Video games in libraries: collections like no other? The example of the Val-d’Oise departmental library • Video games have been for many years one of France’s favourite hobbies, and this success has grown due to the Covid-19 crisis and its various lockdowns. Public authorities have understood the commercial interest and cultural influence of video games, but the world of libraries remains, apart from a few exceptions, rather cautious about this “new” medium. The Val-d’Oise departmental library (BDVO), aware of the importance of the medium in modernising the public opinion of libraries and promoting social connections, launched a video game offer for its partners in 2010. Initially conceived as a new turnkey animation tool, this offer was later extended to direct loaning of games, within a more general framework of digital development in the Val-d’Oise region. Thanks to the support of the French State, the BDVO has been able to set up major digital projects for the department’s libraries, and to spark a real conversation on the subject of video games in the collections.
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