Theme VI: THE MORTON & ANGELA TOPFER LIBRARY CAFÉ

Sixteen months after the Library Café's grand opening, although the service week had been significantly extended students were literally waiting in line to work in this exceptional facility. In the spring 2000 this led President Kimmich to make a proposal to the City Council for funds to expand the Library Café into a part of the courtyard area fronting the facility. Working with Interim Deputy Chancellor Patricia Hassett and Chief Librarian Barbra Higginbotham, architect Jack Esterson of Thanhauser & Esterson http://www.te-arch.com prepared a concept drawing for the president's presentation. On June 7 we learned that the project had been funded.

Fortunately, there is room for the Library Café to expand. By enclosing a part of the courtyard area that lies just outside the Café's doors the College can:

Add much-needed student seating,
Make better use of this large patio space,
Continue to bring natural light and outdoor views into the Café.

As part of this project, we plan to:

Remove a portion of the Café's existing glass curtain wall and incorporate 1,700 square feet of the outdoor courtyard space just outside the present facility in an as-yet-to-be-determined configuration. This will increase the size of the Café (6,650 square feet) by some 25%.
Retain a significant portion of the courtyard space for outdoor seating which can be used as additional Café and study space when the weather permits.
Double student access to computers by adding 45 fixed workstations and seats, and more notebook computers.

Add a third toilet, to accommodate the increased number of Library Café users.
Increase the capacity of the air-conditioning system.

Provide a professional signage package for the entire Café.