Gamers welcome at Bancroft library

September 15, 2016

By Sarah Sobanski

Video games will soon be available at the Bancroft Public Library (BPL).

Thanks to a generous donation by Ken Almeida, the BPL has come into 210 video games – 90 Playstation 2 games, 50 Nintendo Gamecube games and 65 Xbox One games, that includes some of the most popular games on the market. This could include the likes of Elder Scrolls Online (check out the elder scrolls online guide here to guarantee the ultimate gaming experience, to Call of Duty, and DOTA.

This is excellent news for the gamers out there as they don’t have to commit to a purchase of a game. However they better start looking a those COD zombies hacks and that summoners war monster guide to gear up for this exciting occasion! Also among the libraries PC’s, you could find teens and young adults wanting to play their favorite PC games such as the popular MOBA’s like League of Legends, the Dota franchise as well as other MMO’s like Runescape and others. Apparently, there has even been one library member that often asks to use the PC’s after he has used a dota 2 boost service to level his characters up, due to him not having a PC at home.

“I see kids all over town at the skate park or wherever. There’s things to do, but we want to add to the options,” said library CEO Chris Stephenson. “Although the games are older, a lot of them are classic. People still have the machines to play them. So we’re thinking during the summer, up at the cottage on rainy days, people can add this to their list of things to do.”

The video games are part of an initiative to get more teenagers into the library. Stephenson said that many teens hang out on the front step of the library to use its Wi-Fi, but he wants to get them inside to get them hooked.

“When I was a kid there were no real teen sections the way that there are now in terms of books, that’s great. Things like Twilight really kicked off collection building,” explained Stephenson. “Those things are great for bringing teens in, but video games are kind of a unique way.”

He added, “What’s happening in a lot of cities and larger centres is innovation labs where they’ll have recording studios in the library where they can cut an album or do a podcast. There are 3D printers. These are things that boost the range of what the library can offer and also bring us into the 21^st century, which is what libraries need to do.”

The library is aiming to host teen gaming nights, where teens can come to play with others at the library. It even has a rumble chair, which brings a four-dimensional aspect to gaming, to get teens excited about the project. Stephenson wants the nights to be underway by Ontario Public Library Week. That starts Oct. 16 and runs to Oct. 22.

In order to get up and running however, the library needs help. Stephenson is asking for donations of hardware to play the donated games, and for a volunteer to help catalogue them.

“The main thing we’re hoping for is to find someone in the community who has some cataloguing experience, very basic cataloguing experience. They don’t have to be a library technician or anything. In order to get [the games] onto the shelves I anticipate it’s 30 or 40 hours of cataloguing work. We’d like to have it up and running as soon as possible, but at the rate we’re looking to go at, it’s tough to make it happen fast,” said Stephenson.

The library could also include some PC’s for gaming, and could even allow people to play Playstation games on them, so long as they learn how to get playstation 2 roms to work. This may further entice teens into the library.

The library also needs a Playstation 2, an Xbox One and game controllers. Anyone looking to donate can email the library at info@bancroftpubliclibrary.ca.

“The library is for everyone, whatever it takes to get people in the door it’s like a hook.”