R V I N G T H E U N D E R S E R V E D

Underserved communities rely on public services for daily needs as well as civic

engagement. The staff workers sometimes are part of this community as well.

C O N T E X T U A L S T R E S S O R S

T H E M A N Y T Y P E S O F ( U N R E C O G N I Z E D ) L A B O R

Emotional LaborManage and control their own emotion (through surface and deep acting) to fulfill their roles

Relational LaborCustomization of services, making and sustaining connections within the community

Aesthetic LaborPhysical appearance alteration in order to fulfill the requirements of the jobs

While the emotional labor of frontline service workers becomes an asset of the organization, they often go undercompensated:

workers’ hourly wage+infrastructure+profit margin of the organization=cost of service for consumer

Hochschild, 2003Penin, Tonkinwise, 2011

“They only count what can

be counted”(Andrew)

2 .

INSIGHTS

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .RESEARCHMETHODS

Service delivery happens at the cost of library workers

These issues show that the current focus on patron-centered service design does not work for the wellbeing of the staff. This requires a rethink of service design model, to worker-centric design model or relationship-centered model—one that recognize how communities are built through making and sustaining relationships between members of the community.

T H E N E E D T O S H I F T D E S I G N O R I E N T A T I O N A N D P R I N C I P L E S

F R O M

Patron-centered service design

T O

Relationship-centered service design

Transactional and low involvement

Relationship as enablers of fulfillment of services

Siloed set of needs

Service delivery happens in the context of reciprocal influence

Formation, recovery, and maintenance

Relationships as end goals

Needs are negotiated between all participants in the ecosystem

3 .

NEWDESIGN

PRINCIPLES

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .RESEARCHMETHODS

To help understand the patrons' perspectives on library staff labor, we created a small community engagement activity that materializes the action of "taking-and-giving". As users of public services, we are used to taking things from public services but are less likely to give back or at least recognize the finiteness of resources.The patrons were asked to take candy for themselves and in return, answered a prompt written inside the candy wrappers. These prompts help us to understand how patrons perceive the works of the library staff and at the same time, show appreciation. What we learned from this activity is that even though many patrons understood the extra miles that public workers have to take on and took time to show appreciation, many community members prefer a transactional relationship with their library workers. In communities with diverse ethnicity and religion, this preference is heightened as there are inherent difficulties in crossing these sensitive boundaries.

T H E G I V E A N D T A K E B O X 4 .

PROTOTYPEPRINCIPLES

Rethink hospitality in

Brooklyn Public LIbrary

1 .RESEARCHMETHODS

The People’s Public Library is a fictional library, designed as a moving installation that travels across public spaces in the city. To center the concern of adequate compensation for public service workers and the nature of their labor, we curate a periodic collection of books from popular literature to critical examination of labor.These books contrasting different systems of values, from celebrating individual success, passion, and achievement to honoring caring labor and collective values—looking at both economic and non-market relations. This intentional divergence of values helps us start a conversation with the general public about the precarious condition of public service workers—and at the same time, relate to their own working conditions and how they are valued. To generate new value systems, we also ask participants to create their own “currency” to value the work of the librarians and staff in public libraries. Interesting answers emerged, from practical compensation such as housing to more abstract value systems such as love, freedom, and comradery. This wide range of values signifies further works to clarify and actualize different logics and systems of values so as non-economic work can be recognized for the livelihood of the communities.

T H E P E O P L E ’ S P U B L I C L I B R A R Y

VIEW VIDEO CASE STUDY

4 .

PROTOTYPEPRINCIPLES