Video Games in the Library ?!?!?
We had about 80 third graders visit the library this morning and while giving tours to about a third of them I had two kids ask why the library rented out video games. I’ll be honest and say that I was shocked that they asked this question, not in an excited or incredulous way, more so in a “I though libraries were about books, not video games” type of way. I thought of all age levels, kids would find this more exciting than most others. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed knowing these kids are focused on books, but for every kid out there that reads for enjoyment there have got to be a handful that don’t step foot in a public library because they “hate” reading.
Video games in the library has been a conversation, discussion, even heated debates about the need or desire to provide video games to patrons. There have articles written about this topic as well and people often have strong feelings one way or the other. I’m not a huge fan of video games, my boyfriend has an Xbox and he gave me a Wii for Christmas one year, but I can only play a game for about 30 minutes before I grow either bored or angry because I’m not a very good video gamer. My boyfriend on the other hand really enjoys playing video games, he likes the stories, the graphics, the voiceovers – everything. That being said, he could play for hours and I am just as happy sitting down with a great book for just as long.
As for the library setting, if the community the library serves is a place where video games are prevalent than it’s a great way to get people to come in and use the library and possibly find other resources to check out or programs to attend. Video games may not be as necessary in other locations, but in my community kids definitely use video games on a regular basis. We even purchased a Wii for use in the library and although it doesn’t get as much use as I thought it would. The majority of kids definitely think we’re cooler for having a Wii. If you’re interested in reading an article that supports video games in the library, check out “Libraries and Gaming” at the ilovelibraries.org website.