National Library Week
Jay Stokes is an academic staff member in the university’s International Division and the point of contact for the King-Morgridge Scholars on campus. He has also been a power user of College Library’s video game collection for several years. Since it is National Library Week, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to ask Jay about his love of one of College Library’s more fun collections.
How did you first learn about the video games that are available for a 14-day loan? [College Library’s collection features hundreds of games on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 & PS5, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 platforms.]
I found out about this amazing resource by going to visit your wonderful library! I remember walking through for another event and was surprised and impressed by the video game collection. I think it’s really important to explore our campus. You never know what you might stumble across that you might never find by browsing a website.
What is your preferred gaming platform? What do you like most about it?
I have been a gamer for almost 30 years. I currently prefer Xbox and PlayStation but I also enjoy PC gaming. I like having access to exclusives on different platforms. I have an Xbox Series X and PS5 – both with disc drives, which is one of the things I like the most! This allows me to borrow games from the library.
How easy is it to have your gaming needs met by the collection at College Library? Is there a game that you thought about buying, but checked out first, and decided to forego purchasing?
The college library video game collection is outstanding and has really helped me avoid buying more games. Some games are able to be completed in a short window and borrowing them is a perfect way to save money. I’m sure Microsoft and Sony are disappointed.
Conversely, is there a game you checked out and then decided you just had to own for yourself?
Yes! These are typically games that I want to play over a period of many months. Sometimes I’ve borrowed a game when it is first released and then waited for a sale to buy it for myself. The typical cost of a new full price game is $70 plus tax but after a few months they often go on sale.
Over the past few years, you have recommended a number of titles be purchased for the collection. Tell us more about that experience. Have you found College Library to be responsive to your requests?
I was pleasantly surprised with the College Library staff and how responsive they have been to these requests! I recommend that others in the campus community use the “request a purchase” if the item you want is not already in the collection. The customer service is outstanding, especially considering the volume of serving 50k students here at UW-Madison! Thank you so much.
More gaming systems are moving to digital downloads (rather than physical media). How might this affect your game-playing? Have you given any thought to how libraries might still provide access to these materials?
This is causing a big disruption in the gaming ecosystem and community. Many gamers are concerned about owning their media and if it is simply part of a subscription or a digital license, it could be taken away at any time – even if you “bought” it. I have a subscription to Xbox game pass, for example, and enjoy some of the games that are included. Sometimes digital games are cheaper, and you can access them in different ways. For example: Services like Nvidia’s GeForce Now are a great way to enjoy many games without having an expensive gaming PC. All you need is a solid internet connection. This allows me to enjoy some of my favorite titles while traveling. Overall, there are perks and drawbacks to digital media. I expect more publishers to skip shipping their games on physical discs. I’ll spare you from my extended rant on the economics of this situation!
Libraries could advocate for borrowable digital licenses for video games. It would take a lot of money and power, but I believe it could be possible! We already have access to the New York Times and some movies through Kanopy. I think we are on the cusp of a new era for gaming that we’ve all recently experienced with music and movies over the past two decades. I fear that the age of physical media is coming to an end. But we can enjoy it while we can!