Do video games belong in public libraries?
- Thread starter Librarian Mike
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1. True, new games are a little more expensive than the average book (a book goes for $40-$50), but books on cd can be upwards of $120.
2. To get a library card here, people need to have valid ID and proof of address. In the case of kids (i.e. under 18) they have to have a parent/guarantor to sign for them. So, it's not that someone can just walk in and make up a bunch of stuff. It's not perfect and we still get ripped off once in a while, but as my boss says it's the cost of doing business.
2. To get a library card here, people need to have valid ID and proof of address. In the case of kids (i.e. under 18) they have to have a parent/guarantor to sign for them. So, it's not that someone can just walk in and make up a bunch of stuff. It's not perfect and we still get ripped off once in a while, but as my boss says it's the cost of doing business.
Hey, I never said it was still useful. And I'm not sure if books for entertainment belong there either.ErictheRed1989 said:
My local library has carried PC video games since the 3.5" disk era, so having video games in libraries is not exactly unheard of.
... but having games from the current generation of consoles does seem a little strange to me. I could see keeping them for archival purposes, but I feel like renting them out would cause too many problems: they're expensive to replace and they would probably be stolen often, etc.
That being said, you'd probably end up making a ton of money in late fees, so it might balance out!
... but having games from the current generation of consoles does seem a little strange to me. I could see keeping them for archival purposes, but I feel like renting them out would cause too many problems: they're expensive to replace and they would probably be stolen often, etc.
That being said, you'd probably end up making a ton of money in late fees, so it might balance out!
In Denver, They have some old educational PC Games (the kind that don't need keys) and that's about it. Our library system does have a pretty huge DVD selection which has nearly put places like Blockbuster out of business. I don't think they will ever put mainstream games in the libraries though on account of liability and damages cost being so high.
A lot of libraries here in blighty have video games, and they pretty much all have movies. I like it personally - I don't play console games on the whole, so I don't rent them, but it gets people in. My local library has a pretty good selection; the library in the town where I work has a fantastic movie selection, along with a reasonable number of games (it's worth noting that CDs, DVDs and games have to be rented, they aren't free).
To my mind libraries aren't about being educational, they are a public service. Over here it seems like less and less people are reading, and some (many?) libraries are struggling so anything that gets people in is a good thing.
To my mind libraries aren't about being educational, they are a public service. Over here it seems like less and less people are reading, and some (many?) libraries are struggling so anything that gets people in is a good thing.
My answer: Yes!
There are two types of libraries, one is university library where there is pure knowledge stored, they remain untouched. The other is a public library and such a place gives acces to cultural goods stored for everyone to be accesed. Like movies that found their way into the library games are a part of our modern cultur and as such should be made accescible. Our library has music cd's too (many of which are not my type), boardgames and some older pc-games. Since i moved city i havend visited it for a while so i can't tell if they expanded the game section. Games like point and click adventures can have educational purpose and are dying out right now so it is nice that a librarie keps them afloate.
About stealing: I'm from germany, here i need my "personalausweis" wich is an id that is comparebil to a drivers licens to register at a library. Would you try a fake drivers licese just to steal a game?
Games that a library might host won't be state of the art but older titles so more people are able to play them and the cost is greatly reduced. It would be kind of experiencing the history of games so someone who plaed Fallout 3 can go there to see what Fallout 2 was like...
There are two types of libraries, one is university library where there is pure knowledge stored, they remain untouched. The other is a public library and such a place gives acces to cultural goods stored for everyone to be accesed. Like movies that found their way into the library games are a part of our modern cultur and as such should be made accescible. Our library has music cd's too (many of which are not my type), boardgames and some older pc-games. Since i moved city i havend visited it for a while so i can't tell if they expanded the game section. Games like point and click adventures can have educational purpose and are dying out right now so it is nice that a librarie keps them afloate.
About stealing: I'm from germany, here i need my "personalausweis" wich is an id that is comparebil to a drivers licens to register at a library. Would you try a fake drivers licese just to steal a game?
Games that a library might host won't be state of the art but older titles so more people are able to play them and the cost is greatly reduced. It would be kind of experiencing the history of games so someone who plaed Fallout 3 can go there to see what Fallout 2 was like...
My library has both dvds and cds, even entire seasons of popular tv shows. I think it would make sense to have games, except for the issue of cost. When most new games are going for 40 to 60 dollars, the temptation to not return them seems pretty strong. I would love it though, in addition to gaming, I'm and avid film geek and I enjoy reading so it would be pretty handy. plus with all the lousy games that are out there, it would be nice to try them for free before buying them.
