Public Libraries and Digital Games: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship?

Abstract

This thesis discusses the possible problems and benefits of including digital games in public libraries, specifically, if digital games and public libraries can be beneficial to each other and how. Public libraries are including digital games more into their functions, and digital games are becoming an ever-larger facet of society, proved by the increasing number of players and cultural influence digital games have. Discussing the benefits and problems associated with this cooperation reveals important insight into how and why public libraries might choose to include digital games in their operation.

The question is explored via a narrative literary review, using literature written on the topic of games in libraries and game culture, -literacy and -education. Most of the literature is written by librarians with very few contributions written from other perspectives. The main finding of this thesis is that the benefits of including digital games in public libraries outweigh the possible problems, making them a good option for libraries. However, the perspective when talking about digital games in relation to public libraries is very one-sided with no discussion on how digital game culture, -education and -literacy can benefit from being included in public libraries.