Photos by Ella Manthey
At the Clark Family Branch of St. Louis County Library (SLCL), the aroma of delicious cups of coffee soon will be part of the experience.
A new coffee cart from local roaster Goshen Coffee Roasters is coming to the branch, offering coffee, tea, other beverages, as well as an assortment of pastries, according to a recent press release. For Kristen Sorth, Director and CEO of St. Louis County Library, the partnership is about more than giving library visitors another place to grab a drink — it reflects a larger evolution in how the library approaches its spaces and what it means to be a community gathering place.
“Libraries are a center of community, and I think this branch really makes everyone that comes in here feel this way,” Sorth says. “I always say this building feels like it has a good hang — you just want to be here. So, it’s just another way to make people feel at home in a space.”
The relationship with Goshen first began when Sorth met co-owner and CEO Jennifer Hughey at an event at the Greater St. Louis, Inc. offices. The library had already began looking for a coffee partner for its forthcoming Jaffe Branch in Chesterfield, first with an RFP, or request for proposal. Goshen responded to the RPF and was ultimately selected for the partnership.
“St. Louis County Library continues to evolve into vibrant community hubs, and we’re excited to be part of that evolution,” Hughey said in the release. “By bringing our Goshen Coffee cart into the Clark Family Branch, we’re creating a space where people enjoy an amazing cup of Goshen Coffee and engage with their community in a meaningful way. This collaboration is a natural fit, as we share a commitment to making both coffee and libraries more accessible and welcoming for people of all ages.”
Sorth adds that SLCL had also hoped to bring a coffee shop to Clark Family Branch as well, but the timing didn’t work out during construction. Then Goshen offered the idea of a coffee cart, and Sorth was sold. Mobile ordering will add another layer of convenience.
The cart also reinforces a philosophy that has shaped the library’s recent renovations. For decades, libraries often prohibited food and drink. Yet under Sorth’s leadership, SLCL has changed its approach, because it wanted to remove barriers and make its branches feel more welcoming.
“We want people to feel comfortable using the library in whatever way it is important to them,” she says. “And if they want to get a snack or have a cup of coffee or a drink of water or whatever, we want them to do that while they’re here.”
Sorth says the shift is part of a larger effort to move away from the idea of libraries as “a place of rules” and toward spaces where people feel at home.
The risk of a spilled coffee, Sorth says, is worth it.
“We just wanted to make it convenient,” she adds. “And really the smell of coffee, that’s just another way that it feels welcoming.”
That convenience matters, as people aren’t necessarily coming to the library simply to borrow a book and leave. Clark Family serves businesspeople working in its small business center, families and caregivers, and people conducting hours-long research in its history and genealogy department.
“And what better than to have a snack or a cup of coffee while you’re doing that?” Sorth says.
The cart will also remain open for evening events, an important feature at one of the library’s busiest gathering spaces. Last year, nearly 37,000 people attended author events across the library system, and Sorth says attendance is on track to reach 40,000 in 2026. At Clark Family, events can draw hundreds of people per event, with visitors often arriving early to get a good seat.
“We really wanted to emphasize that we have this cart available for people who are here maybe an hour early for an author event to enjoy a cup of coffee or a snack,” Sorth says.
And the Goshen cart at Clark Family could be the beginning of something bigger for SLCL. Sorth says the library system would like to explore bringing coffee carts to multiple branches, where people already spend their days studying, working, attending programs, and gathering with family and friends.
Meanwhile, the Goshen partnership is expanding in Chesterfield. The new Jaffe Branch, expected to open in fall 2027, will feature a full Goshen coffee shop.
“We hope that people come for the coffee, stay for the books, or come for the books and stay for the coffee,” she says.
