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Video Games Help Houston Public Library Attract Visitors

Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation game consoles encourage patrons to engage with one another.

The traditional concept of public libraries may be going extinct. As home Internet connections offer information that patrons once visited libraries to access, libraries are adjusting their missions. Rather than being a storehouse of books and a quiet place to read, today's public library aims to become a central location for community interaction. Many of them, such as the Houston Public Library (HPL), are using technology to spur this changed focus.

The HPL reopened its central branch in May 2008 after a $17 million renovation. The four-floor building's new atmosphere is more like a Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstore.

"We had to let staff know in a lot of the interviews we did, that the 'shushing' image of the librarian does not apply here. On our first floor, we expect noise levels like you would hear in a retail environment, like a bookstore," said Michael Van Campen, the HPL's chief of central services.

A library "Gadget Petting Zoo," technology classes for all ages and Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation video game consoles encourage patrons to engage with one another.

"While we don't allow screaming, we expect the kids [in our teen room] to have fun and talk to one another while playing video games and to make noise," Van Campen said. "It's something that's becoming a part of libraries. We do have study rooms where people can get the traditional quiet environment."

He insists technology isn't diminishing the library's priority on books. In fact, Van Campen said the opposite is true: Increased foot traffic due to technology will actually lead to more interest in books. The library system is also trying a retail-inspired strategy of using the "wedding cake" book display that's popular in bookstores; Van Campen said books fly off the shelves when displayed on a tiered, circular platform. And true to the modern bookstore model, the newly renovated library will soon open a café operated by an outside vendor. Patrons won't need to leave if they get hungry or thirsty.

The HPL also is using technology to expand its presence beyond the central building and connected branches. A recently unveiled, mobile "Computer Lab on Wheels" brings technology training to low-income neighborhoods, and the library's Digital Inclusion Initiative installs computer labs at other community locations.


Game Time
It might seem counterintuitive to think of video games as valuable to a library's mission. Each Wii and PlayStation at the Houston Public Library is installed in a "pod chair," a futuristic-looking structure that surrounds the user almost completely. Pod chairs have sound systems and face 30-inch LCD screens. That seems designed more for isolation than interaction, doesn't it? However, teens and children often play against opponents sitting in neighboring chairs, according to Saima Kadir, coordinator of emerging technologies for the HPL.

"We have kids coming to play on the Wii who form little groups and they all show up at the same time to play together," Kadir said. "We have many teens this summer who walked in the door kind of lonely but have formed play groups, and they show up every day at 9 a.m., and they're here till 9 o'clock in the evening."

Before the renovation, the HPL offered little to attract teens, said Sandra Fernandez, the library's manager of public relations.

"The teen area was basically the size of a living room on the fourth floor where they didn't have their own dedicated computers. They didn't have their own private space. It was not really conducive to teens coming and hanging out," Fernandez said.

Half of the fourth floor now serves teens and offers them their own desktops and wireless laptops for doing homework. The area also provides quiet study rooms.

Van Campen said a video game's ability to attract kids who were previously unreachable gives the library an inroad to introduce reading and other activities to them.

"It's also things like Scrabble, chess or Monopoly," Kadir. "They pass around different book series. They have these whole networks of friendships with kids from all over town that they would never have if they hadn't walked in our doors and said, 'Oh my gosh. They have games. Oh, I found heaven.'"

Some adults want a piece of that heaven. "We've been hearing from adults who are saying, 'Where are our Wiis?'" Van Campen said.

Kadir is considering a "businessperson's lunch hour" for adults to use the teens' video games during school hours. She's waiting until school starts to see how low traffic is in the room during that time.

Van Campen anticipates Wii Sports games to be especially popular among elderly patrons.

"My grandparents who live in Ohio played Wii at their local library and then went out and bought one. My grandfather who can't go out on the golf course anymore spends hours on his Wii at home, thanks to his local library," Van Campen said.


A Shift in Focus
Van Campen said many libraries are shifting their focus from content consumption to content creation in order to stay relevant. The HPL now offers numerous classes in technologies for patrons who want to create wikis, blogs, podcasts and Web pages using social-networking software, like Facebook.

"It becomes a family thing where Saturday morning families come in and we're teaching classes on how to upload images from a digital camera and share them online in Facebook," Kadir said. "We teach photo editing using Google Picasa and some other free Web 2.0 tools."

The Gadget Petting Zoo features several devices for creating content, such as Flip video recorders and digital cameras.

"The Flip video recorders are very cool because they are not that expensive, and you make a video and you upload it directly. You can e-mail it, post it on YouTube and share that video on social networking Web sites," Kadir explained, adding that the Gadget Petting Zoo becomes an environment where kids can teach their parents.

"Kids know a lot of these tools, but then you have the parents, and when they're together, they have a sharing experience. They learn from each other, and parents don't feel like they don't know what the kids are doing," Kadir said.


Beyond the Building
The HPL plans to stay relevant by expanding its community presence beyond its traditional brick-and-mortar branches. Librarians recently unveiled the HPL's Computer Lab on Wheels -- a bus installed with 13 desktops, nine laptops and LCD screens for training on the inside and outside. A satellite mounted on top provides broadband. "We had it at the Houston annual Fourth of July celebration this year. It's a good tool for letting people see the library is different," said Ron Stauss, assistant director of IT for the HPL.

The mobile computer lab targets low-income areas, especially those without nearby library branches.

"If you're in a community center, an after-school program or a YMCA, getting to a library may not be as easy as if you lived closer. In some areas, we partner with local organizations like that," Stauss said.

In another effort, the HPL's Digital Inclusion Initiative installs vendor-donated desktops at local organizations, like community centers and health clinics. The initiative recently installed 13 desktops donated by Hewlett-Packard at the Burnett Bayland Community Center in Houston. The center currently offers digital literacy classes using the new lab.

In addition, Houston recently opened a downtown park called Discovery Green roughly 10 blocks from the central library branch. The HPL

deployed three wireless antennas donated by Cisco to cover the park's 12 acres with free wireless connectivity. Discovery Green features a small "express" branch of the HPL, which checks out laptops for patrons to use outdoors.

"It's the largest publicly accessible free wireless hotspot in Houston," Fernandez said.


Library Reaches Overseas
Houston library patrons can chat with a librarian about questions anytime using the HPL portal's Info 24/7 function. The feature connects the HPL with a cooperative of libraries around the world. Each librarian accepting chats helps patrons locate items at those patrons' own libraries.

"Each library that participates in this cooperative has to prepare a policy page with their hours, fines, borrowing privileges, library card information, databases and services offered. That way if we get a question from the Queens Public Library, we look at that page and tell them, 'Your library does have this book. Here's how you can access it,'" Kadir said.

Texas state government funds the HPL's participation in the cooperative, which includes libraries overseas.

"The UK just joined this cooperative. We've been getting a lot of questions from people in that part of the world lately," Kadir said. In turn, a librarian from the UK might help a patron in Houston.

 

Andy Opsahl is a former staff writer and features editor for Government Technology magazine.