Must we scan our IDs to enter Bookmark from within the library? It seems to serve no purpose, as we have already scanned IDs at the library entrance. Also, the alarm that goes off fairly frequently is incredibly annoying and disturbing.

Thanks for asking. It’s all about the 33rd Street door and Taco Bell.  When Taco Bell is open, the 33rd Street door of the cafe is unlocked and accessible to the public, which means that we must keep the door into the main part of W. W. Hagerty secure in order to protect the library and students. Keeping the door secure means that students must swipe in for access—those without Drexel IDs cannot get in. This door does not have a turnstile, which means that an ID must be swiped anytime the door is open, whether the student is going into or out of the Bookmark Cafe.

You may have noticed that you don’t have to swipe your ID to enter the cafe when Taco Bell is closed. That’s because when Taco Bell is closed, the 34th Street door in the Bookmark Cafe is locked and inaccessible to anyone. When this is the case, anyone who has already swiped their ID at the main Hagerty door has free access to the Bookmark Cafe.

Regarding the alarm, we know it’s annoying. Believe us—we know. Unfortunately this door must be alarmed so that those who don’t swipe their IDs and those who monitor the door are alerted to the problem. Students can help dampen the alarm by swiping their IDs every time they open the door between the library and the Bookmark Cafe, and by stopping to listen to the staff member monitoring the door when he or she asks them to.

Did you know that there are a bunch of magazines in the Bookmark Cafe that you can take home and keep? Well there are. Please take them!

If you’re looking for some diverting reading during the long lead up to finals, why not grab a magazine from the Cafe? It’s free and you don’t have to bring it back. When you’re done, just pass it on to a friend.

Got an opinion about the dining options at Drexel? Fill out this survey and make it known. Taco Bell, housed at Hagerty Library, is in the mix!

If you have any questions, please contact Kaitlyn Ambrosiani at kra28@drexel.edu or 215-895-1562.

The Bookmark Café has been restored to its pre-orientation furniture arrangement, and we hope this makes for a more comfortable area for you.

During new student orientation we had kind of an odd seating arrangement in the café to accommodate the hundreds of incoming first-years who swarmed through Hagerty Library twice a week.  We really appreciate your patience with the whole process, and we hereby turn the Bookmark Café back over to you.

Don’t know about the Bookmark Café? Well, you’re in luck. We’ve got a fun, short page about all things café right here.

Thanks again.

p.s. Taco Bell’s still closed for the summer, but you’re welcome to bring outside food and enjoy it in the café while you study, chat, or just veg out.

Need a study break? Take the Drexel dining survey, and tell the university what you think of the food options on campus.

Taco Bell is on the survey, so if you love to eat cheesy gorditas while reading library books, here’s your chance to say so.

Can you please get rid of Taco Bell and put in a café? Hahnemann has a really nice one. Who wanted Taco Bell?

Thanks for the suggestion. We’re aware that many students would rather have a coffee shop than a Taco Bell in the Bookmark Café. We have met with various university administrators to give added voice to this preference, but, ultimately, the decision is made by Drexel administration, not the library. The decision to install a Taco Bell in the Bookmark Café came in part from a survey conducted a couple of years ago asking students what food vendors they would like to see around campus. Taco Bell was one of the top votes in that survey.

If you would like to make a suggestion or complaint about the food options in the Bookmark Café, please contact Drexel’s office of Dining Services. You can use this form. Although there is no option for the Bookmark Café, please ensure you write that into the comment box. You can also contact Shawn James at 215-895-0291 or Shawn.James@sodexo.com.

Hagerty Library works long and hard to get you the resources you need, but we don’t go 24/7 until finals.

If you’re looking for 24/7 study space, look no further than the Bookmark Café. It’s open 24/7 throughout the term. Check it out during the midterm exam cram. It’s a safe, comfortable place to stay awake and get the job done.

Please put a Starbucks in the library.

Thanks for your suggestion. The Bookmark Café is Hagerty Library’s designated food vending area, and that space is pretty full with Taco Bell. There are a lot of people who would like to have coffee in the café, and in fact, there is a coffee machine in the vending area.

There are lots of other people who would like a coffee option in the café. Drexel’s Dining Services office makes the decisions about food and drink options in all campus facilities, including the Bookmark Café. If you want them to know what you want, please contact Shawn James at 215-895-0291 or Shawn.James@sodexo.com. You can also fill out this comment form, as many others have done. Keep in mind that this form does not include “Bookmark Café” as a location option, but you can fill that in in the comment section.

Here’s a comment from a recent post on the Bookmark Café:

It’s ridiculous. The place SMELLS terrible despite the cleaning schedule. We need an ID to swap both in AND out of the cafe, even when taco bell is closed (which doesn’t make any sense). And coffee is the most practical addition to the 24-HOUR cafe. There’s a taco bell on 34th and walnut and at 30th street station! Why do we need one here? If anything, we need affordable coffee (like Dunkin Donuts). I mean, COME ON, it’s a TWENTY-FOUR HOUR CAFE! It only makes sense.

Thanks for your comment. You’ve raised a number of good points.

1. Smell: We’re sorry about the smell. Unfortunately, we can scrub the place until it shines, which we do daily, but we can’t get rid of the food smell.
2. Security: The library proper is a controlled space, and our security system keeps careful track of who enters the building. This is one of the measures that we take to ensure the security of our library resources and the Drexel community that uses them.However, the café is a mix of both public and private space, and because the rest of the library building is accessible from the café, this presents some security issues for us. The café is open to the public via the 33rd Street entrance from 11am to 5pm on weekdays, which, for all intents and purposes, makes the doorway between the café and the library a public entrance. For this reason we must check IDs for entry into the library from the café during these times.

   You may ask “why do I have to scan my ID on the way out?” Here’s why: There is one doorway for entry and exit between the café and the library, and the security system requires that a card be swiped to open that one door—no matter which side of the door you’re on. This is different from the security system at the library’s main doors, which has one entry point and one exit point, eliminating the need for swiping out. For the security of the library and the Drexel community, we must have a system in place to track everyone who enters the building, and at the café door, this system requires that you swipe out as well. We know it’s a hassle, but it keeps us all safe, secure, and more comfortable.

3. Coffee: Like your other comments, this is a common one, and we wish there was something we could do about it. The food selections all around campus is controlled by Drexel’s Dining Services office. We suggest you let them know how you feel, as others have done. Feedback for Dining Services can be emailed to Shawn.James@sodexo.com. Dining Services also has a feedback form. As of now, you can’t choose Hagerty as a dining location on the form, but you can mention that in the comment section.

Look, I’m used to the place smelling like a taco and finding ground beef in the seats, but we really need them to start serving coffee. This is a library! C’mon! Many thanks.

Ah, coffee, sweet nectar of the library. You’re not the first to point out that coffee would be a welcome addition in the Bookmark Café. We want coffee too. Please keep telling Dining Services. That way they’ll know what their students want and need in the library. Meanwhile, there is a coffee vending machine in the vending area of the café. There’s no half-caf or skinny, but it is caffeinated and hot. And don’t forget: most of the lunch trucks have coffee for a buck.

Regarding beef in the seats, we’ve instituted a new cleaning schedule to help ensure that the clutter is kept to a minimum. We hope that helps, but if not, please let us know.