When I came to the Portland Public Library in March 2010, there was nothing in the way of video games at the library.  It threw me for a loop.  I had to buckle down and get to work.  This was quite a daunting task, one that many libraries are facing as they start up their own video gaming programs.  So, I thought it would be cool to share my story so far, 3 months after we reopened to our community.

  • We now have circulating video games (127 to be specific!).  I don’t have circulation statistics yet, but as I write this I will say that only 10 remain on the shelf.
  • CIRCULATION DETAILS!  We lend out 6 games per card for one week.  Each game can be renewed twice.
  • Overall, Wii games have been the most popular.  Most times, all of our Wii games have been checked out and there are no more on the shelf!
  • Game Night has slowly grown since starting up in June.  Teens have been bringing in their own Playstation 2 games to enjoy while another group has been slowly gathering around our board game collection (The Settlers of Catan being the biggest hit so far).  All in all, we average about 7-10 teens per Game Night.

What am I trying to say?  Gaming programs take time and effort.  It’s a big task, but over the course of three months I’ve seen a great deal of change happen in the library.  My point?  The work is hard, but the investment is worth it. You’ll get that feeling when you see your first teen say “you can play video games…in the library?!?!?!?!?!”