Why Aren't RPGs in Public Libraries?

[Gilladian]

I am a librarian and the following things are true for my library system:
1) library distributors don't carry game books, so we'd have to buy outside our normal channels, without our normal discounts. Not "undoable", but it takes extra work and extra cost.
2) theft of RPG materials is a major issue
3) they are "games" and while they may come out of the book budget, there's a slightly different attitude to them. My library also does not buy computer or game console games for circulation, though we have console game programming.
4) we do add any game books we receive as gifts. Libraries LOVE gifts! Most libraries across the US are facing budget cuts between 5% and 90% of their materials budgets...

 

[Wednesday Boy]

In high school (mid-90s) I worked in a library and we had some 1st Edition AD&D books in the reference section. One of the books was Deities and Demigods but I can't remember the others without seeing their covers. At this point everyone I knew played 2nd Ed. so to me they were really a curiosity than anything.

 

[saskganesh]

Incidentally, the librarians were the prime suspects.

My current gaming group includes 4 (!) librarians. I should keep a closer eye on them.

 

[nedjer]

I am a librarian and the following things are true for my library system:
1) library distributors don't carry game books, so we'd have to buy outside our normal channels, without our normal discounts. Not "undoable", but it takes extra work and extra cost.
2) theft of RPG materials is a major issue
3) they are "games" and while they may come out of the book budget, there's a slightly different attitude to them. My library also does not buy computer or game console games for circulation, though we have console game programming.
4) we do add any game books we receive as gifts. Libraries LOVE gifts! Most libraries across the US are facing budget cuts between 5% and 90% of their materials budgets...

Libraries could maybe distribute TTRPGs quite easily? Identify good quality free RPGs available for download, turn the download links into QR codes and stick the codes up on the wall on a poster? Anyone with a tablet or a mobile phone just hits on the code (set to a Save Link As to speed the download) and gets a <10Mb game/ scenario/ intro to RPGs.

 

[SquareKnot]

Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like some libraries do have RPG books, which is good to know. In all my thinking about this, it never crossed my mind once that a major issue would be "frequent theft." Amazing.

Regarding the fair point about length of time you need an RPG book, our library has on-line book renewal. I often keep books for months at a time, renewing them every few weeks. As long as no one puts a hold on it, I'm fine.

Good discussion so far.

Thanks.

 

[Meatboy]

See those guys from the 80's were right! First devil worship now thievery. Where will this slippery slope end...

 

[Zelda Themelin]

During 3D&D there was books in my local library. I haven't looked after that. They only got basic books and some early addional books.

Library used to offer study rooms to play rpg:s too, but stopped that because of noice level that tended to accidently rise.

 

[wingsandsword]

There was a report here in Boulder about five years ago that one of our favorite used bookstores was closed temporarily due to police investigation of homeless people going into the library, stealing books and then selling them to this used bookstore.

About a decade ago, our gaming club on campus had a problem like this.

We had a small office space on campus for our club. We had a filing cabinet and bookshelf for public perusal of gaming books, and had a decent-sized library in there, including Dragon Magazines going back to the late 80's.

We noticed books slowly vanishing from the shelves. At first we thought members of the club were borrowing them and neglecting to sign them out.

Then one day we pulled out our copies of the Planescape Boxed Sets (all 4 of them) and found that the contents were completely gone. Inside the boxes were some of the old issues of Dragon, put in there to weigh the boxes down.

We took an inventory, and realized that a LOT of our books had vanished over the last month or so, and almost all our boxed sets were plundered of everything except the box.

What was worse was that right across the street from campus, and maybe 200 feet from our office was a FLGS. This FLGS, like many, deals in used gaming books. We went over and took a nice long look at the books he had for sale. He the vast majority of books we were missing, he had copies of on his used books shelf. . .including some fairly obscure small-press stuff from the early 80's. The icing on the cake was the four complete Planescape boxed sets, without the boxes (bound together with a rubber band), we even recognized the wear on the maps as being ours.

We confronted the owner, he said that he just bought the stuff people bring in, and he re-sells it, no records of who sells what. We figured that somebody bringing in a few dozen books, including multiple box sets worth of stuff sans-box, within the last month would be memorable, but he was keeping tight-lipped. He also refused to do anything unless we could conclusively prove it was our stuff that was stolen.

We had a stamp made saying "property of suchandsuch" and stamped all our books with it, and put them under lock and key. . .with a sign saying this was needed because of thefts.

 

[nedjer]

About a decade ago, our gaming club on campus had a problem like this.

We had a small office space on campus for our club. We had a filing cabinet and bookshelf for public perusal of gaming books, and had a decent-sized library in there, including Dragon Magazines going back to the late 80's.

We noticed books slowly vanishing from the shelves. At first we thought members of the club were borrowing them and neglecting to sign them out.

Then one day we pulled out our copies of the Planescape Boxed Sets (all 4 of them) and found that the contents were completely gone. Inside the boxes were some of the old issues of Dragon, put in there to weigh the boxes down.

We took an inventory, and realized that a LOT of our books had vanished over the last month or so, and almost all our boxed sets were plundered of everything except the box.

What was worse was that right across the street from campus, and maybe 200 feet from our office was a FLGS. This FLGS, like many, deals in used gaming books. We went over and took a nice long look at the books he had for sale. He the vast majority of books we were missing, he had copies of on his used books shelf. . .including some fairly obscure small-press stuff from the early 80's. The icing on the cake was the four complete Planescape boxed sets, without the boxes (bound together with a rubber band), we even recognized the wear on the maps as being ours.

We confronted the owner, he said that he just bought the stuff people bring in, and he re-sells it, no records of who sells what. We figured that somebody bringing in a few dozen books, including multiple box sets worth of stuff sans-box, within the last month would be memorable, but he was keeping tight-lipped. He also refused to do anything unless we could conclusively prove it was our stuff that was stolen.

We had a stamp made saying "property of suchandsuch" and stamped all our books with it, and put them under lock and key. . .with a sign saying this was needed because of thefts.

Someone - with no association whatsoever with myself - felt a bit put out by an FLGS owner once upon a time. Every visit thereafter she/ he browsed the fantasy fiction at length - while suffering a complete inability to understand the order of the alphabet

 

[Rechan]

4) we do add any game books we receive as gifts. Libraries LOVE gifts! Most libraries across the US are facing budget cuts between 5% and 90% of their materials budgets...

Does it depend on the library? Some years ago I would donate books only to find out they were sold, rather than went to the stacks.