Juan Carlo / Star staff Junior Nasim Khansari of Camarillo peels an orange in CSU Channel Islands' library. In addition to allowing food, the library has an on-site cafe.

College libraries, once bastions of quiet, have started allowing students to bring in food and drinks as they transform themselves into comfy gathering spots where people can not only study, but also talk and eat.

The trend is more common among newer libraries, which are being designed to accommodate the way students study these days — often in groups, with their laptop computers, cell phones, iPods, coffee and snacks nearby.

That means more group-study rooms, movable furniture, spacious computer tables and lots of wastebaskets, so students have a place to toss their wrappers and cups.

"We have from childhood this vision of libraries as quiet, calm places," said Julie Todaro, president of the Association of College & Research Libraries. "We don't have that anymore. We're pushing to provide places that balance leisure and comfort, and research and study."

Besides, when libraries ban food, students bring it in anyway. They're busy. They're used to eating wherever and whenever they want. So they sneak food in, then spill it while trying to hide it or leave it behind, librarians said.

Megan Hindman acknowledges students routinely ignore the ban on food in the library at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

"Even though the rule is (no food), most people do bring it in," Hindman said. "You find desks with leftovers on them. It's just a lot more convenient. A lot of time, you have only a half-hour break."

Recognizing that reality, college libraries are opening their doors to food and drinks, especially if they're new or renovating.

An on-site cafe

The John Spoor Broome Library at CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, which opened this month, not only allows students to bring in snacks, but it also has a cafe onsite.

The thinking was that if the library provided comfortable furniture and a place to eat, students would want to study there, said Paul Adalian, dean of the university library.

That thinking was correct, said Alexandra Mitchell, vice president of student government.

"I love it because I usually eat and study at the same time," Mitchell said. "It's a more welcoming atmosphere, more like studying at home. I actually feel more comfortable studying in our library than anywhere else."

Librarians say that if they allow food, they do have to be more careful about mice and bugs. But their janitors generally don't have any more work than at libraries that don't allow food.

Other local college and public libraries, however, continue to ban food, saying they don't want the potential mess, although some allow drinks with lids.

Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges, along with CLU, all forbid food. So do public libraries, including the new Camarillo Library, which has a cafe but does not allow food among the books.

"We thought about it, but we were afraid food would get all over," said Sandi Banks, Camarillo Library manager.

Ventura College's library used to allow snacks when it opened in 2005. Then students complained about the smell of fast food and the mess left behind, said Sandy Hajas, learning resources supervisor.

"We have a beautiful building," Hajas said. "We wanted to keep it that way."

Moorpark College has a similar policy. Signs around the library say, "Please no food or drink in the library. Bottled water is OK."

Pepperdine University in Malibu is renovating its library, and plans call for a cafe with a reading area and views of the ocean, said Mark Roosa, dean of libraries. Meanwhile, the library has started allowing students to bring in food and drinks.

"We recognize the fact that coffee and books and reading kind of go together," Roosa said.

"The kids are very responsible. They don't spill — much. And it supports our goal of being a hospitable place on campus."

'Libraries need to change'

CLU also is moving toward loosening its policy, said Julius Bianchi, associate provost for information services. The ban should be gone by this summer, he said. Eventually, Bianchi hopes to add a cafe as well as spaces where students can eat and talk.

"The writing's on the wall," Bianchi said. "Libraries need to change."

At the Thousand Oaks Library, which just underwent a major renovation, director Steve Brogden said his one regret is that he did not include a coffee spot, although he considered it. Now he's trying to figure out how he can add one.

The UC Merced library opened in 2005 with no ban on food or drinks, a cafe onsite and even pizza delivered to the study rooms. These are the rules posted in the librarian's office:

• Tell us when you spill something, so we can clean it.

• Don't use pizza as a bookmark.

In the three years since, the library has had few problems with spills or trash, said Donald Barclay, its deputy librarian.

"Nobody was here to say, We've never done that before,'" Barclay said. "People are reasonably responsible given the chance."