Libraries lure students with coffee

NEWS. Even before the bell rings each morning, students at Centennial High School in Tennessee are lined up to get into the library, waiting for a morning cup of joe at a coffee shop run by students.

Coffeehouses are springing up in high school libraries around the country, marking a big departure from the days when librarians sternly prohibited food, drinks and talking. School officials say these coffee shops are promoting reading and studying by attracting teenagers who might not otherwise hang out in a library.

“School food reflects the larger culture, so if there’s a proliferation of coffee shops in bookstores out in the world, it’s going to happen in schools,” said Jan Poppendieck, a sociology professor at Hunter College in New York who is writing a book on school meals.