@Psilobe: Main fortress function other than interesting things happening (dances/stories/writing) is in needs satisfying. Needs give up to ±50% bonus of some sort.
Compared to just a meeting area, praying satisfies prayer needs, reading a book (in library, I guess?) satisfies abstract thinking need + perhaps learning need?. Finally, tavern satisfies merry-making, excitement, art-admiring, business and probably skill-using or learning needs, at least at for a bit.
Appointing performer/tavern-keeper is useful if your citizens won't drink alcohol on their own but need to (vampires or necromancers, for instance).
Appointing scribes and scholars gets you book copies and new books (later takes a while). Scholars spend the majority of time uselessly Pondering a topic!, which does fulfil abstract thinking need, but you only need 1 task to bring up need back into green from red.
Removing the dwarf from position makes their task more easily interruptible, though they may still continue at it until you remove the meeting area they're part of.
All of the above is with citizen-only zones. Default is visitors welcome, which brings you visiting performers, scholars and mercenaries from around the world, and who can petition to join the fort as resident, and latter citizens (mercenaries excluded).
They may show up with their own instrument, book or equipment.
If your library is stocked, a visiting scholar may read books in it, or even write one. Either way, they may take one home.
You can get dwarves to take away what they're carrying with dump designation, however.