St. Johns County branch libraries 'catch' more readers with Pokemon Go mobile game

AP

Associated Press In Pokemon Go, players collect characters and can use them in "battles" at "gyms," one of which is the Ponte Vedra Beach library.

The Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library has seen more visitors than usual this summer, but it’s not just because of their summer reading program.

The library is a “gym” in the recently released mobile game Pokemon Go. At gyms, players can battle Pokemon they catch against other players’ Pokemon and “claim” the virtual gym for one of three teams they choose to be a part of in the game.

All of this was news to Assistant Branch Manager, Youth Services Librarian and Volunteen Coordinator Anne Crawford a couple of weeks ago. She and other branch library staff were told about the game by a former library volunteen who is now in college, and that their library is a gym in the game. By the next week, Crawford saw more teens and twenty-somethings in and around the library, many excitedly stopping to catch Pokemon or battle other players at the library’s “gym.”

“It’s been a buzz of energy and new faces all around. It’s been fun,” Crawford said. “As long as they’re being safe, we’re real excited about them playing the game, getting some exercise and coming and checking out the library.”

Crawford’s excitement grew when the branch’s virtual services librarian told the staff that every St. Johns County branch library is either a gym or a Pokestop, areas where players can gain more in-game items. Along with Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library, the Anastasia Island Branch Library is also a gym in the game, and Bartram Trail Branch Library, Hastings Branch Library, Southeast Branch Library and the St. Johns County Main Branch Library is a Pokestop.

She and the rest of the branch’s staff have joined in on the game by putting up Pokemon-themed displays throughout the library and spotlighting Pokemon books that the branch already carries. Crawford used funds from the Friends of the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library to purchase more Pokemon books and plans to make a personalized library display for players to add labels of their team’s color or for an individual player to announce that they’ve taken over the gym. The books can also be requested at any county branch library.

She sees the mobile game as a great introduction to the library for teens that have never visited before. Crawford said she’s seen plenty of new faces since the game has come out, and many teens hang out in the library’s teen center or other areas of the library after playing the game.

Crawford said the county library system would like to incorporate the game to introduce more teens to their local library and let them know of other programs and services available to them at the library. Right now, the libraries are getting to know the game themselves and emphasizing that players stay safe while exploring their communities playing the game.

“I hope that they’ll come in the library, if they’ve never been here before, and see that it is very much a place for them,” Crawford said. “Whether they’re playing the game or not, that they have an entire department devoted to them, in addition to the rest of the library.”