By BETH HIATT,
director Bowie Public Library
As with any small, rural community, there is a minimal amount of activities for local youth and families to participate in. Another hindrance to the community is the means of a family to provide such activities in their home. While Bowie is fortunate to have recently gained access to fiber-optic internet connectivity, again there are families who cannot afford it.
In the past few years, we have added programs to fill this need. We have seen an increase in popularity with programs that target gaming, but our resources are limited. We have started a few programs with minimal cost such as trading card games and Minecraft on the computers.
These programs have reached capacity and we would like to add other options so no youth are excluded. In recent Texas Library Association conferences and at the Region 7 district meeting we have seen presentations of other libraries implementing tabletop and digital gaming programs in their libraries. The success of their programs has inspired us to create gaming opportunities in our library.
The library will present a grand opening reception for the new programs from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 31 at the library. There will be light refreshments and a gaming tournament along with table top games to play.

Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.