Re: Coffee in the library, rehashed

[Joni J Rathbun <jrathbun@OREDNET.ORG>]

On Thu, 10 Jan 2002, Harry Willems wrote:

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> I suspect that as our library "jobs" get a bit routinized, the thought of
> coffee stains, clutter and messes make us shutter.  I can't think of a
> better way to build social capital among students and faculty than to offer
> "the bean" to those that know the magical powers of caffeine.  Social
> capital is the stuff that greases the wheels of a smooth running
> organization.  I don't think that we will convert many non-coffee drinkers,
> but that's what hot tea is for.  But I think that a grungy pot on a hot
> plate is not an answer.  Put some thought and money into the project and
> get a stainless, two compartment commercial style coffee/hot water maker
> with several burners.  Keep the coffee fresh, keep the pots clean.  Allow
> the storage of creative mugs, Styrafoam is not conducive to social capital.
>  Somehow the thought of the library becoming a "hangout" could begin to
> grow on some of us.

For those who are genuinely interested -- many coffee companies will work
with you to provide equipment and supplies. I had thought about setting
up a coffee bar for teachers in our back room this last year. A local
vendor would have provided us with the fancy coffee machine - including
installation - and delivered coffee monthly (or as needed) for a very
reasonable, pay for itself, price.

In my previous high school, it was actually the foods/facs class that
ran a coffee cart. They went thru Boyds and received a professional
espresso cart with all the necsessary equipment to serve all the fancy
kinds of coffees and noncoffee drinks. First profits went to pay for
the cart which they did in a short period of time. Because it was
a portable cart, they were able to set up at most school functions, roll
it into the library, and were invited by the community to set up at many
community functions as well. IOW, they operated much like a business. It
was a great learning experience for the kids and generated substantial
funds for the instructional program.

One problem arose and that was with Marriot, the school's food service
provider. They viewed this endeavor as being in competition with what
they had to offer. Our school won that argument so to speak tho I'm
familiar with schools that have had to give in to their food service
provider's concerns of competition.


J. Rathbun, Librarian                  | "You may say I'm a dreamer,
Mojave High School                     |  but I'm not the only one..."
Clark County School District           |
Las Vegas, Nevada                      |            John Lennon
Email: jrathbun@orednet.org            |




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