Text #1: Got That Sinking Feeling
(i) Source:
Contributor: Jackie Faine
Informant(s): Julie Smith, Jennifer Landing
Semester/Year: Fall, 1996
IU Bloomington
Archival: Folklore of Student Life: Legends
f351jmcd.sitehost.iu.edu/legends.html.
(ii) Text:
JS: Ok Jennifer, do you go to the library often?
JL: Yeah I’m in there a lot, mostly because I feel like I can’t get the quiet time I need. Whenever it’s loud in my room I head over there and stay until my stuff gets done.
JS: Do you usually do your homework quietly, or do you socialize?
JL: {Leaning back in her chair} Well a lot of the time I go there to study and finish paperwork, but yes, there have been times where I’ve talked to people even if I hadn’t met them before. It’s great to have somewhere to go that’s quiet and convenient, but for some reason the library has become a sort of social place, too.
JS: What is the biggest rumor you have heard about the library, either from friends or people you have met there?
JL: Hmmm… oh well, yeah, here’s a huge one; the story about the library sinking. I heard it was dedicated in the late 60s; can’t remember the exact date. But anyhow, supposedly the architects who built it didn’t configure the number of books which would be inside. Right now there’s supposed to be over two million books inside. When more and more books were put inside, combined with all of the students and teachers who come in everyday, the place started to sink. {smiling}
JS: Can you tell it’s sinking into the ground?
JL: Well no, obviously I can’t tell {laughs}. Most people wouldn’t have even thought about if it wasn’t for the rumor. It’s not like half of the windows are below ground or one side of the building is higher than the other. I have no idea how it even got started, to be honest, but I’m beginning to think it’s either an urban legend or some scientists examined the building and figured it out that way.
JL: {Looking perplexed} Come to think of it, I can’t even remember how I heard this story. Maybe it’s not true at all, but it’s definitely something the older students pass onto the freshman to keep it alive.
(iii) Texture:
This appears to be quite an informal, relaxed conversation about Wells Library. Julie begins the discussion by asking Jennifer how often she goes to the library, and what she does there. This gives her a nice segue into asking Jennifer if she has ever heard any rumors about the library, presumably the line of inquiry she was most interested in. By establishing what Jennifer does in the library, Julie can get some background on her informant’s usage of the building in question. This is perhaps more effective than immediately jumping to her “main” question, and this approach apparently helped get the ball rolling. Throughout this text, Jennifer maintains an air of skepticism, as evidenced by her laughter and observation that the library doesn’t demonstrate any proof of subsidence. Yet she doesn’t fully discount the legend, indicating that she might entertain the possibility that the rumor contains a grain of truth. She recounts the legend in a distanced, yet not cold, way. It seems she finds the “sinking library” legend amusing to some degree, and perhaps even expresses a kind of appreciation for the fact that it continues to be kept alive.
(iv) Context:
Who created/performed the text- Jennifer Landing and Julie Smith, juniors
Members of the audience- only the two girls, Smith recorded the conversation
Location/timing- Herman B. Wells library, fall semester 1996
From the information given on the site, this interview occurred inside the supposedly sinking building itself, Wells Library. Both students are juniors, and perhaps this places them on a more even playing field, supposing that they are both around the same age. This might have resulted in a sense that both participants were on more “equal footing” than if the interviewer had been older or further along in her college education. Holding the interview inside the library itself likely helped bring rumors regarding it to mind more easily by being physically there. It’s a more immersive setting than if Julie had interviewed Jennifer in any building other than Wells.
(v) Interpretation:
The legend that Wells is slowly sinking is a persistent one, and it has continued to be spread despite the fact that it has been debunked several times, with IU geologists doing their utmost to assure people that the library is quite sound, and seated on a very stable, thick layer of limestone. Yet something about it is clearly compelling, as students continue to tell it. I believe this is because matters of importance to the student body are communicated indirectly through the story, at least in part. This is one dimension of “art in culture,” and it might represent students’ shared feeling of being crushed beneath the weight of their academic stress, and the sheer amount of knowledge they must absorb. The sinking legend doesn’t seem to apply to many other types of buildings on college campuses at all, as far as I can tell, so it must have something to do with libraries and what goes on within them. It’s also a way to feel momentarily heartened by the thought that expert architects and engineers failed to take the weight of the books into account when building the library, as students are prone to feeling intimidated by the extensive knowledge their professors have. By creating a role-reversal, the story conveys to students that even experts in their fields can fail, probably lessening this feeling a bit. It’s also just plain funny and adds a bit of pizzazz to such a central location, undoubtedly adding to the charm of the story.