Super bookstores have entered into many communities across the United States, and they have caused library professionals to defend and debate the similarities and differences between the bookstores and libraries. Most of the literature on the topic consists of editorial or opinion articles focusing on the differences in services provided by the two institutions. This paper approaches the issue of library and bookstore competition by developing themes of behavior regarding subjects' actions in the coffee shop area of a super bookstore. Because of the strong opinions that exist regarding comparisons of super bookstores and libraries, this research employed grounded theory, a qualitative approach, to investigate the research question. Unobtrusive observation was used to gather data for 30 individuals using the coffee shop. The observations were broken down into small parts called concepts, which were compared and grouped into categories. The categories were then compiled into a coding sheet so that each observation could be examined according to the categories developed from the initial observations. This process, defined as open coding, allowed themes of behavior to emerge from the data. Five themes of behavior were developed and named by the researcher: (1) the pit stop; (2) the super coffee shop; (3) bookstore enhancement; (4) the study hall; and (5) information gathering. Appendices include the floor plan of a superbookstore and coding categories. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/MES)