Coffee with your book? The Puyallup Library is planning perks to attract visitors
One of these days the sweet and rich aroma of coffee might blanket the first floor — and maybe the second floor, too — of the Puyallup Public Library. But that is dependent on the City Council and if they choose to approve plans to upgrade the facility.
During the Sept. 14 City Council meeting, the library presented plans to improve the facility by adding more amenities for the public. The library is considering implementing a cafe, teen space and art gallery in the near future.
If a person is about to enter the library with their back facing Pioneer Park, the cafe would be located on the first floor to the right. The art gallery would be along the hallway across from the cafe. The teen space would be upstairs in a corner to the left of the staircase.
Library director Patty Ross told The News Tribune other libraries, such as the Seattle Public Library and the Los Angeles Public Library, have cafes on one of their floors. Pairing libraries with cafes has been a longtime trend, starting with Barnes & Noble, she said.
Art galleries are also commonplace for libraries, Ross said. If their plans were approved, the library would display a rotating collection of art from community members. For Ross, the teen zone is one of the “top contenders” in the plan as it will have computers, multiple chairs and desks for teens to do school projects, among other things.
“I want them to know that they’re welcome here,” Ross said. “There aren’t that many places if you think about it … where teens can go.”
In July, the library issued a survey for the community and received over 500 responses. Results show that 76 percent would be more likely to visit if there was a cafe. Only 2 percent of the survey respondents were teens, but 30 percent of all respondents showed support for a teen zone.
In May, the library had a teens-only meeting during which teens in the community expressed what they want in a teen space, Ross said. Teens want the space to have a glass wall so if they need an adult they can find one easily.
Apart from the survey, the library also sought comments from the staff and community members at a meeting in January. One of the main takeaways is that having an art gallery would help attract people to the library, Ross told the council during the Sept. 14 meeting.
“We’re at the point now where the space plan — it’s all been done,” Ross told The News Tribune. “We’ve done the community outreach. We have drawings from the space planners.”
Ross said they would connect with a local coffee shop to gauge interest in operating the cafe at the library. They would also partner with local art groups to facilitate the art gallery, she said.
The Puyallup library is not alone in making efforts to improve its facility, Ross said during the council meeting. Other libraries are also exploring or implementing similar plans, she said.
“What we’re doing is generally what other libraries are doing or hoping to do,” Ross said during the council meeting.
The library has yet to make final renderings of the cafe, teen space and art gallery. Ross told The News Tribune they also have yet to finalize and present costs to the council, and it is too early to predict if the council will fund any or part of the library’s plans.
“I’m hopeful we’ll go forward and if we do it probably wouldn’t be until next year that we would start any construction,” Ross said.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
