Get Your Game Face On - At the Library!

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Whether you are an advanced gamer or just enjoy the occasional round of Wii Bowling, connecting with other gaming teens is easy, with endless opportunities at your library.

Expand your gaming repertoire
Wondering whether a new game is worth trading in for or buying outright? Test-drive it at the library! Teen-centered game nights, with growing collections for PS2, XBOX 360, and Wii consoles, are now a staple offering at many libraries. Portland (Maine) Public Library offers such events weekly. Adds teen librarian Justin Hoenke, “Playing games in a community setting gives teens a whole new way to experience gaming; you really have to join together to accomplish a goal. I've told teens that game nights are like a fun way of preparing for the group work they'll be doing in high school and college.”

Hone your skills through friendly competition
Fresno County (Calif.) Public Library hosts a monthly teen video game hour, which culminates annually into Teen Video Game Day, held on the last Saturday in January – also the biggest gaming event in Fresno. “We've done it for about three years now, and 120-150 show up for tournament play and free play of the newest games,” says teen librarian Gina Becker, who co-hosts with assistance from the library’s teen council, 25 members strong. “The best outcome to me has been seeing one of my shyest teens thriving socially. While he was impressing other teens with his Super Smash Bros skills, he was laughing, talking and sharing hints. He is [now] on my teen council and shows up for all of the events. It’s fantastic!”

Adds Eli Neiburger, assistant director for IT and production, Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, which hosts video gaming weekends once monthly, “Through the tournaments, we’ve helped them [teen patrons] understand it’s their library. It’s an opportunity to change their expectations of what the entire institution is for, and to help them see that the library can have a place in their future lives.”

Read up … and possibly move up
If you enjoy gaming as a hobby, consider turning that into a career. “Libraries can offer technology-based programming that introduces kids to rich media content creation which forms the foundation of game development and design,” says Jennifer Nelson, senior librarian, Hennepin County (Minn.) Library. Along these lines, Nelson has launched the Teen Tech Squad Program, which hires tech savvy kids to teach other kids how to use software applications in the realm of creative development. “We can help kids be better consumers of games with programs that help them understand what game design really involves.”

So what are you waiting for? Get your game face on!

Resource List
Gamers: Writers, Artists, and Programmers on the Pleasures of Pixels by Shanna Compton

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms by Ethan Gilsdorf

Gaming as Culture: Essays on Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games by J. Patrick Williams, Sean Q. Hendricks and W. Keith Winkler

The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Strategy by Steven E. Jones

Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers

Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics by Chris Kohler

Photo credit: Playing Settlers of Catan at Portland Public Library. Used under Creative Commons license from PortlandPLTeens.