All from a Dream

Thanks to YSS Member Esther Burns from the Marion Public Library for this guest post.  Here you'll see an example of a library doing something great that is not especially intended for teens, but that teens have really appreciated.

Last winter, a friend came up to me and said, “I had the funniest dream about you last night!  I dreamed I was at the library, and you had a coffee shop, and I was ordering a cup of coffee while I checked out my book!”  I told my director about my friend’s dream, and she thought that coffee shop wasn’t a bad idea!

Out of something as simple as a friend’s dream, a really fun area of our library was born.  AND—THE BEST PART—IT WAS INEXPENSIVE!  Here’s how we did it:

We looked around the library for furniture we had-and could already use for a Coffee Corner. We had a perfect love-seat and arm chair set that we moved out of our magazine area. (To replace that set, we moved a table and some chairs, added a power strip, and voila! A perfect place for patrons to use their computers.)

We purchased a Keurig machine, a K-Cup holder, and some K-Cups.

At an after-Christmas sale, we purchased 8 large coffee mugs. We also purchased powdered flavored creamers and packets of sugar.

 Posted at the Coffee Corner are signs giving directions how to use the Keurig, and also a sign that says “$1.00 Suggested Donation.” (Using the term “Suggested Donation” makes it so you don’t have to charge taxes, which is tricky.)

We also purchased some pictures for the area, to make it look more like a “coffee shop.”

Our Coffee Corner has been so popular- our patrons love it, and it’s a favorite spot for our two Book Clubs to meet every month. Our Young Adults, especially, like gathering with a book or their laptop and a big cup of cappuccino. It’s always nice to cuddle up in a soft chair for a warm cup of coffee!