Bertram J. Askwith (LSA `31) wanted to make a gift to MLibrary to celebrate his upcoming centennial year. Not your typical centenarian—he still runs Campus Coach Lines, the bus company that he started on the steps of the Michigan Union while an undergrad—Askwith found himself in unfamiliar territory when he saw the Library’s proposal to convert the space adjoining Bert’s Café, in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library lobby, into a high-tech study lounge. The design was for a social and study space, a meeting area equipped with the latest screens and technologies to facilitate group projects that could include remote participants, provide news streams and broadcasts from around the world, and supply information about MLibrary and campus activities and events.

In other words, it was a digital age distant from anything Askwith had known as an undergraduate. But, as he told Margaret McKinley, MLibrary’s Director of Development, he was, “willing to be convinced,” and after examining the architectural and technological plans, he was convinced, and he agreed to fund the project.

Construction has already begun, and Bert’s Study Lounge will open with Askwith’s 100th birthday celebration in March 2011. 

Bert’s Café remains open during construction.  Visit the Shapiro Lobby Renovation Project page for more information.