I was at our local public library yesterday and noticed that they had some video games to borrow. I took a few pictures and posted them to Twitpic that you can see below.


LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for PS3 & Xbox 360 at the public library


More video games at the public library

Do you think the public library should carry video games?
Are these educational or will they really ever be used as reference material?

What are you thoughts on the library carrying music and movies?

I don't mind getting music, movies, and video games from the library, but I also feel like they maybe don't belong. I think of a library as a place for educational and reference material, but I guess it is also a place for entertainment. Should that entertainment only be fictional books or is it okay to carry music, movies, video games and more?

Well, movies can be used as reference too. For example maybe your class has you read a book like Bonfire of the Vanities (for some reason this is the first thing that came to mind) and compare/contrast it to the film.

You could also make the case that games/movies/music are the hook to get you into the library and once you're there you discover all the other things you could do there. It's a pretty good business model especially if those games are all donated to them.

True. I guess you could write a paper for school comparing the Harry Potter movies and games to the books. I think if my son had to write something for school that was related to playing a game he would be more interested.

You said it might be the hook to get people in the library to discover other things, but will they look at anything else after they see they can get movies, music, and video games? Who needs to read a book when you have all this other interactive stuff available.

Is this a widespread thing? Seems like this is not a widespread thing. I don't know, I'm all for games being taken more seriously as a medium (eventually), but does a copy of Rock Band really belong next to great literature and cinema? Maybe if it was a more carefully curated selection? It does seem more like a gimmick to get people in the door than anything else. "Come to the library! We're fun now!" I've always felt weird about music in libraries as well. I don't want to have to give it back. It's not like a book, if you like it you don't want to just listen the one time, I want to own it. This is also why I'm not real into streaming. But I guess it works in a try-before-you-buy way.

Anyway real talk: libraries are the best you guys.

I would go back to all the local librarys and sign up again id they loaned video games... i would also start playing video games again haha

You should check your local library and see what you can find. Ours keeps getting a few more video games each time we visit. They are also starting to carry more and more Blu-ray movies instead of just DVDs.

We can also search online at http://mcdl.bibliocommons.com for books, video games, music, DVDs, and Blu-rays and put a hold on them. When our library branch gets them in we have 5 days to go pick them up. We don't even have to go to the library and look for anything, since we can search for it and request it from our computer at home and it is waiting for us in the pick up area when it is sent to the library.

We can also download eBooks, audiobooks, and other things instantly from http://dlc.clevnet.org. These can be read and listened to on a Nook, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, and other digital devices. You can read or listen to the books and audiobooks using either Adobe Digital Edition (http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/) and OverDrive (http://www.overdrive.com) software on your PC or Mac.

If you haven't visited your local library maybe you should stop by soon to see what new things are available.

Now available at your local library: people.

This is actually a really great idea. The slashdot article that linked it mentioned "checking out" someone for language learning help but the actual article does not, which is odd since that seems like one of the best and most obvious applications of this.

Games at the Public Library - good idea, i think. But they should be "for everyone"

Not sure what you mean by "for everyone" perhaps an explaination?

I mean age limits. You know, GTA 4 is "adults only" game and it shouldn't be at PL, I think. Less violence and it's gonna be OK.

I can't really agree with that as there's books at libraries that obviously aren't for kids. I would leave that up to the library to enforce that.

I think it's not a bad idea.
Library is becoming a real media center)