Next semester there will be a cafe added to the Cullom-Davis Library, as a part of a five-year plan to renovate the library.
“We wanted to look at the things that we could implement first based on the cost and time it could be accomplished,” Vice President for Student Affairs Alan Galsky said.
The cafe will replace the break room and cost about $100,000.
Construction will begin when finals end, and Galsky said administrators are waiting to see what happens with the economy before beginning any other projects.
The cafe was recommended in a proposal made by the Library Student Advisory Committee, a group formed after the library received low rankings from the Princeton Review.
The last makeover the library received was in the early 1990s. The cramped spaces and over utilization of the facility called for a 53,000 square foot expansion.
Now, nearly two decades later, LSAC is proposing a five-year plan to renovate the library. Other things proposed include a centralized printing system, a one-stop service desk and improved lighting.
The reference and circulation desks will also be combined.
Instead of extending the Michel Student Center Starbucks’ cafe hours, it was suggested to have a cafe in the library open until midnight. The proposed hours for the cafe are noon until midnight, but may be subject to change depending on student demand.
Executive Director of the Library Barbara Galik said people are often in the library late.
In addition to the current beverages the student center already provides, the library cafe will also have shaken iced tea, shaken iced coffee and espresso macchiato. There will also be an array of pre-packaged food items such as bagels, protein bars and parfaits.
“I think that it would be very beneficial to the students,” senior mechanical engineering major Cat Smith said. “Especially when you’re studying for long periods of time and also during finals.”
Duke University is on the list of Princeton Review’s exemplary libraries. According to the LSAC proposal, Duke library attendance increased by 40 percent when a cafe was added.
Galik said she suspects the same will happen at Bradley.
Junior mechanical engineering major Alan Keefe said he thinks it’s a great idea.
“New and exciting things will always attract more people,” he said. “It’ll also make it a better place to just hang out.”
Not all students said they agree that the cafe is necessary.
“It might attract more people to the library, but it’s not like they’re improving the library itself,” senior public relations major Andy Rowe said. “They’re just adding a student center feature to the library.”
Senior advertising major Vincent Deamon said he doesn’t think the short walk from the student center to the library warrants a similar cafe. If a cafe is being added to the library, a unique one should be built, he said.
“They didn’t do the student center Starbucks cafe right – it was really lacking,” Deamon said. “I think it would be a waste of our student tuition if they built something that we already have. If they build a new cafe, it would have to be unique in some way.”
Vice President for Business Affairs Gary Anna said the cafe won’t be a clone of what’s in the student center.
“This would not be a Starbucks per say,” he said. “We’ll have Starbucks products but I don’t think we’re looking to duplicate what’s in the student center.”
