April 3rd, 2006 (5:22pm) - Libraries a center for media trading and knowledge spreading has now added a new section, video games.
In King County, Washington video games are finding a place in the King County Library System, alongside books and other traditional programs, as librarians try to engage teens and meet their recreational needs.
The program -- already in libraries from Issaquah to North Bend and Covington to Tukwila -- is geared toward young people ages 12 to 18, with the games rated ``E’’ for everyone or ``T’’ for teen.
But don’t bet on video games ending up in all the system’s suburban libraries. Some librarians worry that setting up the games and monitoring teens will take time away from other activities.
Rosalie Olds, the teen librarian at the Fairwood Library east of Renton, runs a teen writing group that is working on historical fiction.
``I should spend my time doing that, not watching them play video games,’’ Olds said. She became a librarian to promote reading and writing, she said.
But she’s on the fence and can see the positives of the program, which is called ``Game On.’’
The payoff for Catherine Schaeffer, the teen services librarian at the North Bend Library, is getting teens into the library and developing a relationship with them. She’s not forsaking books and will work them into a video-game program.
Video games carry on the tradition of passing down stories by word of mouth in a very interactive way, she said.
``Shunning this technology doesn’t make any sense to me,’’ she said.
To succeed in a game, players need to read manuals and understand the rules, she said. Often, they play against each other, rather than in isolation.
Each of the library system’s 16 clusters of libraries will decide whether to start a video-game program. Those who do will follow the lead of libraries across the nation who are interested in drawing teens through their doors.
Last Friday, librarians from the Redmond, Kingsgate and Kirkland libraries visited the North Bend library to get a sense of how to set up the program. A staff workshop is planned for April on the new program.
Four clusters have kicked off the program, which, besides Covington, Issaquah, North Bend and Foster, include Fall City, Carnation, Snoqualmie, Sammamish, Skyway, Tukwila, Maple Valley and Black Diamond.
The Foster Library in Tukwila launched its program Monday night with about 15 teens. Next up in late April are the Auburn, Algona/Pacific and Muckleshoot Tribal libraries. The Woodinville and Duvall libraries will start the program in late May.
Still, some wonder: Why take up space for video games when many teens can play at home or at a friend’s home?
``What they don’t have at home is a library,’’ said Judy Richardson, president of the Friends of the Fairwood Library. She worries librarians will have to break up fights -- something she said happens at computer terminals in the Fairwood Library now.
The goal of getting teens into the library is a ``noble’’ one, she said, but she doesn’t think teens are going to say, ``Look, a book!’’ She’s a fan of Fairwood’s teen librarian, Olds. ``She really connects with the teen group,’’ she said.
Schaeffer, the North Bend librarian, says it’s not always the case that teens have video games at home. Besides, she said, the library offers a welcoming and safe place for teens.
Each of the library clusters will have its own set of game consoles and games and storage, at a cost of about $5,000. The money comes from the library system’s operating budget and not from a voter-approved bond issue, according to Barbara Carmody, the system’s education and teen services coordinator.
Teens are hard to reach, she said, but the video games are ``definitely bringing them in,’’ she said. While teens are usually tech-savvy, even the Internet isn’t always a big draw. A program on blogging didn’t attract many teens, she said.
Librarians won’t check a teen’s age nor does a teen need a parent’s permission to play the games, according to Carmody.
For Carmody, the payoff is the exposure that teens get to the library community.
``They will see the library a little differently than they’ve it seen in the past,’’ she said.
Dean Radford covers King County. He can be reached at dean.radford@kingcountyjournal.com or 253-872-6719.
The games
The King County Library System has launched a new video-game program, ``Game On,’’ for youths ages 12 to 18. The games, rated ``E’’ for everyone or ``T’’ for teens, include:
* Nintendo GameCube: MarioKart Double Dash, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Power Tennis, WarioWare, Super Mario Strikers, Mario Party No. 7, Donkey Konga 2, and Kirby Air Ride
* Nintendo DS: Age of Empires, Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll, Metroid Prime Hunters, Electroplankton, Polarium, Tony Hawks American Sk8lan, Puyo Pop Fever, Nanostray, Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Meteos
* Xbox: Crimson Skies, Burnout Revenge, NBA Live 2006 and X-Men Legends II
* Xbox360: Kameo, Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty2, Burnout Revenge, NBA 2K6, Madden NFL06 and NBA Live 2006
