Happy Holidays from the Simon Fairfield Public Library. Giving Tuesday was a few days ago. I opened my email inbox with trepidation that morning to find every non-profit I’ve ever interacted with clamoring for my attention. I decided not to make the Library a part of that, instead opting to make a short social media post reminding our patrons that the Library is here to give things to them, provided that said things end up back at the Library eventually. 

Giving is a big theme during the holiday season. Even when making entirely selfish purchases, advertisers spin it as “giving yourself the gift of…” As long as we’re on that topic, there isn’t much better gift you can give yourself than reading yourself a book. But back to the main point, libraries are giving institutions. Or at least sharing institutions. One of the greatest joys of the profession is seeing a young child light up when they find a book they are really excited about and bring it to the circulation desk so we can give it to them to take home. 

Kids get especially excited when they find out we have Nintento, Playstation, or Xbox games. We don’t have many and most of them are old, but even what we do have will send children bouncing out the door because we gave them something they didn’t think was within their means to experience. Many less-privileged children have inherited game consoles or handhelds but don’t have access to games to play on them because old games are hard to find and new ones are too expensive. 

Gaming can be just as much of a literary experience as reading. Games have all the elements of stories: world-building, heroes, villains, plots, etc. They also connect in a very visceral way since the person playing a game is an active participant in the unfolding narrative rather than a passive observer. I would like to add more games to our giving collection. So as the giving season unfolds and new gifts supersede old ones, please consider donating any unused console or handheld games to your local library. That way we can give them to more people—even back to you if you have a library card.

Thanks for reading,

Justin Ray Snook, Director 

Simon Fairfield Public Library, Douglas