Michelle Bjerke does not believe that all video games are created equal, and video game programming for youth has a place in public libraries.

A 2012 master’s degree graduate of the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science, Bjerke outlined the benefits of video game play during her research poster presentation last spring.

“Kids are problem solving. Kids are constantly hypothesizing, experimenting, and re-evaluating what they did. They’re learning that process,” Bjerke says. “You want to maximize benefit, and the games don’t have to be educational to get these benefits either.”

In fact, according to Bjerke, the off-screen benefits are just as important as what they gain while playing the game.

Bjerke conducted a year-long study in which she hosted video-game programming for children in grades K-6. The children played Boom Blox Bash Party, Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and a host of other Wii games. She observed that the participants were controlling their impulses, showing empathy for other players, mentoring other players, and displaying teamwork.

“They’re getting big time social skills, and I see it every week,” says Bjerke, an intern in the Children’s Department at the Iowa City Public Library, which offers services focused on early literacy, programs and events, and library reference. “The older ones are teaching the younger ones how to read, and they’re teaching themselves how to think logically.”

The players’ drive to succeed at the game also is very strong.

“It is psychologically very rewarding to win the prize or beat the high score,” Bjerke says. “It’s just some phenomenon that makes it psychologically rewarding, so kids don’t want to waste their time bickering with each other.”

Bjerke says other benefits gained from video game play include an increased tendency to read for pleasure, exposure to other cultures, improved problem solving, an increased appreciation for rules, and increased creativity. Video games also reduce the “digital divide” that separates those who are comfortable with digital technology from those who are less familiar with it. Today’s children will someday enter the work force, where their ability to use digital technologies effectively will give them a competitive edge.

But problems can arise from public libraries’ decisions on programs and events. Bjerke says allowing tournaments and free play should be avoided, and replaced by librarian-selected games and timed game rotations.

“Tournaments give inexperienced players less time with the medium, thus they do less to bridge the digital divide than other programming,” Bjerke says. “Free play lacks structure, and structure maximizes potential benefits of video game play.”