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Kate Birgel
English 1000-113
25 February 2015
Structure Dictates Function: ASU Bookstore Environment
As a freshman that toured many college campuses during the hunt for the right
institution, I began to see the bookstore of each university as a primarily commercial
environment. At the end of each tour, each student guide reminded us that merchandise plastered
with the school’s logo or mascot could be purchased in the bookstore. Before the start of my
freshman year, I thus saw the bookstore section of the Plemmons Student Union at Appalachian
State University as nothing more than a retail-based environment where I could go if I needed to
buy school supplies or textbooks. After personal observation and interviews, critical analysis of
the bookstore space itself, and my knowledge on structural functional biology, I have come to
reject my initial view on the bookstore and have determined that the bookstore’s purpose and
function is to create a hybrid environment where social and academic interests are met and
students can find comfort, coziness, and a place of relaxation during stressful times.
The university’s definition of the Appalachian State bookstore supports my original preanaylsis view with regard to the function and purpose of the bookstore being primarily retailbased, for the school’s website cites that “the University Bookstore serves students, faculty, staff,
students, alumni, and their families [as] the on-campus source for textbooks, supplemental class
books and manuals, general books with a wide selection of titles, computer hardware and
software, APParel and gifts, and graduation regalia.” There is no mention of any social or
communal aspect of this space, and therefore a newcomer or freshmen like myself may assume
that the bookstore is strictly a place for buying materials, not for relaxing or reading an
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interesting book. This sale-based purpose for the ASU bookstore is further purported by the
recent increase in levels of commercialism among chain bookstores like Barnes and Noble
Booksellers, which are reducing the number of available seats in their store. The decreased
amount of sitting areas within chain bookstores displays the shift towards commercialism, for
people who decide to sit and read a good book or drink a cup of coffee and chat may not
purchase any books or related material from the bookstore itself. Furthermore, local and cozy
bookstores that focus on creating a relaxing and rejuvenating atmosphere for customers are being
increasingly “…replaced by the movement toward superstores such as Barnes and Noble and
Borders” (Besser). This movement involves the re-contextualization towards “larger, lesspersonal institutions” as well as the shift towards “high-profit-margin non-book items, such as
educational toys and games” (Besser). This shift can be predicted to apply to college bookstores
as well, for the slim budget public universities are given would imply that their need to sell
products at their bookstores is rather high. While this prediction seems plausible, it is weakened
by the knowledge that a large amount of students do not even check out books from the library.
The ASU bookstore is open all year, not just during the hectic times when students need books
for their classes, and therefore the bookstore would not thrive if it solely had the purpose of
selling merchandise to students. Although the recent focus on commercialism in national book
sellers as well as the university definition of the bookstore support the claim that the bookstore
has a primarily commercial function, first-hand observation of the ASU bookstore along with
knowledge of biological concepts have led me to conclude that the environment created by the
bookstore is a hybrid of social and academic needs that provides a relaxing and productive
environment for students of all majors.
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During the three days in which I observed the ASU bookstore, my recordings of sounds,
sights, people, and composition of this unique space discredited my original thesis on the
bookstore and allowed me to develop the view that the bookstore serves the many personal,
social, and academic needs of students. Upon my arrival to the lower level of the bookstore in
the Plemmons Student Union on a snowy and dreary day, the environment surrounding me was
rather quiet and slow. The cancellation of classes that day probably led to the lack of people
traveling throughout the union, and I was the only student inhabiting the bookstore. A diverse
range of music played on the overhead radio, and I sat comfily on a couch tucked under a large
window. As I worked on homework and studied a bit, the bookstore’s cozy and comforting
atmosphere relaxed me. Surrounded by colorful novels and a wide range of books, I felt
productive yet comforted while in the bookstore. The lack of noise assisted my productivity, and
the nook-style benches underneath large glass windows made me feel at home. I could easily
find MCAT study books and other academic materials within meters of my bench, yet I felt
comfortable relaxing and sipping my coffee while scrolling through Pinterest on my phone.
Although I was in solitude, this first experience in the bookstore allowed me to obtain the view
that the bookstore’s purpose is more than mere retail; it provides comfort and relaxation to
students while also serving as a quiet place to be productive.
While my first day observations may have altered my view of the purpose of the ASU
bookstore, the drastically different conditions within this space during my second and third day
observations further support the notion that the purpose of the bookstore is to provide a
productive and relaxing environment for all students. On my second and third days of
observation, the Plemmons Student Union was bustling with students. It was no longer a calm
and quiet snow day, and I was not the only one present in the lower level of the ASU bookstore.
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Beneath each bench under the large glass windows sat a student, and each student was engaged
in a unique activity. Some students were watching Netflix while eating a burrito from the local
café, others were reading a fictional book from a bookstand, and some were focused on studying
or reading a textbook for class. The range of these activities displays that the purpose of the ASU
bookstore is not limited to the sale of books, for only a small fraction of students were reading
books from the store itself. While the variety of music being played over the speakers at a mild
volume catered to those who wanted to read or study, the background noise of intertwined voices
from students passing by and radio music fostered the creation of a productive yet relaxing
environment where students could engage in both non-academic or academic activities. Although
a few people occasionally stopped in front of one of the book stands and flipped through a novel
that had a bright or interesting cover, a majority of students did not attend to the selection of
novels but rather chose to utilize the space as a work place or area to de-stress and listen to
music. If the bookstore’s main function was to simply provide merchandise and book supplies to
students, then the observation of students studying or relaxing would have been over shadowed
by the observation of students buying textbooks or novels.
As the recordings of student activities within the ASU bookstore establish the bookstore’s
function as a place of mixed academic and social interests, my knowledge of the structure and
functional concept in biology further supports the claim that the bookstore’s purpose is to serve
as a place of relaxation as well as academic productivity.
The structure dictates function principle in biology involves the concept that the “rules
for a module's function are rigidly encoded in the structures of its proteins,” and this principle
can be applied to structures that range from living cells or body parts to non-living bookstores
(Hartwell et. al). The structure of the ASU bookstore involves a unique layout with odd
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positioning, for it is cozily sandwiched in between the ASU library and Plemmons Student
Union. When applying this biological concept to the ASU bookstore, it can be surmised that the
placement of the bookstore between a primarily studious part of campus like a library and a
social area like the student union would dictate the bookstore’s function as somewhat of a
merger between social and academic interests.
Shaun Robinson, ASU bookstore specialist, purports this view of the bookstore as a
fusion of social and academic interests, as he states that the bookstores purpose is to create “a
space for students to relax and take a breather, as well as to provide an academic but relaxing
environment for all students on campus”. As certain biological structures like cells “have
discrete functions that arise from interactions among their components”, the individual structures
within the store itself further establish its hybrid function (Hartwell et. al). Comfy benches and
pillows are adjacent to books of every genre, allowing for the facilitation of relaxation and
academic activities among bookstore goers. The diverse range of music playing overhead along
with the wide-range of books dictates the bookstores function as a place of relaxation and study
for all majors and students, as an avid bookstore goer stated that the ASU bookstore is a “social
library setting” where “anyone can come to do what they need to do” (Appalachian Student).
With a location as well as structure that represents the unification of both academic and social
interests, the ASU bookstore’s function is provide both a place for relaxation and scholarly
productivity for all students on campus.
As the ASU bookstore embodies the role of a space that serves both social and academic
interests, the hybrid nature of the bookstore has impacts that can greatly affect the overall well
being of all students on Appalachian State’s campus. With days containing endless schoolwork,
deadlines, club events, and other social commitments, the average college student is faced with
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many chronic stressors; these “chronic stressors are persistent or recurrent life difficulties,
including strains in particular areas of life…” which act to “…deplete biological, psychological,
and social resources and thus [are] particularly influential in increasing the risk of distress and
disease” (Seriodo and Totenhagen 455). Without outlets for stress relief or a place to
decompress, college students’ levels of stress often rise to exceedingly high levels. “Within the
college student population, mental health disorders appear to be increasing in number as well as
severity,” and one prominent disease exacerbated by the presence of stress is depression (Bland
et. al 560). Perhaps these students haven’t found their havens, their go-to place like our
bookstore. Such environments have the potential to serve as de-stressors for today’s student.
Environments within the university that serve as a refuge where students can both relax
and be productive without stress overload are key to fostering the mental health of the student
population. While a library environment may be too harsh or rigorous for a particular student to
feel comfortable studying in, the bookstore may provide the perfect atmosphere for that student
to relax as well as work. It is important for the mental health and well being of Appalachian’s
students that the bookstore has a dual role excluding the sale of merchandise, and bookstores
around the world are beginning to follow the social-academic bookstore function trend as well.
The Hong Kong Design Institute Learning Resources Centre is a library based off of a
“bookstore” environment, in which the library is “designed to create a warm, welcoming
environment where the users are encouraged to stay, browse, learn, socialize or simply enjoy”
the space around them (Lo, Chiu, Chu, 62). Similar in nature to the interviews with students in
the ASU bookstore, the reports from students in Hong Kong cite that the hybrid environment of
their library in which both social and academic needs are met is rather “physically and
psychologically comforting” as well as a place of collaborative learning for all students (Lo,
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Chiu, Chu 64). It is evident that the aptly developed bookstore can make all of the difference in a
student’s day no matter where that student attends class.
A movement involving colleges in America and around the world investing in bookstores
that foster the academic as well as stress-relieving needs of college students may need to be
called into action, for the function of bookstores as an environment for both relaxation and
productivity vastly outweighs the function of a bookstore as retailer for merchandise. While
Appalachian State’s definition of the ASU bookstore may only include the bookstore’s function
as a place for the sale of scholarly materials, the ASU bookstore’s dualistic functioning is
profound and represents direct progress towards creating college spaces that effectively cater to
both the academic and social needs of students as well as their overall mental well-being. With
an area for both mental relaxation and academic focus, the average Appalachian student’s
academic and social productivity as well as college experience is only expected to increase.
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Works Cited
Appalachian Student. Interview. In person. 24 Feb. 2015.
Besser, Howard. “The Shape of the 21st Century Library.” The Shape of the 21st Century
Library. 25 Aug. 1998. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
Bland, Helen W., Melton Bridget F., Bigham Lauren E., and Paul D. Welle. “Quantifying The
Impact Of Physical Activity On Stress Tolerance In College Students.” College Student
Journal 48.4 (2014): 559-568. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
Hartwell, Leland H., Hopfield John J., Leibler Stanislas., and Andrew Murray. “From
molecular to modular cell biology ” Nature 402 (1999): C47-C52. Web. 20 May 2009.
Lo, Patrick, Chiu Dickson W., and Chu Wilson. “Modeling Your College Library After A
Commercial Bookstore? The Hong Kong Design Institute Library Experience.”
Community & Junior College Libraries 19.3/4 (2013): 59-76. Library, Information
Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Robinson, Shaun. Interview. In person. 24 Feb. 2015.
Serido, J, and C Totenhagen. “Stress In Adulthood.” Encyclopedia of the Life Course
and Human Development Vol. 2. Adulthood. Detroit: Macmillan
Reference USA, 2009. 452-61. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
“University Bookstore.” Welcome to the University Bookstore. n.p. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
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