CUA Law students (R) to (L): Sonit Bhatt, Liz Ottman, Devin Barrett, Adam Bereston

Columbus Carrel Auction to Benefit Students in Public Interest Law (SPIL)

On Thursday, March 23rd, Thos. Moser D.C. Showroom in Georgetown hosted The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law Networking Reception.

Not only was it an artful evening, Thos. Moser generously donated a Columbus Carrel, like those found in the Judge Kathryn DuFour Library, that was auctioned off to benefit Students in Public Interest Law (SPIL).

Thos. Moser craftsman, Warren Shaw was on hand putting together the TMC Chair which was also auctioned off to benefit the school. It was signed by Shaw and the winner and will be sent back to Maine for refinishing.

When asked about the history of the law library carrels CUA Law Professor Emeritus Steve Margeton said, "It was about a year into the new law building design process when the faculty, staff and students were asked to participate in the selection of library furniture. Keyes, Condon Florance (now SmithGroup) Interior Designer Nora Mestayer, who had been working closely with the architects on the project, suggested three lines of furniture for all to consider." He said the furniture lines suited the overall concept of the building design.

Thos. Moser had only recently entered the library furniture market and was looking for new libraries to showcase their reading room furniture designs. As Margeton remembers it, "After seeing their product catalog and catalogs of other companies, as well as photographs of furniture designed and already installed by Moser in several libraries, one very special carrel design caught our eye." This carrel was tweaked to create the personalized Columbus Carrel.

Margeton indicated that he has "seen many carrels in his long career, but none quite as pleasing and distinctive as the Columbus Carrel.