Minneapolis PL Checks
Undisciplined Chess Fans
Officials at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library have called a temporary halt to informal chess games in the library after a May 8 incident in which spectators became disruptive and threatened two security guards. Apparently chess fans watching a game started an argument and “when security people intervened they were harassed,” Public Affairs Coordinator Kristi Gibson told American Libraries, “In the security supervisor’s opinion, it could have escalated into a dangerous situation.”
The games started at the end of last year and became increasingly popular in a study area on the second floor outside the copy center, Gibson said. The players were of different ages and races, and included some people with disabilities. “Nobody organized it—it just happened,” Copy Center Manager Moncena Rowley said in the May 16 St. Paul Pioneer Press. “They even started organizing their own tournaments. The boys, especially, would check out old books on chess and use them to borrow moves from the past.”
“One of the library’s roles is as a community gathering place,” Gibson told AL. The administration will decide whether or not to rescind its ban after signs explaining the library’s rules of conduct have been posted in the chess area.
Posted May 21, 2001.
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