A nice article in Escapist magazine about gaming in libraries. Hard to choose just a small section to quote but definitely give it a read. The issue can be downloaded in PDF as well.
Neiburger stresses that libraries should be places for recreation, too. Their size, resources and virtually unlimited membership mean they can do gaming kids can't do at home, like hold a Mario Kart tournament with eight TVs or broadcast the matches on cable access television. For that reason, Neiburger and others push harder for tournaments than for circulating games, a common practice with CDs and DVDs.“That’s one way to do it,” Neiburger said, “but what I’m always telling people is it’s extremely difficult to offer a videogame collection that doesn’t look like crap next to what’s offered at Blockbuster.”
The tournament program in Ann Arbor is actually a gaming season that plays out over a few months, culminating in one final tournament. Prizes are given to the winners, and gamers who grow out of the teenage bracket have a chance to enter the Hall of Fame.
“These kids feel totally differently about the institution than they ever did before,” Neiburger said, “because we’re meeting them where they want to be rather than trying to shove classics down their throat."