On Saturday, November 15th, 2008, libraries across the country participated in the first annual National Gaming Day @ your library initiative. Hundreds of libraries joined together in providing a variety of gaming events, including board games, card games, roleplaying games and (of course) video games.

At Ada Community Library in Boise, ID, my fellow SPLAT member Anna Warns and I put together video game filled afternoon for children and teens, featuring Rock Band, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl, along with snacks and beverages. We also launched our first Family Game Night on the previous day, providing a variety of games and food for entire families to enjoy at the library after hours.

But I must admit that our efforts paled in comparison with rock star librarian Tina Cherry’s National Gaming Day at the Jerome Public Library. With only ten days of preparation time, Tina marshalled her troops and resources to pull off a massive gaming event for her entire community. How do I know this? Because Tina blogged about her experience in putting together her library’s National Gaming Day program in every detail (including how many flies she ended up drinking in her coffee). Read her informative and very entertaining account in ten easy installments on the Idaho Commission for Libraries community page. Here’s a bit from her conclusion:

What if we all got really comfortable with live gaming over the next year? What if we helped other libraries get the practice of gaming tournaments, and took the time to reach out to gamers? What if the West DOMINATED the East on December 14, 2009? What if IDAHO turns out to be a gaming force to make libraries all over the U.S. want to beat us?

So what’s stopping us from being the "gaming force" that Tina Cherry dreams of? Let’s all pitch in and run gaming programs at our libraries so we really can dominate in 2009 (and into the future)!