While your local library might not be conducive to chatting, the new generation of libraries (you know, the ones with few visible books) are trying to play the

While your local library might not be conducive to chatting, the new generation of libraries (you know, the ones with few visible books) are trying to play the role of a community hangout like cafes or pubs. For example, when Helsinki opened its new central library Oodi, it came complete with signs hung that said people were invited to talk and hangout for hours, and shushing other people wasn't allowed. But now that I think about it, that development might not make it to the USA inasmuch as that country wholeheartedly embraced the concept of "no loitering".