Mixed use comes to the (Redford Township, Michigan) library

Velvet S. McNeil / The Detroit News. Kelly Ray serves customers at Mrs. B's Cafe in the Redford Township Library. The year-old restaurant was recognized with the "A Small Business Excellence Award" by Sen. Laura Toy, R-Livonia.

DC libraries have the lowest usage statistics of any of the regional library systems. In part this is because the city is rich in other libraries such as the Library of Congress, and other professional and trade association libraries with special collections (such as the library in the American Council of Education building or the Foundation center) as well as university libraries, most of which are open to the public without charge (not GWU; but CUA and Georgetown libraries are open), as well as the fact that a big segment of the DC population purchases a lot of books.

In "Restaurant makes mark among books: Cafe in Redford library offers friendly atmosphere," the Detroit News reports on the Redford Township Public Library (Redford is immediately west of Detroit, back in the day, I helped my cousin deliver the "Redford Record") and how a "cafe opened in September of last year, a month after the library opened. Owned by Dolores Bsharah, the cafe offers soups, chili, sandwiches and plenty of sweet treats. One glass display counter is filled with rich sour cream coffee cake, chocolate chip cookies and various types of brownies."

University libraries are adding such cafe functions, and actually this has been a trend in public libraries for some time. Don't you just look at the card catalog area in the foyer of the MLK library downtown and think: coffee and tea shop?

There is a big movement of "social entrepreneurialism." I think we can stand a dose of it within various DC agencies...

Velvet S. McNeil / The Detroit News. Erin Szakai, left, Ann Buland, Kathleen Whitney and Pat Holmes have their Wednesday half-way-through-the-week lunch at the cafe.