Wiis, Playstation 2s, computers, and DVDs: a visit to a local library branch these days might feel more like a visit to Best Buy than the conventional book havens of yore. But it's true - local libraries have become much more than just places from which to borrow books. Programming at these neighborhood institutions has become increasingly diversified, in turn offering the community a treasure trove of resources. Even the most library-savvy patron may not realize what's out there, especially for families. And in these tight economic times the price is right: free.

A quick survey of weekly activities at Monroe County's many branch libraries turns up events that go well beyond the traditional story time sessions most families have come to expect. Purists may argue that libraries are only meant for the bound volume, but that way of thinking is as antiquated as the information frozen within the World Book Encyclopedias used for research before the Internet revolutionized it all. Today's library is a community hub, a teen social gathering spot, a place where literature and technology have entered into a marriage not only of convenience, but also of purpose. Libraries across the nation - Monroe County included - have responded accordingly to the various ways in which kids gather information, learn, and experience the world around them.

"It doesn't have to be print-only to reach a child and to give them a feeling for this wonderful wide world of ours," says Barbara Billingsley, head of the Children's Center at the Central Library in downtown Rochester. "For kids, the process of learning to read is so difficult. Children need that experience to be a pleasurable one, and motivation is a key part. Books will always be there, but there are many other ways."

The acknowledgement that children learn in different ways has led to the library system creating programs that both educate and entice kids to get involved. In late 2001, the Rochester Public Library administration struggled with what to do about misbehaving youth using the library as an after-school hang-out spot. The initial response was to close the doors to the kids - a decision that then-Library Director Dick Panz felt went against the library's core mission, says Patricia Uttaro, director of the Monroe County Library System and the Rochester Public Library. The resulting "Safe to be Smart" program, headed up by Youth Services Coordinator Derrick Coley, changed the manner in which the library interacts with youth, providing them with their own space.

Four teen centers now exist in the city libraries - at the Maplewood, Lyell, Lincoln, and Central branches - with a fifth opening in June at the Wheatley branch. Since its inception in 2002, the Safe to be Smart program has grown from serving an estimated 684 youth to serving 22,609 in 2007, and police calls to the libraries - where trouble previously occurred almost daily - have now dropped to zero.

Why? In part it's because the kids, who previously didn't have an outlet, are now accomplishing incredible things.

"The Maplewood Teen Center has produced two editions of a literary magazine written entirely by the youth who use the library. These magazines include poetry, prose, and artwork that are powerful testimonies to what it's like to be a teen in the city today," says Uttaro. "At the Central Library, over 30 young women participated in the Safe To Be Smart Spring Literacy Pageant, which was the culmination of three months of hard work with the young women working on essays, using library resources, performing community service, and learning interviewing and performance skills."

All the teen centers have programs that focus on various aspects of literacy, but these are obviously not your parents' libraries. Many now organize clubs devoted to interests as diverse as rap, poetry, chess, and backgammon, and, as in county library branches, comics, graphic novels, and video games are popular borrowing options.

Each program, from the traditional reading clubs to the non-traditional video game leagues, support literacy and can serve educational purposes, says children's librarian Adrienne Furness, who works at the Webster Branch Library.

"It's like that book ‘Everything Bad Is Good for You' [by Steven Berlin Johnson]," says Furness. "Video games [involve] problem solving and logic. It's good learning, honoring different kinds of brains. People think ‘I'm a print learner so everybody should be a print learner,' but that's not the case."

If the mere concept of graphic novels, animated movies, and comic books being celebrated as tools for teaching literacy is sacrilegious, you may want to stop reading now. We live in a very different world from the one where keeping up with Dick and Jane's adventures with Spot was the primary way children learned to read. Today's kids learn in various ways, and in today's libraries anything goes, as long as it's engaging kids in learning.

With today's teens, manga is king. This popular Japanese graphic novel form has experienced a surge of popularity in the United States in the last few years, and teens can't seem to get enough. Not surprisingly, manga and anime clubs have sprung up at various library branches across the country, Monroe County included. In addition to action-packed and often humorous storylines with detailed artwork, manga stories are peppered with Japanese cultural references. As a result, the clubs celebrating this art form tend to attract teens who are interested not only in the stories themselves, but also in Japanese culture, says Lila Grills, young adult services librarian at the Penfield Library. She says that the club - which meets once a month - not only discusses books and watches films, but also celebrates traditional Japanese holidays and learns about the culture's food, music, and games.

The Webster Branch Library also waves its non-traditional flag with pride. The branch boasts one of the largest collections of comic books in the region, which has proven wildly popular with kids and adults alike. While Wolverine and The Punisher may not seem the most likely poster children for literacy, in actuality the comic format has proven quite the attractor for getting even the most reluctant kids interested in reading.

"Comic books are really something that support literacy," says Furness. "A lot of people don't realize how helpful they can be. Especially for struggling readers, they are very popular."

In Penfield, as well as at several other local branches, video game tournaments are held at various times throughout the month. Games are also available for borrowing, and are a popular item for kids who come to the library after school to do homework, hang out, and socialize. Currently, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are among the most popular games at the Penfield branch. Grills laughed while explaining that the two games have had an unexpected effect on some of her young patrons.

"[The games] have been exposing kids to music that their parents listened to," she says. "There's a whole new generation being exposed to this great music now."

The addition of video games to the library's lexicon is a continuing trend. As Furness pointed out earlier, the games have been found to develop crucial skills such as problem solving and logic, a theme being echoed at the national level by American Library Association President Jim Rettig.

"In the 21st century, libraries are about more than books," Rettig wrote in a January 2009 letter to the editor published in USA Today. "Gaming at the library encourages patrons to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for learning that are vital in preparing our nation's future workforce."

In this same letter, Rettig cited studies by both the American Psychological Association and Sony Online Entertainment, both of which found video games to be powerful learning tools, specifically for problem-solving skills. The Sony study went on to detail that 70 percent of parents said their child's problem-solving skills improved through the playing of video games. And they're not just good for kids: a study published in the December issue of Psychology and Aging highlighted the statistic that video games can be helpful for strengthening memory and reasoning skills in adults between the ages of 60 and 70.

Ask any local children's librarian and they'll likely tell you the same thing: a focus on the experiential has taken over programming throughout the region. Sure, libraries will always offer story time. However, puppet theaters, fantasy playtimes, and arts and crafts are all part of any children's room in today's libraries, and teen centers with computers, books, magazines, and a safe place to hang out have become commonplace. It's all part of a trend to make the library a destination point, rather than a singular service area.

"We're trying to focus on making being in the children's room by itself an interesting thing, and encourage hanging out so that families can come and do something whenever they come in," says Webster branch's Furness. "I think that makes it more of a destination - you come here and you can get stuff to check out, but it's always a good end in itself."

Choosing what experiences to offer is not an easy task, explains Penfield librarian Grills, and it is one that keeps her on her toes, linked in, and listening.

"There's a great support system of libraries that work with teens and kids throughout the country, and we share ideas and communicate. To be honest, that's where I've gotten a lot of my ideas," she says. "I stay on the pulse of which new games are coming out, but it's kind of easy because the teens are not shy about letting me know what they want to do here."

The diverse programming offered by local branches over the summer reflects the integration of literary activities and kid-friendly experiences. For example, this summer's teen reading theme at the Penfield library will include reading games, book recommendation podcasts by kids, talent shows, drawing classes, Anime Club "Iron Chef" competitions, video game tournaments, and more.

This approach of integrating the new with the old is working. Take, for example, the 32nd Annual Teen Poetry Contest at the Penfield branch. This year's submissions are expected to surpass 350 - that's more than 350 kids who are writing poetry voluntarily. And in this age, where it's become just as important to let everyone know what you're doing rather than just doing it (see: Twitter), the kids are also using the Internet to share their works and gather inspiration and feedback. The art-sharing website deviantart.com seems to be among the most popular, says Grills, and this merging of literacy and technology seems to be the way of the future at local libraries.

"We have laptops which can be checked out and used anywhere in the library, and teens seem to be our biggest users after school," she says. Penfield is currently also the only library in the system that has a designated "Download Station" to put audio books onto users' MP3 players right at the library.

But it should be noted that, even with all this tech, books are still king. Penfield has 124,582 titles available for lending at that branch alone. The library has about 250 Playstation 2 and Wii games in its lending library, in addition to 115,516 VHS tapes and DVDs and 16,000 audio recordings.

Some may see the kid-friendly changes to libraries as a cousin to the ol' bait and switch - this time Hansel and Gretel's treats are comics and video games, with the hopes they will eventually appreciate works like "War and Peace." But regardless, by broadening their offerings, libraries have been attracting new clients who might never have previously been interested in walking through their doors - something the American Library Association's Jim Rettig has been touting recently in the national press.

Rettig-penned pieces in both The Huffington Post and USA Today support expanded "non-traditional" programming while explaining the benefits of the library for anything from family entertainment to a place to turn for financial advice and help with job searches. The foundation of this message is built upon a phenomenon seen nationally and echoed locally: libraries are increasingly serving as a community gathering place, providing resources in an economy where everyone seems to be scaling back. To that end, Rettig argues, libraries need to continue to reflect the communities which they serve.

"We already know that through their power to educate and to inspire, libraries level the playing field for underserved communities. It is the library that opens the door to life-changing books and provides access to the world beyond our communities. Perhaps most importantly, libraries exist as centers of culture, community and learning," he wrote in a December 2008 piece for The Huffington Post. "As the nation continues to experience a sharp and jarring economic downturn, local libraries are providing valuable free tools and resources to help Americans of all ages through this time of uncertainty."

The data backs him up. A September 2008 Harris Poll found that around 75 percent of Americans have a library card and have visited their local public library in the past year, an increase from 65 percent about two years ago. The same poll showed that 92 percent Americans "view their local library as an important education resource," and about 70 percent cited their local library as either "a pillar of the community," a "community center," a "family destination," or a "cultural center."

This is apparent at the local level. According to its 2008 Annual Report, the Penfield Branch Library saw a 5 percent increase in attendance in 2008 over 2007 figures, with a 9 percent increase in programming offered. The Central Library's Billingsley said she has also noted an increase in patrons who are looking at the library's services as a crucial piece of not only surviving the current economy, but also as a valuable resource for community and education.

"There is a definite trend: people are bringing back to the surface those things that were there all the time, and beginning to clue in that library services are free," she says. "People are beginning to realize that this is a really great resource. Where they might have [previously] gone to the bookstore, they are now thinking, ‘Why should I do that if it's free at the library?'"