Page 18 - North Haven Magazine Issue 27 Winter 2023

THE BOOKMARK CAFE

by Marisa Hexter

When you pick up a book, whether it’s one you’ve read a thousand times or one of the hottest releases, what’s your go-to place to read?
What about your snack or drink of choice? Some people like to read in their favorite chair with a cup of tea and others like to sit down
in a coffee shop with their consistent coffee order. In North Haven, there is a perfect spot to find a book and grab a drink and snack. The
Bookmark Café is located inside the North Haven Memorial Library. The idea was brought up by former Library Director, Pat LaTerza.

chocolate, and a variety of prepackaged snacks, each costing $2.00.
Both public visitors and staff are enjoying the Café. “ It is great to
know that if you come to the library and forget your morning cof-
fee or need an afternoon pick-me-up, you can just go to the first
floor to get yourself a coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or snack. You don’t
have to leave the library or stop your work/studying when you get
the craving for a nice hot cup of coffee.”

Proceeds of The Bookmark Café go directly to the Friends of the
North Haven Library. These proceeds allow The Friends to con-
tinue to sponsor different events which benefit many individuals
in the town. “The Friends sponsor all of the North Haven Library’s
Summer and Winter Reading Programs as well as the New York
Times digital edition, the Library Speaker’s Author Talk Series,
the summer Picnic and Performance Series on the library lawn,
Saturday Concert Series, Museum and Entertainment Passes, and
so much more. With your purchase of a drink or snack at the li-
brary, you are donating to the Friends, and ultimately giving back
to the library.”

When the idea of a café took hold in the Library, it came time
to find a location that would be accessible to everyone. The first
floor near the circulation desk allowed for the perfect space. Both
the drink and snack table as well as some café tables were able
to fit in this location. After the location
was settled, then came the time to name
the new café. With a total of 16 poten-
tial names, the Library staff voted on
“The Bookmark Café.” Now that all the
logistics were set, LaTerza worked with
Brian Coughlin from Welcome Home
Mortgage, who sponsored the setup
of the café. The Friends of the Library
also worked together with LaTerza and The North Haven Memorial Library is a wonderful community
Coughlin and together the Café was get- resource. While you can always find your next favorite book there,
ting set up and running. The Bookmark you can also do so much more. Whether it's finding a place to
Café officially opened on February 11, study, attending a program in the community room, or meeting
2019. COVID proved to be a hiccup in
the Café’s ability to run as normal. When the Library was closed to up with friends, the Library provides resources for all aspects of
our community in town. “Having a café available makes it even
the public, so was the Café, but it did not reopen as normal even easier to make the library your destination for a few hours, know-
when the Library was opened up again. The Café stayed closed ing that you can grab a coffee with friends or get a quick snack so
for about a year afterward. “Once the COVID numbers started to you can keep on studying for a bit longer.”
subside and things started to get back to ‘normal’, we reopened the
café in October of 2022.” When The Bookmark Café did officially I want to say a big thank you to both the Director of Library Ser-
reopen, it was a quiet affair. “Now that Café is up and running vices, Susan Griffiths, and Brian Coughlin from Welcome Home
well, we are reaching out to let everyone know that the Bookmark Mortgage for participating in this article!
Cafe is officially reopened and ready for business.”
When the Café initially opened, the options were just for coffee
and tea. “We soon realized that our patrons would like to have a
snack with their coffee, so we added a small selection of prepack-
aged items for sale.” At the moment, The Bookmark Café offers
coffee (medium roast, dark roast, and decaf options), chai tea, hot

North Haven Magazine - Winter Issue 2023
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