National Gaming Day at your library: US libraries invite patrons to get their game on

Jenny "Shifted Librarian" Levine sez, "Tens of thousands of people will be gaming together at their local libraries on Saturday, Nov. 13, to celebrate the American Library Association's 3rd annual National Gaming Day @ your library. Libraries will offer a variety of activities, including modern board games, traditional games (such as chess and checkers) and two national video game tournaments that will pit players at dozens of libraries against each other for bragging rights to the ultimate Rock Band and Super Smash Bros. Brawl crowns."

Lots of kids play games at home - alone, with siblings or with friends. At the library, kids socialize with their friends and play board and video games while surrounded by books, librarians and knowledge. Gaming at the library encourages patrons to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise with others (including adults) and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. Families can join others in making time to play together at their library while meeting new people and trying out new games in a safe and friendly atmosphere.

More than 1,800 libraries to celebrate National Gaming Day on Nov. 13 (Thanks, Jlevine, via Submitterator!)

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Anonymous

Sweet! My 6 YO daughter and I love playing Halo Reach on the Xbox 360, in between work, school, and life.

I wonder what hardware you need to bring, like controllers, consoles, headsets, etc…LAN parties are AWESOME!

Some of us are older (38 here) educated and well rounded gamers, who seem to be doing just fine during this “recession.”
TheMadLibrarian

I only wish our libraries here could sponsor something like this. We have a few groups that play Magic and other CCG, but we don’t even loan out software, let alone recent game releases. And if you pull out your D&D 4th edition GM guide, all you get is funny looks.
- Wormman
  
  Well that’s what you get for playing 4th ed.
Ant

No computer games? :(
- cinemajay
  
  Ant, did you miss the part about Super Smash Bros. and Rock Band? I think the bigger missive is that there’s a darn d20 in the logo and no mention of RPGs offered at any of the Game Day events!
Jenny Levine

I work at the American Library Association and I’m coordinating National Gaming Day, so I just wanted to note that many libraries are offering computer games, online games, D&D, Magic, outdoor games, and pretty much everything else.

It’s up to the individual library to decide which games will be available. If your local library isn’t offering your favorite type of game or title, we encourage you to work with the staff to get it included. Many times, it’s just that the librarians don’t have an expertise in that area, don’t own the game, or don’t have the space to offer everything. One of the goals of this event, though, is to connect librarians and gamers who can help library game programs grow, so we always welcome help from local gamers.
Anonymous

Nobody tell Ray Bradbury.
aprilsaur

Love it. Now, my nieces and I can geek out in public playing Taluva and get some other people interested in it!
merreborn

I was interested to learn that the oakland library system carries a bunch of major titles for the latest platforms (e.g. Assassin’s Creed for Xbox360 and PS3)