Game Night...Library?

Woah...Dude...I Like Went to the Library and These Old People Were Playing Guitar Hero 3...


Here comes the Wii: game-maker Nintendo has decided to donate 21 of the popular games (valued at $250 each) to encourage library gaming. The recipients are the Alpena County Library, MI; the Free Library of Philadelphia; the Pasco County Library, FL; Ann Arbor District Library, MI; the New York Public Library; and the American Library Association (ALA), which will use its Wii at various events to promote library gaming initiatives.

Indeed, gaming has become a growing trend in libraries—at the recent ALA Midwinter Meeting, YALSA kicked off the show with a gaming night, with demos of Wii and games to play for the 100 or so librarians who attended. Also, Council established a Games and Gaming Member Initiative Group(MIG). The LibSuccess wiki lists nearly 20 libraries known to have Wiis, which use infrared technology to capture the user’s movement and appeal to both teens and adults.

Well don't run to you're local branch to sign up. My worry is that (sorry to be a Cassandra and all) there will be the normal complaints of when will they be available for use by general public, why can't I check out games, when are you getting World of Warcraft...All of these cost money. In typical fashion there is talk about gaming and not more about money.

In previous posts I have discussed how librarians tend not to think in fiscally independent modes, but boxy models that tend to fail them when things get tough. I am now renewing my interest in this subject.

Who is going to pick up the ravenous tab for such expenses? In poor public library systems where directors can barely keep a staff or a decent serials list where is the money going to come from? What are the implications in the public eye? OCLC studies find that most public opinion is that the library is still the place for books...but video games?

These are meant in the spirit of practical good sense. I would do anything to get every age group through those doors. But at the end of the day there is the nasty matter of the bill. Am I killing the buzz before the party happens?

Any thoughts?

Here is the link to the press release I quoted:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6525309.html