LM_NET: Library Media Networking
I shudder at the thought of a coffee bar in the library. A librarian in our
district allowed students to bring in food and drink for part of year before
changing her mind. She made this decision after hours spent cleaning up
after students who began to think of the library as a restaurant and left
their empty cups, napkins, etc. on the tables rather than throwing things
away. She also had many large stains on the carpets and a number of
reference books which had to be replaced due to coffee spillage.
From my point of view, we have a different mission and different restraints
than the bookstores with coffee bars in them. First, we have an obligation
to the public to "steward" resources and facilities (for want of a better
word). If items are damaged in a bookstore, than can deduct that as an
operating loss, but schools don't have that option. Second, the bookstores
have paid employees who are responsible for food and beverage preparation
and clean up, while we do not. We are paid to be teacher-librarians and not
custodians or food service workers. The librarian in my district spent an
inordinate amount of time cleaning up, keeping her from her library duties.
The public libraries with coffee bars that I am aware of also have someone
whose job it is to prepare and clean. Third, at least in our state, health
inspections of the facility and health cards for those working with
preparation would be required. I don't want to have to pay for these things
or monitor them.
As I said, this sounds like a nightmare to me. I have enough to do without
adding this to my plate. Perhaps I'd consider it if we had a paid person to
handle it. That's not likely in my district since I don't even have a
permanent assistant.........
Julie
Julie Anderson, Librarian
Liberty High School, Renton, WA 425.837.4901
andersonj@issaquah.wednet.edu
"Fiction is a lie about the truth." Jane Chambers
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