Burlington County Library customers can now enjoy beverages, light fare, and other snacks with their reading materials courtesy of a unique new café that’s enhancing the library and giving students with disabilities opportunities for work experience.

Welcome to the Community Blend at Bestseller’s Café. Located in the lobby of the Burlington County Library System’s Main Branch Library in Westampton, the café offers a full menu of coffees, drinks, sandwiches, soups, bakery items and other treats prepared and sold by students from the Burlington County Special Services School District’s Transition Program.

The program provides young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 with additional education, including life skills and job training.

The café, which started recently, is already a huge success for both the library and school, whose students are gaining real-world job experience and training.

The unique partnership between the school and library was celebrated Tuesday during a grand opening ceremony featuring State and County leaders, school and library officials and BCSSSD students.

“Burlington County is a community that supports inclusion and strives to provide opportunities for all residents to learn and thrive,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, “The Burlington County Library System and Burlington County Special Services School are both essential to this goal. By partnering together, they are enhancing the library and creating new opportunities for students to interact and learn skills that will help them find work, live independently and pursue their dreams.”

“Opportunities for all isn’t just something we talk about in Burlington County. We are taking action to make sure residents of all ages and abilities have the tools they need to succeed,” added Burlington County Commissioner Randy Brolo. “The Community Blend at Bestseller’s Café is a reflection of our commitment and we are thrilled to see it launch and open the door to new opportunities for BCSSSD students.”

Enhancing the library

The Community Blend at Bestseller’s Café is open most weekdays during the school calendar year from 9 AM to 1:30 PM and is typically staffed by three students and a supervising teacher. After hours, prepared foods are also available for sale from the café’s refrigerated vending machine.

The café marks the return of staffed food service at the Main Branch Library for the first time in more than five years. The library launched a café in the early 2000s and made the Bestseller’s Café a central feature of the building’s lobby expansion in 2012. The staffed service ended a few years later and was replaced with lobby vending machines.

Burlington County Library System Director Ranjna Das said bringing back a full-service café to the Main Branch library was part of a broader revitalization following the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the library system also ended most library fines for late material returns.

“We have seen an influx in people and activity at our libraries the last five years, especially in the last year since the fine free policy began,” said Das. “Bringing back the café is another valuable service that will help encourage more people to visit the library and take advantage of its materials and programs. It’s a great partnership that’s making the library even more attractive.”

New opportunities for BCSSSD students

Restoration of the café service was made possible by a $1.4 million grant the Burlington County Special Services School District received from the New Jersey Department of Education to help expand programming for the district’s Transition School. A portion of that grant was used to cover the expense for equipment needed at the library and the nearby Special Services School, where most of the café’s menu of food items is prepared, included new ovens, a broiler, beverage dispensers, uniforms and a cold vending machine.

The funding is also being used for Transition School students to attend classes at Rowan College at Burlington County and to purchase virtual reality equipment for workplace training.

State Senator Troy Singleton and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz said the Transitions School is a proven difference-maker for students from across the county.

“The Transitions School program has helped hundreds of students from across Burlington County learn skills needed to find work and live independently. This new partnership with the library is creating even more opportunities for students to get the training and experience needed for future success,” said Senator Singleton. “Congratulations to the Burlington County Library System, the Burlington County Special Services School District, the Burlington County Commissioners and everyone else involved in this program’s launch.”

“Every New Jersey student should have opportunities to reach their highest potential, regardless of their zip code or their family’s income, and I’m excited to support programs like this one that help Burlington County students learn valuable job and life skills,” added Assemblywoman Katz.