Springfield's West Branch Library kicked out members of a Bridge group that meets in the basement every Monday afternoon for two hours.A Member of the Bridge group, who will remain anonymous, stated that she was called by an employee of the library who told her they could no longer use the library basement for Bridge games "due to budget cuts."
"We do all the setting up and putting away of the tables and chairs ourselves, and we don't even use their janitorial services", she said.
The library is supposed to be a public building and the Bridge Group has no effect on the library's budget, with the possible exception of occasional bathroom use.
Speculation about the incident could only lead to the belief that spiteful revenge was the only motivation behind the call. One other, more farfetched possibility remained; that the call was a veiled warning that jackbooted shock troops were planning to storm the library and arrest the bridge players under suspicion of gambling.
Imagine the police, donned in black helmets and flack jackets, hauling a bunch of elderly card players into the back of a panel truck as the Mayor looked on with his chin up and his arms folded.
What Really Happened
Since there is no elevator to the basement, there is no access for disabled people. Therefore, under the Americans With Disabilities Act, no public meetings of any kind are permitted in the basement of the West Branch Library. This means that they can no longer hold "Story Time" for children, or any other kind of activities for the public in the basement. The basement is legally off limits to everyone, including employees.
The only person allowed access to the basement now will be the new private owner of the property. I hope they don't have any plumbing problems anytime before the property becomes privately owned.
The End