It’s obvious that Pokemon Go has absolutely entranced a huge portion of the world, but can you turn all of those avid players into potential library patrons?

Melanie Lyttle and Shawn Walsh recently pondered this question for Public Libraries Online:

There is an elusive group of people sitting in their cars in your library’s parking lot making use of your library being a PokeStop or Gym. They could be teenagers but more than likely they are somewhere in their twenties, thirties, or forties. You haven’t seen them in the library for years, if ever. Can you get them into the building to see how awesome your library is?

Lyttle and Walsh offer up several interesting ideas, and most of them sound pretty simple to implement. But I think the best one is right there in the title of their post… “Strike While the Iron Is Hot!” Continue reading →

While many libraries are listed as PokeStops or Gyms in Pokemon Go, not every one is. However, if you want to add your library to the game, developer Niantic has set up a simple procedure to make the request…

1. Go to the Pokemon Go Support page on Niantic’s website.

2. Select “How do I create a new PokeStop or Gym” under the “Submit a Request” drop-down.

3. Fill out the rest of the form with your library’s information.

Due to the overwhelming number of requests that Niantic receives from this form, the option to add a PokeStop or Gym won’t always be available on the Pokemon Go Support page. But keep checking back and eventually you’ll get your chance.

If you want to remove your library as a PokeStop or Gym from the game, or there’s a problem with a PokeStop or Gym near your library, Niantic has set up a separate form on the Pokemon Go Support page. Continue reading →

Where were you when Pokemon-ia swept through your library? If you’re like Teen Librarian Alanna Graves, you put together a huge number of Pokemon Go Programming Ideas for School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox:

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Pokemon Go, the newest app that inspires gamers to GO OUTSIDE! Many libraries have already utilized Pokemon Go as social media content, book display inspiration, and promotional material. Instead of focusing on what Pokemon Go is and how to play, this article is going to focus on doing Pokemon Go themed programs for teens.

There’s a lot of good ideas there including a “Pokemon Safari,” “Pokeball Target Practice,” “Pokemon Theme Song Lip Sync Battle,” and more. Gotta try ’em all! Continue reading →

Pokemon Go continues to fascinate gamers and librarians alike, and now School Library Journal has weighed in with another How-To Guide for the game.

If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet in the last week, you’ve probably heard of Niantic’s new game, Pokémon GO. Even by viral video game standards, its popularity has been impressive. According to SimilarWeb, within two days of its U.S. release, the game was installed on 5.16 percent of the country’s Android devices. This doesn’t even take into account iOS users, with whom the game has also been popular. Perhaps even more striking, the Wall Street Journal estimates that it has already added $9 billion to Nintendo’s market value.

Academic Librarian Carli Spina talks about how the app works (“Gotta Catch ‘Em All”), privacy and safety concerns some people may have, and how libraries are getting involved with Pokemon Go. Continue reading →