For public libraries, the times are a-changin’.
The days of shushing librarians and absolute quiet are giving way to collaborative spaces and encouragement to use the library for almost any sort of community gathering.
In some places, the word ‘library’ itself is falling by the wayside – like in Cambridge, where the system now brands itself as Idea Exchange.
Take all of that together, and it’s no surprise that John Robertson was caught off guard when a staff member at the Idea Exchange facility in Cambridge told him and a friend to stop playing Scrabble.
“We were told we were shaking the tile bag too loudly, and the rattling was disturbing,” Robertson says.
“We were basically rebuked for the high crime of playing Scrabble at a public library.”
Robertson, who belongs to a local Scrabble club, says he was baffled by the decision – especially since he’s witnessed “screaming” toddlers, chatty teenagers and even musicians in the facility in the past.
He emailed Idea Exchange CEO Helen Kelly to complain about the incident, and received an apology the next day.
“We really regret the incident, because we want people to feel welcome in our spaces,” Kelly tells CTV News.
“We want it to be alive. We want it to be a community hub.”
Kelly points to the same examples of music and children Robertson does to illustrate things she’s happy to see in her facilities.
Robertson says he plans to bring his Scrabble board back to the Idea Exchange before long.
“I’m the type of person that likes to flaunt a victory,” he says.
