Foundation starts coffee stand and used book store

By Tim Engstrom | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Friday, September 5, 2008

A new kiosk near the lakeside entrance on the first floor of Albert Lea City Hall opens Tuesday. It mainly will sell coffee and used books.

The kiosk resides in the lobby beside the stairwell. It is an offshoot of the Albert Lea Library Foundation. Library patrons know the Albert Lea Public Library occupies multiple floors of Albert Lea City Hall. The kiosk brings to the library something many libraries already have — a used book store.

Karol Held, Grace Haukoos and Jane Hofkamp have spearheaded the effort because they saw the used book store as beneficial to library fundraising. They had assistance from Gail Batt, too.

Held said book prices will be kept simple: $1, $2, $3. Coffee will be $1.25. Through a contract, the city is donating the space but in return the all proceeds go to library projects. The projects are determined jointly by the foundation and Library Director Peggy Havener.

Held said when the library went through a redesign and expansion last year, space was left for the kiosk. She said they have had many people in the community donate used books. Haukoos, former owner of The Constant Reader bookstore in downtown Albert Lea, parsed through the books. Some will be donated to the library. Some will be sold at the used book store. Some will be given to nonprofits that hold book sales.

The foundation also asked for volunteers. There were 25 at a training session on Thursday and 29 at one on Tuesday. Held said they have been pleased with the response. The training taught the volunteers to how to open and close, how to make coffee and how to run the cash register.

Patrons stopping by on Tuesday will notice people stocking the used book store. It will be up to speed on Wednesday. The hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The coffee stand will be closed and no volunteer will be present, but the books will be still available for sale on the honor system.

“We think the worst possible scenario is people taking the books, and that isn’t such a bad thing. They have a book, and they might read it,” Held said.

Some have asked for the kiosk to be open on weekends and evenings, but Held said it is difficult to raise a volunteer force for outside regular working hours. She said perhaps in the future things could change if the kiosk is popular enough.

A big question is: Can you bring coffee into the library? Yes, as long as the cup is covered by a lid.

Held said the idea for a used bookstore came to the Albert Lea Library Foundation from the community. Then members of the foundation saw coffee as a good addition.

The coffee beans are ground at the stand. The decaf coffee comes pre-ground. The coffee is purchased from 4 Seasons Coffee. The stand will have cream, sugar and artificial sweeteners. It will have some small snacks for sale, too, such as cookies or biscotti.

“It is the best library in southern Minnesota,” Held said.

She said the used book store bolsters that claim.