[photo credit: Pasadena Public Library]
“The Initiative is teen driven,” said Jane Gov, the Library Services Manager who oversees the program. “From inception to implementation, the Teen Advisory Board provided library staff with direction and feedback.”
The event represents a shift in library services toward interactive technology. Held weekly at the Hastings Branch, the session runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and offers teens ages 14 to 19 a free drop-in environment. The mandate is simple but social: “Must play well with others.”
The program is bolstered by the 2022 passage of Measure L, a special tax generating approximately $2.8 million annually to maintain operations including youth programs. “The Library plays a significant role in meeting the educational and recreational needs of the community and is essential to the quality of life of Pasadena’s residents,” states the library’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget document.
As the city looks toward a projected grand re-opening of the Central Library in 2028 following seismic retrofits, neighborhood hubs like Hastings remain vital. The club requires no registration, inviting teens to simply “stop in for gaming on the Nintendo Switch and make new friends while playing games.”
Video Game Club will run on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Hastings Branch Library, 3325 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 744-7262 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D190955221.
