Cafe 451, named after Ray Bradbury’s book, to open in Young Research Library
Café 451, a new restaurant opening in the Charles E. Young Research Library this fall, was named after the title of a book by author Ray Bradbury. Bradbury wrote “Fahrenheit 451″ on Powell Library’s lower floor.
By Alexia Boyarsky
Sept. 16, 2011 2:35 p.m.
More than 50 years ago, among bookshelves in the bottom floor of Powell Library, Ray Bradbury famously wrote “Fahrenheit 451″ on a pay-by-half-hour typewriter.
This fall, the Charles E. Young Research Library pays homage to the author with a new restaurant, Cafe 451, which will be added to the main floor of the library.
The cafe will be run through Associated Students UCLA, and will feature the same types of coffee, pastries and ready-made sandwiches as the other ASUCLA-run restaurants, said Cindy Bolton, director of food services at ASUCLA.
However, unlike other restaurants near the Young Research Library, Cafe 451 will be open the same hours as the library, including late nights and weekends, said deputy librarian Susan Parker.
“We have a lot of readers who ask where to get food at night, and it will be nice to be able to tell them just to go upstairs,” said Brittany Sprigg, a fourth-year English and neuroscience student who works in the Special Collections room.
The cafe is part of the library’s larger renovation, which will provide a wider variety of spaces for students to work collaboratively or quieter spaces for individual studies, said Parker.
“We’re trying to work with the more relaxed ambiance of a cafe, but also convey that it is a serious study space,” Parker said.
Some students said the more relaxed atmosphere of the cafe in the library would make them more likely to study there.
“I think the thing right now is to study at Starbucks or at Barnes & Noble, where they have cafes and are more laid-back, and the library having its own cafe may attract more students,” said Michael Allaway, a fourth-year Spanish and linguistics student.
Although some students said they were concerned the cafe would detract from the quiet work atmosphere of the library, Parker said the library will retain many of its old, quiet study spaces.
“It’s not just a cafe, and it’s not just a study hall, but it’s a third type of study space,” Parker said. “We want the library to be a destination for many different types of students, but it won’t be like everyone is panicked and studying.”
