Ethnographic Observation

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For the location of my observation, I chose the Boston Public Library in Boston, MA. When choosing the location, I aimed to choose one that would allow me to observe other people without compromising my own safety. The library gave me enough cover while writing down my observations. As well as, security being present for any possible conflict and me being a safe distance from my observees.

Before starting my ethnographic observations, I knew little about the Boston Public Library. It was mentioned to me many times by my peers as a nice place to study off campus. I commonly saw the library listed as a tourist destination and even on the Resident Assistants board in my residence hall. The Library is less than a two minute walk from the Copley …show more content…
There were about 20-25 other people in the room with me. The majority of the people in the survey were white female presenting people. However, the age range was pretty broad, ranging from children to elderly people. Looking around, most people were heads-down on their laptops typing. The average person in the Bates Room, has a MacBook, energy drink, and a water bottle in their workspace. Every couple of minutes, security would walk through the room and make sure people were well. Firstly, I observed a couple on the other side of the room, one man and one woman, sitting across from each other. The woman is a white-passing brunette and the man is racially-ambiguous with dark hair. They both have one iPad and one MacBook each, working on their devices. I believe that they are close friends rather than a romantic couple, as they keep a comfortable distance from each other. Then, a couple of minutes later, the woman began to talk to the man. She's gesturing a lot with her hands, and they start to laugh. There was an older adult white-passing man to their left, who kind of gave them a look. The couple then realized, then began to look back at their laptops quietly. Also, there were people who would come into the Bates Room to walk around and admire the room. They would enter the room, walk around, take a few pictures, then leave the room in about three minutes. They usually were quiet, respecting the people who were seated in the study room. I noticed a family that was a little bit louder than the volume of the room. This was a white-passing family, with a mom, two teenage sons, and a small girl. As they walked around the room, the mom was taking pictures on her cell phone. The little girl began to run back and forth through the aisles of bookshelves. While the teenage sons followed her, but did not stop her from running. The girl began to fuss, then the
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