Local libraries using games to attract patrons, boost circulation

Librarians across the suburbs are turning to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Batman and Hannah Montana - or, at least, their digital incarnations - to attract patrons and boost circulation.

Video games for console systems such as Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 2 are among the most sought-after materials at many libraries.

"They are wildly popular," said Valerie Stern, spokeswoman for the Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich, which started stocking console games in 2007 and now has more than 270 titles. "As soon as the games come back to the library, they are checked out."

Although video games occasionally have been criticized for violent or sexual content, area librarians insist games belong in their collections.

"We think video games can be educational, as they teach hand-eye coordination and require a sophisticated thought process," said Erin Maassen, spokeswoman for the Libertyville-based Cook Memorial Public Library District, which plans to launch a video-game collection in June with more than 100 titles. "And, when you're having fun, you are more open to learning."

Across the nation, libraries have adopted video games faster than they did CDs, DVDs or any other media format, said Jenny Levine, the strategy guide for the Chicago-based American Library Association's information technology department. The trend is so fresh, occurring just within the last two years, that no up-to-date statewide or national statistics exist.

"It's been phenomenally fast," Levine said.

Levine doesn't see video games as the next big thing for libraries. She says they're simply another "container for content," like books, records, videocassettes, DVDs or audiobooks before them.

The Arlington Heights Memorial Library was among the first in the suburbs to offer console video games, launching its collection in 2006. It now stocks more than 1,000 titles for the Wii, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and other platforms, and the count is growing.

The library started buying games after receiving requests from patrons, collections specialist Candy Rossin said. Officials also heard from librarians at other facilities who said video games attracted new patrons.

"It's wonderful when you can draw in residents that haven't been library users and introduce them to all the library has to offer," Rossin said.

The Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire began its collection last year with 30 Wii games; it now has nearly 100, and they're so popular the library is eliminating its CD-ROM computer game collection in favor of the newer formats.

"We view games as another entertainment format, just like best-selling fiction or DVDs," said Laurel Vlcek, head of the adult services department. "We have puzzles and puppets, (and) games are not that different."

Vlcek sees the video game collection as something of a public service during these rough economic times. For families who are cutting back and can't afford to buy a new Wii game for $50, or rent one for $8 or $9 at the local video store, borrowing a game for a week from the library at no cost is a much more affordable option.

The library regularly screens popular movies at no cost to patrons for the same reason, Vlcek said.

"It's a way to give people a break, and also to get them in the door and show them we have all this other great stuff," she said.

To measure the games' popularity, you just have to look at the empty spaces on library shelves designed to hold dozens of titles.

Some libraries have long waiting lists for games, especially hot titles such as "LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga" or "Call of Duty: World at War." Others don't take reservations and offer the games only on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you're a patron at one of those libraries, you've got to stay sharp to get a game you want.

Take Wheeling's Indian Trails Public Library, which has 643 video games. Since July 1, 2008, those titles have been borrowed more than 8,000 times, with more than 1,400 checkouts in April alone.

And all of that activity isn't just from kids. Many libraries reported adults often check out games for themselves. That's in line with a software industry report indicating the average gamer is 35 years old.

The expansion of video games into libraries rankles Jack Thompson, one of the nation's most prominent anti-game activists.

"By and large, they're a colossal waste of time," said Thompson, of Coral Gables, Fla. "Kids are playing hours and hours of video games and crowding out the very definition of libraries: Reading. Parents need to encourage their kids to put down the video game controllers and read (and) get exercise."

Thompson actively campaigns against violence and sexual content in video games. He's taken manufacturers to court over such issues and has criticized mature-rated games such as the "Grand Theft Auto" series.

It's problematic if anyone with a library card, regardless of age, can borrow mature-rated games, Thompson said.

Libraries have addressed such concerns in various ways.

At the Mount Prospect Public Library, the youth department offers games rated E for players of all ages, while the teen department has games with E or T - for teens - ratings.

At Arlington Heights, the Kids World section has youth-appropriate games, while games for teens and adults - including some with mature ratings - are in a central audiovisual area.

The Arlington Heights library lets parents control what games their kids can check out by providing three card options: an all-access card; a card preventing kids under 17 from checking out M-rated games and R-rated movies; and a card for kids under 12 that limits them to materials in the Kids World department.

"We have put it in the hands of the parent," Rossin said. "What's right for one parent's child might not be right for another."

As for the decades-old battle over whether video games have any real value, librarians don't think they turn young minds to mush.

For starters, video games for the multiplayer console systems have an important social aspect, the ALA's Levine said.

"It's no longer just one person playing by themselves in front of a screen," she said. "These days, the draw is to play with someone. The games you play by yourself are the boring ones."

They offer other benefits, too, Cary Area Public Library Director Diane McNulty said.

"The games allow some people to learn a new skill, others to entertain themselves and yet others to use their imaginations in a world of fantasy," she said.

They also can be just plain fun - and librarians don't see anything wrong with that.

"Besides," said Ela's Stern, "who said you can't learn while playing?"