I chose the University of Iowa Main Library, but I suspected it would be dead since it's the time between spring and summer semesters.  

It wasn't entirely dead, but it was close.

The Service Desk area straddles two parts of the Main Library.  One part is very "old school", built in 1951 and has a musty decor of the "Fallout Shelter" era.  The other part is a modern remodel with bright and noisy lighting, vivid colors, and LCD TVs everywhere.

After several failed recordings, I went upstairs to the temporarily-located Music Library, and picked out two books:  "Electronic Music and Musique Concrete" by FC Judd, and "How Music Works" by David Byrne.  

I have thumbed through the Byrne book before and the sections I read seemed like a big downer, but I suppose I ought to read it.  In various interviews with Byrne in the past year he seems to be evolving his opinion about subscription streaming services.  I find this to be amusing because Byrne's written a BOOK about these issues and he's still vacillating over whether Spotify is a good thing or not.  Byrne really ought to have a firm opinion about it.  I happen to believe Spotify is a good thing, and I felt that way long before I became a paying subscriber.  (Actually, I pay for three Premium subscriptions in my family - that's $360 a year - and I still buy downloads at Bandcamp and other places).

But enough about what I checked out.

I decided I would try to get a recording by checking out a couple of books.  There were two people staffing the Service Desk, so there was a chance for additional sounds in the recording.  I figured I could easily get a minute's worth of recording, and I did.  The microphone was peeking out of my shirt's pocket in a rather unobtrusive way.  I tried to be quiet and be careful with my breathing as the mic was pointing upwards at my nose.

Since the elevator exit is right around the corner from the Service Desk, I left that sound in.  I thought that was an interesting start.  Surely if you work the Service Desk you have to hear it all the time.

The optional minute of "music suitable for background listening" was created wholly from the source recording using Samplr on my iPad Air.  That went through a variety of takes before I found an arrangement that I liked.

More on this 127th Disquiet Junto project — “Record the sound of your library — and then maybe make something of it” — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/06/05/disquiet0127-libraryshhh/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:  http://disquiet.com/?p=16588

Join the Disquiet Junto at:  http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

More on Zoè Benoit’s “bibliobeep” art project at:  http://conference.ifla.org/ifla80/librarians-worldwide-call-beeps

Service Desk (disquiet0127-libraryshhh)

Mark Rushton