Pirtles/UIUC Engagement Site

On December 3, 2011, students from the Fall LIS 451 course completed work on the new Pirtle’s CyberCafe.  Through the hard work of several people, this space was completely revamped and transformed into a community computer lab.  This cafe will be a space where small business owners, students, and community members will have free access to technology and informational resources.  The Cafe consists of 12 desktop computers, a rentable laptop computer, and a printer.  Additionally, each computer is fully equipped with programs and resources geared towards students and small business owners.

The Pirtles Team: Jina, Nell, Lucas, Seth, and Cecelia

During the weekend of October 28-29, 2011, members of the LIS451 Pirtles group, along with some very helpful ESLARP undergraduates, continued work on the CyberCafe.  The handmade counters were installed, doors were painted, and walls were touched up with more paint.

After trips by members of New Horizon United Methodist Church and Twin City Bible Church, Pirtle’s new space is really taking shape. University students will be back at it at the end of October to continue preparing the new space in anticipation of computer delivery in December.

On Dec. 4th, students from the Cafe Group in the LIS 451 course at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois completed the installation of a computer lab in the Pirtle’s Ice Cream shop. The lab consists of four machines, and will be open for patrons of Pirtle’s and those interested in learning basic computing, including MS Office and Windows.

Mr. Pirtle, Tracy, and the 451 crew at the finished lab.

On Saturday, September 11, students took the first steps in preparing the old Pirtle’s Cigarettes space to be used as a new cybercafe.

University of Illinois Library and Information Science Students After a Day of Remodeling at Pirtle's