Get positive quotes!
One of the things that we did was to ask our teens how they felt about video games in libraries. They provided us with some very thoughtful and positive quotes. We also noted what parents said when they first saw the collection in the library. These responses were actually much more positive then we thought they would be. Parents are very grateful to have video games here since it means they don't have to pay the high costs of the rental fees or purchasing price only to find out their child hates the game.

Mention the importance of the teen population having a safe place to go
Nobody wants to think about their teens getting into trouble. It helps to remind them that the library is an environment of learning as well as enjoyment. The library is a much better alternative to so many other places. Play up how great it is that you'll be attracting teens to the greatest after school hangout there is, the library!

The tasty carrot!
Video games help get teens and kids into the library, where they can also find materials to help them do homework, good books to read, and quiet places to study. Sometimes getting the teens into a place is all it takes for them to recognize there is so much more to the library than just the games. But the games do help them to make the trip. In your press release, it is a good idea to talk about this fact.

The Press Release
The following is a press release that we used. It got us a lot of great positive publicity, and made many in the community feel like the video game collection was a worthy addition to the library. (Press Release in PDF format)

Rochester Hills Public Library More Inviting to Teens

The Rochester Hills Public Library is proud to unveil two new collections in the Library, Video Games and Anime. They currently have over 100 video game titles, and close to 200 hundred anime selections. Requests have been coming from teens for a few years now for these types of materials. RHPL strives to meet the demands of all patrons, regardless of age.

Video games are an important leisure time activity for teens. Teens view playing a video game as the alternative to watching a movie, or their favorite television show. As one RHPL customer, Stephanie Kasmicski, age 13, puts it, “Today's teens like video games, they have grown up with them along with books. Anime and video games are very popular among my friends at school.” Teens like Stephanie now see the library as a cool place to come to after school. It is often hard to get teens excited about libraries, so RHPL is working hard to appeal to teens.

Parents and teens both have responded well to the developing collection. Emily Mehlenbacher, age 16, has this to say about the new collection, “I particularly like having the video game collection, because I just got a PS2 for Christmas, and don't really know anything about particular games, so it's cool that I can get them from the library and find out what games I'd like to buy and which I would be just fine with checking them out occasionally.”

Parents who have been coming up to the Reference Desk on the second floor asking about the collection also have good things to say about the collection.

“I’ve had parents tell me how great it is that they can check out the games before they buy them. Games are expensive. You don’t want to buy one for your kid if they play it for ten minutes and then get bored. I think this is great for parents,” says Megan Johnson, Librarian in charge of these new collections.

These new collections also bring teens to a good environment. The library has many things to offer a teen that parents traditionally like: excellent literature, study aides, and computers to write reports and papers on. But for teens, this is not a particularly strong draw. It places the library in the position of a place to go when you have work to do. The newest Tom Clancy novel or Steven Spielberg movie draws in the adults, but you need something special to pull the teens away from the shopping malls and other hangouts they frequent.

Teens agree that it is important to have something of interest to them as well, as Stephanie illustrates when she says, “I have been a patron of the library for 10 years. The library met my needs as a pre-teen and it meets my parent’s needs as adults. Why can't it meet my needs as a teen? I think this collection will help bring kids into the library and show them what a great place it is. And let's think about it, where else would you want your teen to be?”

Megan says she believes that even though the collection has only been on the shelves since late November, it has already been a success, “I had a mother come up to me at the Reference Desk to thank me. She said‘I used to have to drag my kids to the library, now they drag me.’ This is why I want to do this kind of stuff, it’s very gratifying to hear that we are bringing young users into the library, and who knows, while they are here, maybe we can get them to see all the other great things we have here!”