Urban Planning and Bananas.

So recently TechnoBiblio mentioned that librarians need to carry a heavy backpack with them so that they can provide reference services on the go. And It's all good (sorry it's such an old post we're talking about here) rightly points out that Starbucks has started to fill some of this need in our culture.

First off, I ain't carrying all that stuff around. It's heavy. And the outfit would cost at least $5,000 to setup. (But hey, superheroes tend to be reclusive millionaires in their spare time, so maybe that shouldn't be an impediment.) Then there's the problem of a business model. Again: superheroes don't charge for their services, but Jonny's gotta pay the mortgage.

Second, one of Oldenburg's key points is that third places (and the original work, by the way, is The great good place : cafés, coffee shops, community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars, hangouts, and how they get you through the day
, Celebrating the Third Place was a follow-up) tend to be free and/or locally owned. He spends a lot of time talking about bars, front porches, and parks. Bars tend to be locally owned (and frequently, the owner is actually behind the bar--a fact not ignored by Oldenburg). And you can't spend a huge amount of money in one--you'd be shitty drunk and you'd get kicked out. So if you want to hang out, you've got to spend money moderately (and drink moderately too).

Starbucks noticeably doesn't fit in here. Although I will agree that it does fill some of the need. The fact that it does probably enforces Oldenburg's argument that America sorely lacks such places. (To be fair, Starbucks doesn't aggressively chase folks out, but the owner is most definitely not making your latte.)

Libraries may fill part of the role, but they will always fail because they are a place with 2 specific purposes: finding information and lending books. The buildings and their services are not specifically designed for hanging out. Starbucks is. Your neighborhood tavern is (or was, before the invention of the $5 beer and video crack). Border Books, god help us, is.

There is another characteristic of the 3rd place that is missing from the discussion: it's in your neighborhood. There is a much better book, the name of which has been eluding me for months, that details how American cities have been designed for cars instead of pedestrians. The author goes into exhaustive detail about the decline of walkable neighborhoods and connects the trend convincingly to the rise of car culture, national chain stores, and shopping malls. Put his book and Oldenburg's together, and you've got a pretty good summary of the current state of affairs.

And by the way: why does an OCLC staff member search Amazon instead of WorldCat when looking for Oldenburg? Does that say more about the goodness of Amazon or the lameness of WorldCat?

Here's the banana bread recipe you've all been clamoring for:

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flower
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts.

Mix butter, sugar, honey. Add eggs and bananas and mix till smooth. Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time. Finish by folding in the yogurt.

Bake in a lined 6" loaf pan at 325 for about 70 minutes.