Library cafés debut in Manalapan, Shrewsbury

BY PATRICIA YOCZIS Correspondent

Next time the urge for a cup of coffee or a snack happens, think a trip to the local library. Two branches of the Monmouth County Library System have instituted café food areas complete with tables and chairs: the Library Headquarters in Manalapan and the Eastern Branch in Shrewsbury.

Christina Buckley-Gera and her 3-year-old yellow Labrador Jax will staff the new Bookends Café at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan. The Bookends Café will be open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Christina Buckley-Gera and her 3-year-old yellow Labrador Jax will staff the new Bookends Café at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan. The Bookends Café will be open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. “We’re thrilled to have this lovely service for library patrons and the staff,” said Judi Tolchin, the public relations librarian for the Monmouth Count Library System. “Healthy and fun snacks will be provided and staffed through a federal program administered by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.”

While there previously has been food service at theManalapan branch, she said this is the first time that the library is offering a business opportunity for people with visual impairments.

Christina Buckley-Gera and her 3- year-old yellow Labrador Jax will staff the Bookends Café at the Manalapan branch. She said she is thrilled by the opportunity available at the library and the support shown her.

“I’m looking forward to being able to run my own business and be self-supporting,” said Buckley-Gera, who travels with Jax to the library fromMontclair by using Access Link, a paid mini-bus service. “It’s an opportunity to show what people with visual impairments or any disability can do.”

Buckley-Gera, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that limits peripheral vision, said a few special designs were made in the area of the café.

“There is extra lighting and the cash register is a “talking” register that says the amount entered and the change required,” she said. “Most cash registers have this feature, but it is turned off.Also, I will use a bill identifier for the denominations.”

The area behind the counter is handicap accessible and that is where her working dog Jax will be, she said.

Buckley-Gera has a 90-day trial period to show the success of her business plan at the library and then she will be eligible for a business license. Everything is ready to open, only the plumbing and electric permits remain, she said.

“I will offer a variety of beverages, such as coffee and water, and food items, including hot and cold sandwiches,” said Buckley-Gera. “I’m hoping that people who attend special library programs such as the concerts I attended with my husband, Michael, will use the café, as well as library patrons.”

Marvin Price, who is legally blind and in the same program as Buckley-Gera, opened the café at the library system’s Eastern Branch in Shrewsbury on Feb. 13. He said people are slowly finding their way to his upper level food service.

“There was a book discussion group and a taxpayers group that used the café, plus the staff who are very supportive and welcoming,” said Price, who travels from East Orange to the library using Access Link plus a bus and a train for his almostthree hour one-way trip.

He said the best-selling items so far are coffee, water and candy. The coffee is the same blend that about 80 percent of restaurants use, he said.

“It’s the best flavored coffee and all the items at the café are moderately priced,” said Price, a native of Baltimore. “The people are wonderful here and I invite everyone to come up and enjoy the coffee and other snacks.”

Janet Kravis, the chief librarian for the Eastern Branch, said she is a coffee drinker and will continue to use the café.

“I hope more people do, too, and support Marvin and his business,” she said.

The café at the Eastern Branch, Shrewsbury, is open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bookends Café at the Headquarters will be open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m.