West Virginia University - News and Information Services
WVU Downtown Campus Library to ‘perk up’ with Eliza’s grand opening
West Virginia University faculty, staff and students are invited to relax with a steaming cup of coffee at the grand opening of Eliza's at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, on the fourth floor of the WVU Downtown Campus Library.
D.J. Casto, student body president, will join University officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. There will also be giveaways.
Eliza's will offer espresso drinks, fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee, tea, hot chocolate, blended drinks to order, Italian sodas, bottled soft drinks, juice and water. Jumbo-size muffins, bagels, biscotti and oversized cookies plus a variety of healthy snacks will also be available for purchase.
Beverages in Eliza's containers will be permitted in other areas of the library. Hours are Sunday-Wednesday 3 p.m.-midnight and Thursday 3-9 p.m. Eliza's will be closed Friday and Saturday.
The library coffee shop, run by WVU Dining Services, is among a handful of campus facility improvement projects requested by the Student Government Association, Casto said. Other projects include a Burger King slated to open next month in the Mountainlair and a 'Lair Vandalia Lounge makeover scheduled to begin in July.
The coffee shop is named after WVU's first professionally trained librarian, Eliza J. Skinner, who served as library director from 1897-1902. She is credited with, among other things, classifying the University's library books according to the Dewey Decimal System, starting a dictionary catalog, abolishing a $2 deposit charged to borrow a book, instituting open shelves for books and establishing a faculty library committee.
In 1902, Skinner resigned to accept a position in the cataloging department of the Library of Congress.
student body president
Office: (304) 293-4403
Cell: (304) 216-6834