Shrewsbury Public Library looks to Xbox to draw teens in
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

PHOTO/MELISSA MUNTZ Peter Terry, 16, of Westborough, shows off his best moves while playing "Dance Dance Revolution" during the Shrewsbury Public Library video game tournament Jan. 18.

Shrewsbury - Pizza, soda and a group of kids playing video games on a Friday night is a scene that you could expect to in many Shrewsbury homes, but it may not be one you'd expect to find at the Shrewsbury Public Library.

But that's exactly what was happening Jan 18, when teenagers went to the library and played "Dance Dance Revolution" and "Guitar Hero" on a huge projection screen while being cheered on by other kids in the audience.

Young Adult Librarian Daniel Barbour said Shrewsbury is one of many towns that has looked to video games as a way to expose kids to the library in a fun and unexpected way.

"If we can get them excited about an event like this, they'll get a chance to see the other resources that the library has to off er that they never knew about," Barbour said. "We want to be sure that we support the entire community, and active teens are very likely to become active adult users of the library."

The library has also begun stocking games for diff erent video game systems at the request of many users, and their collection is constantly expanding.

Many of the most popular games on the market are listed in the library's catalog, but Barbour said it's difficult to find any on the shelf.

"We have about 50 games and right now there's only one on the shelf," he said. "Teens are spending a lot of money buying and renting these games, and they really shouldn't have to."

This was the first time the library had hosted a video game tournament, but Barbour said he's hoping to do more in the future if the interest is there. And because all equipment is loaned to the library at no cost through its collaborative network, he said, it would be very easy to off er the program on a regular basis.