[cooper12]

At my local library the loudest people aren't those on their phones or laptops, but the chess players. It really surprised me considering chess can be played completely non-verbally other than calling "check". Every time I'm there, they constantly argue (most of the time it's because someone wants to take back a move), trash talk to get on each others nerves, yell across the table to other players in games, and talk loudly as if they were in a park. On one hand I think it's great that the library provides a community space and lets people use their chess sets, but on the other hand as someone who goes there for quiet, it's very irritating. (I wish they had a game room or something where they could go wild) Once upon a time libraries had mythical status as a place of silence, to the point where people would shush each other for the smallest noises... I actually stopped going to that library because of noise issues and in general because of its size and limited seating.