BJORN THE LIBRARIAN

Game Crazy & Public Libraries

The John Steinbeck Library (Salinas, CA) offers gaming seven days a week. Our Young Adult lounge has a 52 inch LCD TV for games and movies. We are currently running the X-box 360 and Nintendo Wii gaming systems.

There are many challenges to running a gaming program every day of the week. One of the challenges is keeping the program fresh. You need new games and frequent contests!

Salinas Public Library does NOT have the the money to buy new games or the staff to run contests (these can be a real pain). This is why I decided to see if our local gaming store (Game Crazy) would like to help us out. I dropped by and spoke with the store manager.

He was stoked! He offered to let us borrow a new game every week. He also offered to do gaming tournaments at the library. They actually bring in their own equipment, lead the event and give out prizes. How great is this company!

I look forward to seeing how this new library partnership with Game Crazy plays out... I'll try to keep you posted.

P.S. Starting the gaming program at Salinas Public Library has been a learning experience. I am willing to share what I have learned. If you have specific questions please feel free to email me... bjornthelibrarian@gmail.com

 

Gaming In Libraries?

flickr photo by mpd
Thanks to Jenny (the shifted librarian) for her continued coverage on gaming in libraries. She has posted this great article about a library that allowed their users to dance off their library fines. This idea is inspiring!

I'm not really a gamer, but I have to admit that some of today's video games are truly amazing. Establishing the presence of video games in the library could be very positive.

Can you see their faces pucker? Who's face? Just about anybody who believes in the "good old fashioned" library. You know, the traditional library that's quite and and smells like musty books... (I admit, I like that smell).

Why is the idea of video games in the library so remarkable? It could be completely normal and natural. Kids hang-out at the library and they like video games. I am very excited to see librarians taking the initiative to make libraries a fun and interactive place for teens to hang-out. Kudos!

Check out the following article about gaming and storytelling: Readers should get game-literate By Alastair Harper