circ issues with video games

[Sarah Stumpf]

Hey gang,

We're running into some small troubles with circing video games. If
you circ video games, could you answer these questions for me?

What do you do when a patron looses a booklet?

Do you charge the entire cost of the item and give them the game?
Do you replace the booklet (and from where)?

Do you have special labels on the booklets and/or games establishing
the contents?

Thanks!
Sarah Stumpf
Teen Librarian
sst...@dpvlib.org

Des Plaines Valley Public Library District
Lockport Branch
121 East 8th Street, Lockport IL 60441
(815)-838-0755

Crest Hill Branch
1298 Theodore Street, Crest Hill IL 60403
(815)-725-0234

[Jack Schultz]

We have been having the same trouble. When we first lost a few booklets we tried to replace them using Ebay and by calling the game publishers and distributes. (aside: Ubisoft sent us the entire game just to replace our missing booklet, great customer service). For a short time we just let the losses slide since it seemed ridiculous to charge for a fifty dollar game just to get the a new booklet.

We considered making copies of the booklets but relized that we could not have someone spend all day making copies of booklets

Our latest policy is to charge for the full item but we place notices on the boxes about the items that are inthe box and remind patrons at check out about our policies and that all items need to be returned.

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Jack Schultz
Westmont Public Library
428 N. Cass Ave
Westmont, IL 60559
(630)969-5625 ext. 314

[Beth Gallaway]

Many video game manuals are archived at Replacement Docs - these are scanned reproductions, and not always legally acquired.

http://www.replacementdocs.com/

I'm just putting this out there for informational purposes.



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[Gillian Wiseman]

We don't circulate games at this time, but I can tell you what I expect
we'd do, and what we do with similar types of materials:

The case is clearly labeled with what should be inside (1 booklet and 1
game disc). We would charge the patron $1 for a lost booklet. We would
also have the original stored in Tech Services, and only a (color) copy
in the box. We'd then make a new copy to replace the lost booklet.

Gillian Wiseman

[Adam Webb]

I'm 99% sure this is who we have dealt with in the past.

http://www.videogameinstructionbooklets.com/servlet/StoreFront

We currently circ Wii, PS2, XBOX 360, and PC games. In my personal
opinion, it is not all that necessary to have the booklet except in
the case of PC games, which often have the keycode for the game with
the booklet, in which case if the booklet is lost, the game is
virtually unusable. Players can figure out the game without the
booklet for the most part (I don't know a gamer who reads the
booklet). If the booklet gets lost, the game can still be played. I'd
charge a token fee if you wanted to replace the booklet, but not the
replacement cost of the entire game.

[Jessica]

We actually make two item numbers, one for the game and one for the
booklet. If they want to check out the pamphlet, they ask for it when
checking out the game. It makes it a little strange in our catalog
though, since both items are included under one record. Here's an
example from our OPAC:
http://www.linc.lib.il.us/web2/tramp2.exe/do_keyword_search/guest?setting_key=bloomingdl&servers=1home&index=default&query=010086650303

Unfortunately, when a game is checked out and the booklet isn't, it
can be a bit confusing to patrons since the initial OPAC results will
still show up as having a copy available. They actually have to go
into the individual record details to see that only the booklet is
checked in. This might not be a huge issue though, since people seem
to browse the collection in person.

Jessica Frazier
Bloomingdale Public Library