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Hi Vicki..I am an Iowa girl. but have lived in the Southwest a long time..so glad to hear that you are located there:) It is so beautiful in Iowa inJune and July...minus the humidity of course!! I grew up outside of Dubuque-You?

Here's an update for you-for some reason the food issue lessened a bit when I wrote "No Outside Food Please" on the large whiteboard sign at the entrance of our cafe. We have had signs on each table since we opened 3 years ago but find that folks ignore them...see last posting, right?!

Anyway, we have no walls separating us from the rest of the library..oh how we wish we did. So it seems that while the Library staff here (who are valued regular customers and truly wonderful folks) support our no food policy, they allow or overlook food and drinks in other Library areas. Hard to draw a line on the floor and say "See? This is the Library and THIS is the cafe..Food is okay here but not over THERE." And there is our food dilemma-even with Library support.

Also, to make our lives more interesting, the Library is under renovation for the next year...80 computers were available and now that is down to 30...and 2 of these 30 sit in the cafe. Again, the way we are constructed means that people waiting for these 2 computers (reserved at the reference desk) sit at our tables and do not purchase any cafe items.

Then, our safe is far away from my office where I do the money managing everyday...I now have to make my way thru these folks carrying the money bags...imagine how secure that feels.

The lady in the office next to mine is a grant writer and organizes the use of our large meeting room. Oftentimes, she is on a teleconference or hosting a "webinar". Throngs of people outside our offices waiting for their computer times are NOT conducive to business. Because you know Mr. Youtube and his teenage buddies are all using the same computer and commenting or playing the latest rap video without considering the others around them. Also, people walk into our offices (Labeled STAFF ONLY!!!) looking for the printers tied to these 2 computers.

I was told today that these 2 computers would be removed from the Cafe-hooray-can't happen soon enough. So, one difficulty down...just the food and messy people to go! Hope you are hanging in there! Have a great weekend-Julie

Hi Vicki-Oh boy do I have a few comments about the outside food and drink!! Since we are located inside the public library there are food and drink restrictions already in place re: maintaining clean surfaces for computer use, books, and study areas. However, once some folks enter the cafe space all bets seem to be off! We have had entire families come in toting their Taco Bell items, fried chicken and even a 6pack of brewskies! We do have signs posted that are pretty blunt in stating "No outside food please" but ...?! I do try to gently remind folks that the Maricopa County Board of Health makes the rules and we must follow them. I do offer these folks a table on outdoor patio but as we approach the AZ summer weather that becomes less of an option. Perhaps that solves a bit of the problem for us. Making the Board of Health the"bad guy" does seem to work with most folks.....so far!

Our Library is beginning to undergo renovation of the lower level which houses, among other things, the entire children's area. This area has been relocated to just near our Cafe and means that we now have to become more family-friendly...and that opens up other cans of worms...but also, how do I handle the mom of the toddler with the little box of Cheerios? That IS outside foood, right? I am a mother myself so I have compassion for the situation...best thing for us is to create a "Kid's Cafe" area with smaller furniture and a kid's menu from the items we already stock...or at least that's the idea so far.

To answer your question about our business structure, I can tell you that we are funded by the Friends of the Tempe Library-see their website also. I do know that we also have grant monies from the Virginia Piper trust...but never enough!!! We do also have non-profit status but I am not sure how those details work.

I hope this info is helpful-got a little long winded! Have a great weekend! J.

Just found this site and wanted to respond to the folks opening a coffee shop in the public library. I have been managing our Cafe inside the Tempe Public Library, Tempe AZ since August 2008. Maybe you have moved on in your business and decided to try other things...may not even see my comments ...wanted you to know that we have had great success and hear from our friendly customers daily how appreciative they are that we are here in the Library and wish others would consider doing the same thing. Good luck!