The café at the Guilderland Public Library has closed indefinitely. They blame racism from both patrons and library staff.

Café con Mel, which is independently owned, opened at the library last September. It was previously located in Cohoes.

“I have faced racism, harassment and constant disrespect,” The café’s owner, Melanie Diaz, said on Facebook. “These issues have not only come from patrons, which I am no stranger to dealing with, but they have come worse surprisingly from the library staff members.”

Diaz claims administrators and board members tried to address the issues, but nothing ever changed.

“My heart goes out to the very few staff members that supported us. I love you and I appreciate you immensely,” said Diaz. “Please know that the actions of your peers are separate in our minds, but the toxic work environment is unacceptable.”

The Guilderland Library Board of Trustees said in a statement that members got the chance to have a more in-depth discussion with the cafe owner. The statement said, in part, “The library would like to acknowledge a poor working relationship that formed with the cafe due to the behavior of some individual members of our staff. We will be overhauling internal procedures, behavioral expectations, and communication protocols to ensure that future vendor relationships are cordial and collaborative from here on out.”

There will be a special board meeting on Mon. Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the library. The public is welcome to attend.