Corporate Company Dictates Local Cafe

Oglebay executive rejects community bookshelf at Cafe 1925, and ignores community concerns to bring it back. Near the end of July, cafe manager Logan Roth decided to make a new addition to the cafe. When customers discovered the bookshelf, it began to overflow. Many customers would lend a book and leave another while getting their daily dose of caffeine. The shelf started with a meek amount of ten books, and by the time it was taken away, that number had quadrupled. Having the bookshelf at the cafe not only brought educational quality to everyday life, it brought an immense amount of character to the cafe. Customers noticed the loss of the bookshelf, and no matter the amount of community outreach to Oglebay offices, the bookshelf no longer remains.

Why take away a symbol of community that was aiding business? What will happen to the literacy levels of Wheeling if big businesses continue to squander little libraries all throughout the public? These worries are voiced by regular customer, Sarah Seivertson.

“I think little libraries are important because they give people who might not have an opportunity to get books on their own, to pick out a book that they have been wanting to read and read it then and there,” said Seivertson.

The cafe manager, Logan Roth, also shares his opinion on the matter.

“When the bookshelf was here, people were more willing to interact and ask questions,” said Roth. “It made people more open to communication, and more open to expressing themselves.”

Roth also knows the self expression that can be found in literature, and the change this caused within the customers. With seemingly closed minded bosses, it is getting harder and harder for the Cafe to make improvements for the businesses future.

As book banning is being seen more and more within small communities, Roth said, “I think you should be open to what other people’s thoughts are, I mean you can even learn something from it even if you don’t agree with everything.”

The opportunity to consume literature was withheld from the customers when the Oglebay executives made their choice. Roth knows how this has affected the current customer and how it will affect Wheeling citizens in the future.

This is a small example of a big problem. As literacy rates of adults continue to drop, situations like this continue to get swept under the rug. Roth was not told by the Oglebay executive why the bookshelf had to go, even after asking for an explanation. Reading is something extremely fundamental, and as technology grows, it is getting lost. Little libraries all around America are so crucial in aiding the availability of literature. This shelf brought the customers and workers together, as well as adding a welcoming atmosphere, there was no substantial reason to get rid of it. Bring back the bookshelf.