Sonoma County Library is excited to announce the launch of a new circulating video game collection. Games are becoming an increasingly important way people learn, interact, and have fun, addressing such educational needs as:

• Games make learning fun by lowering the emotional stakes of failing, and players take risks and learn through trial and error.
• Games have an infinite range of solutions, just like real life.
• In the game world, players make their own discoveries and apply what they learn to new contexts.
• When a player enters a game, they begin identifying core conditions and look for problems that must be addressed.
• Games are a mode of active engagement. They encourage experimentation and risk-taking, and they view the process of solving a problem as important as finding the answer.
• Games span across language barriers, and players do not necessarily need to speak English to participate.

According to the latest survey by the Entertainment Software Association, 67 percent of households own a device used to play video games. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the time Americans spend playing video and board games has risen 50 percent since 2003.

The Library’s Video Games collection intends to meet the needs of the gamers in our community, while providing access to high-quality educational and entertainment games. The collection has games available for two gaming platforms: Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The focus of the initial collection is video games for youth, including games rated EC (Early Childhood), E (Everyone), and E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. We plan to expand the collection to include games for teen and adult patrons in the next year. Find out which games we own, where they are located, and place your hold today: https://bit.ly/2SGMAK3

###