When the new café opens in the library on Monday, students will be able to take purchased food and drink items to class. Principal Gary Shafferman said that this will be a privilege, not a right. Shafferman said that if the privilege is abused, then teachers will be able to prohibit the use of café items in class.
“It’s sort of like letting you all use gum,” Shafferman said. “It’s fine until you put it under the tables.”
The café will open and close at the same time as the library each day (7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Friday). Students will be offered a wide variety of beverages, from cinnamon roll lattés to 100 percent fruit smoothies. Drink prices range from $1.35 to $4.25. The café is also expected to offer food items, such as sandwiches and pastries.
Librarian Nancy McGinnis said she looks forward to the opening of the café. The library continues transforming into a different type of learning environment, from the traditional library that is filled with books and silence to a center that is full of technology, refreshments and collaborative learning.
“There’s a shift happening right now,” McGinnis said. “We want kids to come and be comfortable and be able to create and collaborate with the things they need in order to do that. Food and drink is certainly part of that.”
Junior Micah Aguinaga said she is excited about the new café, especially the coffee and espresso it will offer.
“I never really come to the library unless it’s for class,” Aguinaga said. “Having this here is definitely going to make me want to come here more and take advantage of the snacks and beverages.”
The café could lead to more noise as workers mix beverages and more students flow into the library. With students entering the café from the cafeteria, McGinnis said there could also be functional issues. Students will be coming into the area to use the library and purchase items at the café, so it could be difficult to keep the two separate. For example, signing students into the library could become problematic.
“I’m trying to come up with something,” McGinnis said. “I’m concerned a little bit about noise. I don’t mind noise as long as it is constructive noise. We are just going to have to balance that.”
Although the café could make the library noisy, McGinnis said that it will ultimately attract more students to the area. The library has already changed drastically since McGinnis’ arrival at the school three years ago when students were required to set their backpacks down and stay quiet when in the library. Students can now discuss amongst themselves, use their technology and eat and drink in the library. McGinnis said that she expects the library to keep evolving as more students use it.
“The more people that come in, the more the library will keep shifting,” McGinnis said. “I’m very pleased with how it has already transformed. It should continue that way.”
