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In Ohio, you can go to the library and check out War and Peace, The Water Method Man, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Madden NFL '08. According to the Dayton Daily News, four Ohio branches of their public library now carry videogames, although none with T- or M-ratings, and apparently not very many that are any good. What'll it be kids, Sonic Heroes, or playing Guitar Hero without the guitar?
I would love to be able to check out videogames (otherwise known as "rent them for free"), but I didn't see Madden NFL '08 or Iron Man in the online card catalog for the Los Angeles Public Library. Here in California, we don't mind being beaten to bleeding-edge tech/entertainment innovation by, say, Seattle. But Centerville, Ohio? What's going on here? When can I rent videogames from my library? I called the Los Angeles Public Library and confused several people before being directed to PR director Charlene Klink. "We're considering it," she told me. When I asked her how it might work, and what exactly they're considering, she politely suggested I call back later this year. Hopefully Madden NFL '09 will be available by then.
Thanks to Shacknews for finding this story on the Dayton Daily News website, which I confess I don't frequent often.
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By budgethero at 3:22 PM ON 07/03/08
lol i wish i could see gamefly's face when they hear this.
By malkav11 at 6:30 PM ON 07/03/08
The Minneapolis public library system does this also - I was hearing from a gamer coworker, back when I worked in another local library system, that they were playing a MPL-borrowed copy of Eternal Sonata. It's cool, and I'd like it if more libraries took it up, but it's going to depend heavily on how well-funded that particular system is. In these times, a lot of libraries are struggling to keep up with the demand for more core services like books, much less spendy, theft-prone items like videogames.
And I wouldn't expect your local library to seriously compete with a service like Gamefly anytime soon. Just look at library DVDs - handy to have, but the waits are often tremendously lengthy and they rack up damage like nobody's business. I've had far more unplayable DVDs from my limited library browsing than several years of Netflix and Hollywood Video. And DVDs are far cheaper, so the libraries can better afford redundancy and selection.
By gremlinclr at 11:58 PM ON 07/03/08
I live in Western Kentucky and I can rent games here as well. Which is nice because I work next door to the library, just walk over on my lunch break and maybe pick something up. They have tons of DVDs as well.
I thought since we live in the armpit of the country if we had it everyone did. Weird.
By Jeff3F at 11:31 PM ON 07/06/08
The zenith of my library'in days was Ohio. Big movie collection? Check. Software? Check. E-books? Check. Correction--e-books that I actually want to read, like stuff by Dan Simmons or Neal Stephenson? Check.
Now I'm in PA, and it's weak. Seriously weak. I pay less taxes though.
By betawaffles at 7:50 PM ON 07/08/08
Madden? I hope you are kidding.
By Tom Chick at 1:41 AM ON 07/09/08
While I can assure you, Mr. Waffles, that well over 35% of what you read on this site is kidding, the relevant branches of the Ohio Public Library do indeed carry Madden.