TEMPERANCE - There are no double-skinny, half-caf mochaccinos to be found, but the latest offering in Bedford Township's branch library caters specifically to those who jones for java.
The handful of small tables and self-operated coffee and cappuccino servers installed earlier this month in the foyer of the of 40,000-square-foot library have put a new word in the library's lexicon of assistance to local patrons: refreshment.
"We've kind of started calling it 'the Library Cafe,' but maybe a name is something that the Friends of the Library can decide at their meeting in January," explained Bedford's head librarian, Lois White. "People seem to love it, even people that aren't stopping to purchase anything."
Almost since the design for Bedford Township's new $4.3 million library was first put to paper, local officials had talked of installing a coffee bar of some sort as a way to give the facility an even broader appeal.
But those dreams evaporated like so much skim milk in the withering steam of construction problems and questions over who would operate a more full-service coffee bar when the library was opened.
That's where local entrepreneur Scott Snyner comes into the picture.
Mr. Snyder, the owner of the Bagel Bros. Deli in downtown Temperance, got his first look at the new library at a Bedford Business Association meeting there shortly after the building opened in December, 2004. While he was overwhelmed with what he saw, he he was overwhelmed with what he saw, he did notice one little deficiency, he said.
"I had just visited the [Way] Library in Perrysburg, where they have a coffee bar. It's the new thing, apparently, to be able to go to the library and sit and relax and have a cup of coffee too," Mr. Snyder said.
Mr. Snyder approached Mrs. White about the idea soon after, but it took several months to work out the particulars, he said.
"The other thing that amazed me was that we had some people that weren't for it," Mr. Snyder said, adding that some expressed concerns that patrons might spill coffee or other beverages on library equipment or inventory.
Those concerns were dealt with by putting signs up that limit the food and beverages to the lobby area itself, Mrs. White said.
Mr. Snyder comes twice a day to service and restock the self-serve coffee and snack bar, and counts on the honor system to keep the cash box there on track with his sales.
A portion of the profits - 10 percent, according to Mrs. White - will be donated to the Friends of the Library.
Mr. Snyder said that if the honor system coffee bar is successful, he may consider expanding the offerings in the future.
"If it takes off and it justifies paying an employee to be there all the time, that's all the better for the Friends of the Library," he said.
