The smell of tar from the construction is overpowered by the rich aroma of the new coffee bar, which opened Oct. 15. The addition will help fund purchases needed to fill the library after the expansion.

“They won’t see the library as a place of just dusty books,” librarian Mary Archer said. “And they won’t see us as just a couple of ogres who just do nothing but read and eat bonbons.”

Students have volunteered to help with the coffee bar.

“Our hopes are to get the book club to help us with it,” Archer said. “We’re trying to put it together real fast.”

The librarians are accepting donations of hot cocoa bags, tea bags, small plastic bags for sugar and creamer and large serving trays.

“Students will come to the circulation desk and buy a cup,” Reed said. “And then we will have the hot water and the coffee [for the students to pour their own].”

Some students are not that excited.

“I guess it’s good, [but] the library is meant to be a quiet place for us,” said junior Sabrina Cruz. “That would just bring random kids. It could get noisy. It could be a distraction rather than actually help the library.”

Having a coffee bar at the school is a great idea, according to math teacher Allen Johnson.

“A lot of students drink coffee, and they go over to Racetrack or Starbucks,” Johnson said. “Now they won’t have to.”