Gaming at the Library

When I was growing up (and even now to a great extent) the library was a place for me to get away and enjoy some quiet time while discovering something new. I would go there and browse, sometimes for hours, and find some new author or new subject that I was curious about and I would read and read and read. Getting me or my brother to go to the library was never a problem for my parents but for many others out there, they say it's as hard as getting their kids to go to church. I find it sad that so many kids have a reluctance to get into reading since it offers a fairly simple way to stimulate the imagination while serving to educate as well. I think many kids, once they start reading anyways, begin to see the merit in reading and eagerly continue the habit but for many parents (and librarians) the dilemma is how to get kids to the library in the first place. Several libraries around the country seem to have found a plausible solution.

Recently a library in Michigan began renting out video games for various game systems from some of their branches. The jump in attendance at the library by kids jumped up several fold. Now kids make it to the library on a fairly regular basis. The library hosts monthly competitions between kids meant to get them to the library regularly and hopefully interest them enough to stay there. Now I think this is a novel approach to getting kids there but aren't video games and television viewed by these same parents as being part of the problem behind getting their kids to come to the library in the first place? Parents have long complained that their kids come home and sit in front of their televisions for hours after school and are reluctant to do anything else. That being the case, then why simply transplant the problem from the home to the library?

I would be curious to know if by bringing kids to the library if there has been any significant impact to the number of kids checking books out. From what I have read I think the wrong statistic is being viewed. If one looks at what the checkout trends have been at the library among kids and teenagers, I'm sure they won't find educational books that high up on the list. I mean after all, when you have a choice between the latest video game and a new history book, I think the majority of kids are going to go for the video game. It just stands to reason; if the kid enjoys reading or finds something interesting enough to want to read about then they will read it anyways. They won't need incentive to get to the library. I remember when my library started renting movies to the general public. I saw many new releases thanks to their being available at the library but that didn't mean that I gave up on reading library books just to go and get movies. On the contrary, it was a reverse incentive for me. I viewed the movies as a bonus for going to the library anyways.

I think video games will serve the same purpose but is it really that effective a method for getting people into the libraries? I remain skeptical. I think a lot of this comes down on parents for the most part. Both my parents read a lot though I'll never call them a couple that takes books with them to restaurants for dinner and reads them rather than having conversations (which I've seen some bibliophiles do on more than one occasion). My brother and I saw them reading books all the time and it came to be viewed as a normal thing. If parents are interested in getting their kids to read then they should read to their kids and encourage them to read things they like, not what parents think they should read. But get that bug in them and they will continue to read on their own, with no need for 'carrots' to be put in front of them as stimulation. I often go to my library and see kids in front of the computers for the internet but rarely browsing for information, rather visiting sites to play games. Parents can then proudly boast about how their kid spends hours at the library while the kid can boast about achieving the high score for the library. Is that the goal that we're hoping to reach? I don't think so.