Your Next Gaming Source: Libraries?

Disparaging comments, baseless speculation by pundits, and being blamed for everything wrong with today’s society — gamers are used to being railed at by politicians and public figures. It seems the establishment has always hated gaming. Which is what makes the support from this group so surprising: libraries.

That’s right, the supposed antithesis to video games, libraries across America are using these games’ popularity to attract young people. According to the Chicago Tribune, the American Library Association (ALA) is urging 9,000 libraries in the United States to add video and computer games as a library activity. As stated in a presentation on library-held tournaments by Young Adult Librarians (YALSA), this is not a bait and switch to “trick” young people into going to the library. Instead, it’s to help young adults feel more comfortable within the library, which will in turn make them more likely to take advantage of other services–like checking out a book or periodical.
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