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CHICAGO - On Saturday, Nov. 12, more than 1,200 libraries across the country will showcase gaming programs and services as part of the 91´«Ã½'s (91´«Ã½) National Gaming Day @ your library. Here are just a few examples of what libraries across the country are doing.



The Emmett O'Neal Public Library (Mountain Brook, Ala.) will use National Gaming Day as a way to encourage teens to “take another look” at what the library has to offer them. Teens in grade 7-12 are invited to visit the library from noon - 5 p.m. on Saturday, during which the library will host multiple gaming tournaments with both video and classic board games. The library will also be using this as an opportunity to promote its monthly gaming events and educate patrons about the library's interlibrary loan system for video games.



In celebration of National Gaming Day the Calvert Library (Prince Frederick, Md.) is partnering with a local video game store to host a Mario Kart Wii tournament. The store will make library Wii game consoles and Mario Kart Wii available to the library and has also provided gift certificates as prizes for the winner of the tournament.



The Middleboro (Mass.) Public Library will take a slightly different approach by hosting a family trivia tournament for National Gaming Day. The library will hold two separate trivia contests, one for children and their caregivers and another for teens. For library users looking for games of the video variety, the library will also have a Wii console available.



The Grand Rapids (Minn.) Area Library also promotes its National Gaming Day with Fun and games @ your library, as an opportunity for families to get out of the house and play together. The library will have a Wii set up and board games available for all ages.



This year, the Midtown Mid-Manhattan Branch of the New York Public Library will host its second annual National Gaming Day program. Library users are invited to select video games, as well as classic board games like Scrabble, Battleship, checkers, Taboo and Apples to Apples.



The Jervis Public Library (Rome, N.Y.) encourages gaming enthusiasts to unplug this National Gaming Day by hosting its monthly Unplug and Play game night to coincide with the national initiative. Through Unplug and Play the library encourages gamers to select from the library’s more the 70 tabletop games and meet others who share their interests.



The Puyallup (Wash.) Public Library promotes its National Gaming Day program as a cost effective activity for parents looking to spend quality family time with their kids. Families are encouraged to visit the library and play video games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Rock Band 3, as well as board games like Clue, Monopoly, Apples to Apples, Jenga and Curses. The local paper recently included the initiative as one of the top 10 cost effective ways for parents to spend time with their kids during the holiday season.



National Gaming Day @ your library is an annual initiative supported by the 91´«Ã½ and 2011 sponsor, , which has donated 3,000 copies of its best-selling titles, including Loaded Questions, Awkward Family Photos, The Greatest Day Ever Game and Loaded Questions Junior.



For more information about National Gaming Day @ your library, please visit



The Campaign for America’s Libraries () is 91´«Ã½’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by , corporations and foundations.