‘Activating The Non-User’ was a live project commissioned by ARUP, that required an anthropological study of types of user at the British Library to identify a specific non-user that we identified as ‘Laptop Users’. These were found to be parasitic users who fed off of the free space, power and wifi and coffee kiosks dotted around the library, but that did not contribute to or interact with the institution beyond this.
Our strategy was to develop an archive collection for non-users to contribute to and as a result, activate themselves as a contributing member to the British Library and their own specific archive within their collections. In addition, this would become a tool for the British Library to develop a complex and informed identity for it’s non-user such that they no longer seemed mysterious and sub-human.
Developing An Archive.
The development of an archive began by appraoching laptop workers and politiely asking if they would like to submit an anonymous testimony to a random page in a book that we provided. anonymity was ensured by allowing them to choose a page to write on themselves and providing everyone with the same red pen. To the right is a scroll through the blog where these were collected to be publically accessed.
Changing Strategy.
After an anonymous testimony stating: ‘It’s a sacrilage to write in a book with a red pen!’, we were prompted to realise that perhaps the best way to collect these anonymous testimonies would be remotely, so as to place a source for autonomously uploading anonymous testimonies in front of our non-user. This couls be accessed via QR codes left around the library on object-installations familiar to the non-user such as: coffee cups, laptops, cans and note pads.
The installtion used for collecting anonymous testimonies remotely.