Video Games in public libraries as library services aim to expand the services offered in order to bring in higher visitor numbers in both the UK and the USA. I`ve seen them used for entertainment inside of a library which have proved very popular into the sites I`ve looked into, the purpose mainly to entice children/teens. As well as as loanable items to customers. The library service in which I work probably wouldnt be interested in such a scheme for the near future seeing as many of the buildings are in need of modernisation plus having games to rent didnt take off in the late Playstation 1/mid Playstation 2 era. That sucks but I`m wondering how many users of this forum would visit their own public library either to play (if this was modelled on older players, rather than the current come to play schemes aimed at younger users) or to loan video games or related matierials (books, soundtracks, film adaptions). Just an interest of mine seeing as I`ve done some research on various schemes in operation. On a side note we do have some pretty cool video games related books. The local Uni having video game design and development courses helps. Some of the design course books are very interesting interviewing many developers about various aspects of not only design but memories of the industry. And on that note are there any video games books that users here would recomend.
I've heard about this, it was experimental in california... It wouldn't entice me to go to my local library though. They'll do anything to get people in libraries nowadays, I read x-men comics with the manga nerds when I go. This my favorite video game book http://www.amazon.com/Sonic-Hedgehog-2-Secret-Admirer/dp/9997964985/ref=pd_sim_b_2
It wouldnt have suprised me if the kids areas contained Sonic books, if we were still in the early ninties :mario: Myself I wouldnt go into a library to play games, although I would attend a themed event such as if they arranged something to coinicde with other local events (in my case http://www.smu.ac.uk/SAND/) which is possible if there was sufficient interest, or a QA event with an author if a new related book came out. As for borrowing games I only occassionaly buy current generation games, I use Lovefilm so a local rental service would be ideal. Pretty much all libraries in local authorities in the UK have Music and Films to borrow. As the industry matures maybe games will join that line up anyways.
I contributed several video games for a public library event in Florida. Without dropping into stereotyping, it's worth mentioning that the library system in this state has problems attracting patrons. By publicizing a celebration of a NASCAR anniversary and providing a pile of console racing games, they were hoping to make people wake up and go, "Hey, there's a library here by the highway." Sadly, the result was that the kids brought their own copies of the latest FPS to play instead.
Luckily visitor number for the larger libraries in my local area are positive, a lot of this is down to modernisation of the libraries and services that were available, which has provided a lot of interest from the public. Events are very tricky things to nail every time, some attract a lot of interest but not numbers. Some work well, some not so well. You can stick with safe bets like reading groups\parentand child groups and do ok, but more modern things can be hit and miss.
I'm sort of skeptical that there could be enough video-game-related books to support a decent-sized library exhibit/section. That goes double if you're talking about books for a general audience, and excluding "Game Programming Gems Vol. CCLXVII", "How To Program Cinematic RPGs in Visual Basic", "Tetris: The Coloring Book", "Jeff Rovin's Most Boring Hits", etc. The only things that immediately come to mind for me for a games-related collection are: - The few general game-history books out there like David Sheff's "Game Over" - Survey/catalog works like "Family Computer 1983-1994", though I'm not aware of too many of these - Art books - Strategy guides that are worth keeping Seems to me like most people interested in this stuff would just buy their own copies - most of it's not that expensive.
I work in a public library myself (head of IT and web services . We're about to launch our "gaming corner" with a few PS2's and Wii's. It's the next big thing in public libraries it seems, seeing as it's being discussed just about everywhere (in tiny Belgium at least). I think it's best to start out with a gaming tournament to find out if there's demand or interest in videogames. You can check out this video I made from our first videogame tournament I organised recently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJM1RvDmtK8&fmt=18 We're not going to offer games to rent at the moment but we are making an attractive gaming corner as a start. But on the whole, games in libraries? I'm betting it'll work allright :nod:
It`s true that there is not a huge amount of video game related books, the collection at the moment mainly amounts to :- * books detailing "top" games over the years, * design related books, * dummies books, * game guides, * social science related books on video gaming, uses effects etc. Probably only about 50 books for the whole of our local authority, tuck in at the end of the computing section. The quality of some of the books can be poor, but there are a few gems :- Smartbomb (Heather Chaplin, Aaron Ruby) Gamers (edited by Shanna Compton) The A-Z of Cool Computer Games (Jack Railton) - a Round up book, but from a British perspective, nice for those with memories of 8 bit micros. Arcade Fever (John Sellers) - Nice look back at pre Atari crash games. I Am 8-Bit (Jon M Gibson) - Artwork book, very nice for the coffee table. Power Up (Chris Kohler) - Look at the Japanese influence on video games. The Complete Guide to Video Game Development, Art and Design( McCarthy, David) If you are heavily into games most of the books wont show you anything new though, but pleasant reads anyhow.
I'd add Sheff's "Game Over", as a detailed and fascinating history of Nintendo, and Kushner's "Masters of Doom", which tells id Software's history. Both are definitely in the storytelling mould, but they were both absorbing books I couldn't put down. I can also recommend Kent's "Ultimate History of Video Games".
If you havn't read it, later editions come with extra chapters. Some great books that are related to games (but mostly theory) are: "Hamlet on the Holodeck" by Janet Murray "Computers as Theater" by Brenda Laurel "<<multimedia>>" by Randall Packer/Ken Jordan
Odd you should mention "Hamlet on the Holodeck" as it's on my list of things to read for my uni work. It's actually sitting on my bedside table awaiting its turn among the stack of other books I want to read. I did read the first chapter and it's fairly engrossing stuff. "Multimedia" sounds interesting, care to give a synopsis? My copy of "Game Over" was printed somewhere around 1994 from what I can tell, I remember the author mentioning Ultra 64 as a vague future potential... do other printings have anything substantial to add?
Collection of articles and essays that discuss the art and technology aspects of multimedia. Starts off with Wagner's attempt to expand art though a new type of opera (by mixing standalone music, dance, lighting, painting, etc). Goes on with the memex, whole earth catalog, computer lib, and so on. Similarly to Hamlet on the Holodeck, the idea is to explore what will/should define 'new media' but looks instead to collecting smaller works that have already tackled specific issues or older works that worked at the same large problem. All of those (and a few others) I got for a class "issues in multimedia". I can't quite remember what was in the additional chapters of Game Over (and don't have it around).
My local library has an HD TV and a variety of game consoles in a nice room... ...but if I recall, my local library has been rated one of the best libraries in its size class in the USA... ...I'll take a picture if I ever get over there.
Seems logical, even if from an archival point of view... initially literature, then as new mediums became available and widespread (VHS/CD/DVD) the libraries kept them too -- games are a part of our culture now therefore their integration in our history should be noted imo. The fact you can play them in some libraries though, that's just pure awesome.
