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Letter to the editor

City officials shouldn't give up on library cafe

A pending ownership change for the cafe that operates inside Clearwater's Main Library seems to have opened a window for city officials to consider eliminating the cafe entirely. ¶ They've suggested replacing it with vending machines.

This week, the Clearwater Friends of the Library reacted: "Definitely no vending machines," said the letter sent to the City Council by Friends president Rita Garvey.

If you didn't know there is a cafe inside Clearwater's picturesque Main Library on the downtown waterfront, you probably are not alone. The library was designed so that the cafe is at the opposite end of the library from the entrance, rather than at the entrance as in other area libraries with cafes. The cafe also gets little advertising - signs are minimal and the cafe isn't even mentioned on the library's Internet home page.

People do find their way there, though not in the numbers that city officials would like. On one recent day at midafternoon, a group of retirees drank coffee and played cards at one of the cafe tables, a visiting family ate a late lunch on the attached terrace and several people waited in line for coffee drinks. All had access to one of the best views in Clearwater, because the cafe overlooks Coachman Park and Clearwater Harbor.

Matt Behms is the current owner of what's known as the Bookworm Cafe, and he said customers have been signing a petition to keep the cafe operation. He and his staff serve up sandwiches, salads, ice cream, snacks, coffee and cold drinks from a glassed-in area in the northwest corner of the library's first floor. Customers pick up their food and sit at round tables in the 60-foot-tall atrium dining area, or go outside to a few tables on the terrace. Patrons can talk or read or work on their laptops because the cafe has Internet access.

Behms wants to sell the business to another individual who has experience operating cafes, but Clearwater officials are not happy that the business ownership has changed three times in four years, so they seem inclined to give up.

"We just don't feel there is a real future for a stable operation to continue there," library director Barbara Pickell said, suggesting that vending machines and Internet access would be sufficient to attract patrons to that corner of the library.

The trend in public libraries is not toward vending machines. It is toward small cafes. New libraries are typically being built with space for cafes or at least a coffee service.

Clearwater made an investment in cafe space when it built the $20-million Main Library, but it has done little to raise the profile of the amenity to library patrons or downtown visitors. That may have contributed to the ownership turnover.

Clearwater's downtown is on the cusp of a revival, with new residential towers under construction that are likely to bring an uptick in use of the Main Library. Usage of the downtown library also could increase if the city budget is cut by shutting down any of Clearwater's four branch libraries.

City officials should not yet abandon the vision of a library cafe if a good operator can be found. However, the city should require more of future operators, who need to take better advantage of the space and the outdoor terrace and improve the decor. The city also should consider whether improved signs for the cafe are possible.

And when the cafe gets a new owner, the city government, Chamber of Commerce and downtown organizations should make sure that visitors to downtown are made aware that there is a cafe with a spectacular waterfront view inside the city's showplace public library.

[Last modified March 6, 2008, 21:32:09]