Groundbreaking for Expansion of Popular Topfer Library Café, September 10

Exterior of the Morton and Angela Topfer Library Café

One of the most popular hangouts at Brooklyn College will soon be expanded. Construction on the welcomed addition to the Morton and Angela Topfer Library Café kicks off with a groundbreaking on Friday, September 10, at 1:30 p.m. at the Library Café, on the lower level of Whitehead Hall. The ceremony will feature Brooklyn College alumnus and supporter Morton Topfer ’59; City Council Speaker Gifford Miller; CUNY Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning, Construction and Management Emma Macari; and President Christoph M. Kimmich.

The sleek electronic study cafe opened in January 1999 and was initially funded with a $1.6 million capital grant from the Brooklyn delegation of the New York City Council. A few months later, former vice-chairman of Dell Computer Corporation Morton Topfer and his late wife, Angela, donated $1 million to help support and maintain the facility.

Interior of the Library Café, designed by the architectural firm of Thanhauser & Esterson

The Library Café currently serves up to eight hundred students per day. It is the only City University of New York facility that is opened to its students twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The six thousand square-foot computing facility, which currently houses fifty high-speed computers, is being expanded to make room for an additional thirty computers, a small pavilion, and a bar along a curved glass wall, with portals for laptop computers. A new coffee counter will be added, and the outdoor concrete tables will be relocated. The café will remain open for the duration of the construction, with the extension scheduled to open in fall 2005.

The café features power plug-ins and modems and network connections for laptops. Also, a large selection of software packages that complement course work in many areas of study is available to students. The café has four group-study rooms, lounge seating, and a snack bar serving beverages, sandwiches, and biscotti. Support staff are available during the day and evening.