“It’s okay to make some noise in the library,” Rachael Fox, above, tells members of the Chamber of Commerce at the June 16 monthly “Coffee Clatter” event in the reading room at the Hood River Library branch.

Membership Coordinator Matt Werbach had said it felt odd to be talking out loud in the library, but Fox, who is director of the three-branch library district, said things have changed, and events such as the Chamber meeting are an important part of the library’s role as a place for people to interact and exchange ideas.