I was part of a small group of students that went to the State Library and performed a survey of all the pieces of media we could find.

Most of the media we found were, in some way or another, advertising. There were banners and signs on shopfronts, stickers and posters on walls and the ground, branding on clothing, and a whole lot more. Clearly advertising is a giant producer of all the media content we’re exposed to on a daily basis (and probably rivalled only by our own smartphones).

Inside the library there must be hundreds of thousands of books, DVDs, digital files and the like, as well as information posters, pamphlets, video screens, advertisements and more. I think it’s safe to say that I could have counted literally millions of pieces of media in this exercise if I had the time (and the inclination!).

But, happily, on the outside of the library I was actually surprised by how little I could find. I think being a government-funded cultural institution (with a beautiful patch of grass out the front) it contained less media than the other locations surveyed – Melbourne Central, Emporium, and the Bourke Street Mall – which would be jam-packed with advertising and signage over every inch of usable space. Seeing the beautiful stone facade of the State Library was great – until you notice the giant banners of advertising on it.

It was quite eye-opening to realise just how surrounded we are by media every day. Until you actually take a step back and consciously take notice of it all it can be easy to ignore.