Welcome to The Coat Closet Café!
For the last year or so the Library has provided a self-service coffee kiosk in the old coat room on the Main Floor across from the desk of the Public Services Librarian. Recently, the room got a fresh paint job (including a red accent wall) and we’ve hung a sign over the doorway to give our “micro café” a more official coffee shop look and feel. We are calling our space The Coat Closet Café.
The self-service kiosk is open Monday through Friday, and offers two blends of coffee fresh brewed twice a day, and hot water for tea. The price for coffee and tea is only fifty cents a cup. You can also purchase Coke products and snacks from machines in this space.
The Library is pleased to offer this service, and it has worked hard in recent years to remove long-standing barriers to allowing food and drink in the building. Says Library Director Gary Daught, “This is one way to make the Library a more welcoming and inviting place for students. The only thing we ask is that persons clean-up after themselves before they leave.” Trash cans are provided in various places throughout the building.
Public Services Librarian Jeff Harbin enjoys a cup of joe.
In many ways the presence of The Coat Closet Café is a gesture pointing to an eventual goal that will see a full-service coffee shop within the Library building. The Library renovation plan, which is a key component of the new capital campaign, actually includes space for a coffee shop. “This is part of a changed philosophy of what libraries are and do today,” says Daught. “A library is no longer only about warehousing information resources. Yes, libraries will always include information resources, in both print and electronic formats. But libraries today, and academic libraries in particular, are expanding their role to include welcoming spaces for teaching and learning. This philosophy appreciates that teaching and learning happens best in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere, which includes both social interaction and a ‘domestic’ dimension. That’s where the coffee comes in. The Coat Closet Café is one step toward putting this philosophy into practice.”