Pick up a game,
pick up a book

As we reach out to more potential partners, we get to hear about some interesting and wonderful work being done in our neighbourhood. The third annual International Games Day @ Your Library is one such offering.

A while back we emailed Chicago Public Library after they came with a strong recommendation for their efforts in supporting gaming and local games developers. Our newest title in development for publication, The Test, is targeted at 14 -19 year old males and the library come into contact with scores of adolescents through their YouMedia program. One of the people to promptly reply to our outreach was Mariella Colon who signs her email with the unassuming job title of ‘Librarian’ on the Games Team.

In touring the stunning facilities available at the Harold Washington Library Center, we were told how some people suspected the placement of games, especially video games, in the library would hurt the consumption of books. What staff actually found was that when games were positioned alongside games, book loans went up by a factor of three.

We came in search of specific set of young people and after we detailed our plight, Mariella explained how she could help. Moreover, Mariella explained why it was important. Relevancy.

THE POWER OF LIBRARIES

Libraries seem to be finding a gap is service use where emerging adults disappear as they start to wind down their educational careers, only to return when they perceive they need access to children’s services. Through staff like Mariella using innovative programming, libraries are beginning to find new ways to show the value they offer is timeless. They understand that the library is more than an extension of school age groups, but a resource and destination for lifelong learning. We were told that events at the library cannot be something that can be replicated in the home. This thought starts to make sense of why resources like YouMedia and the Game Team are often humming with activity, filled with energetic youth. It’s a place that’s not home or school. It’s that third safe space where you can do so many things, more things than you might imagine. It also stand to reason that these same young library users will grow up to be the administrators and CEOs of the future who could decide the outcome for libraries.

If you’re not in school, and you are looking for something to do or perhaps decide your next step, you main library is a good place to start.