Working in a library where video games are already regularly circulated, I found all of the controversy that arose in our class discussion board about whether or not libraries should be in the business of loaning video games strange. Libraries already loan or rent out movies (and not all of them non-fiction or educational!) on DVD, VHS, or even as digital downloads. How are video games any different? Video games may just be quite a natural next step for the library after the introduction of movies, as it seems the same arguments that were used for the introduction of movies on videotape into libraries are now being used for bring video games into the library collection.
According to a recent press release from the American Library Association, the professional organization is planning a “gaming pavilion” at this year’s conference to promote video games and gaming in libraries.[1] The pavilion will feature, in addition to video games such as “Wii Fit,” “Big Brain Academy,” and “Brain Age 2,” board games and DVD games. Their argument is that video games and gaming can help to create an image among the public of the library being a “family destination,” as gaming is an activity that families can do together. Also, according to the authors, ¾ of patrons who come to the library for a gaming event later return to the library.
The move does have its dissenters, however. One author, David Gibson, wrote in an article titled “Our Public Libraries are Being Turned into Video Game Arcades” that the introduction of video games into libraries was contributing to a dumbing-down of the American Public.[2] He wrote that:
I suppose that literary classics, poetry, geography, and great American novels are no longer “relevant: to teenagers. Unfortunately, it appears that this country’s librarians have decided to their part in the dumbing-down of America. What has happened to this country?...All of the librarians I have known were in love with the written word and truly enjoyed opening the door to their world to young people. Perhaps, today’s crop of young librarians would be better served answering their calling as arcade attendants and movie theatre managers.
Little does he know that even the Library of Congress is showing an interest in video games, having introduced a digital preservation project to collect and preserve, among other works of creative arts, video games.[3]
Some have even painted video games as the new “gateway drug to the library.” Games, it is argued, will serve as the motive for teens to come into the library, and once there they will be able to learn about all of the other things the library has to offer that they may not have previously known about. Jason Reed wrote an article about his experiences as the unofficial video game librarian in a small-town library:
There is no more innovative service to offer teens than video gaming. By enticing teens into the library with video games, librarians are able to expose these teens to other library services.[4]
This argument is not unlike those professed by librarians wanting to offer VHS tapes in their libraries in the 1980’s. One library in New York state wanted to offer VHS tapes to its patrons. However, much like the arguments for videogames today saying that the games included should be of an educational nature, this library wanted to focus on educational videos because individuals could very easily get “Hollywood films on video” at the local video store. Their main argument for the inclusion of video into the library was the same as that being expressed today regarding video games. A 1985 article in library journal stated that “video is bringing many people into the nation’s libraries for the first time,” and that was not and is not a bad thing. Getting individuals into the library is perhaps half of the battle.[5] As we know, video recordings (movies or educational films) in the library have not contributed to the downfall of the library, and neither is it likely that video games would.
[1] “ALA Conference Gaming Pavilion to Showcase Latest Trends in Gaming.” American Library Association, 17 June 2008. (http://ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/june2008/AC08gamingpavilion.cfm).
[2] Dave Gibson. “Our Public Libraries are Being Turned into Video Game Arcades.” NewsByUs. 22 Jan 2008. (http://newsbyus.com/more.php?id=10899_0_1_0_M).
[3] Library of Congress. “Digital Preservation Program Makes Awards to Preserve Creative America.” Library Today. 7 August 2007. (http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-156.html).
[4] Jason Reed. “Young Adults, Video Games, and Libraries.” Bookmobile and Outreach Services 11(1), 2008: 63-78.
[5] Karl Nyun. “Video Selection at Onondaga Public Library.” Library Journal 110(19), 15 Nov 1985: 20.
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