The word library comes to us from the Latin librarius , meaning of, or relating to, books. But anyone visiting the Oak Bluffs Public Library on a Thursday afternoon might find such a definition sorely outdated.

A chessboard sits on a table in a small nook, whose walls are lined with comic books. Nearby, several teenagers are seated at computers, listening to music on headphones while banging furiously away at the keyboards as they chat online with their friends. Across the building is a playroom of sorts, stocked with toys and populated by large stuffed animals, most of them endangered.

This is the new face of the library. In many people’s childhood memories, libraries conjure images of tomb-like spaces filled with aisles of books, annoyed librarians prowling about with restacking carts, ready to shush a patron’s slightest peep. These old stereotypes are dying fast, however, partly due to the efforts and vision of people like Irene Tewksbury, the Oak Bluffs children’s librarian.

Ms. Tewksbury is a charming woman. Her pleasant smile and patient, relaxed disposition allow her to remain approachable even when acting authoritatively. This Thursday, she is in a downstairs conference room, setting up a game called Guitar Hero III. Helping her is a small swarm of boys, ranging in age from 9 to 15. They are arguing, as boys this age are wont to do, about who will go first.

“He goes first because he was here first,” says Ms. Tewksbury, referring to the youngest of the group, 9-year-old James Robinson of Oak Bluffs. Her word is clearly the law, and after pausing a moment, the boys begin a new discussion, this time about who will be second. The game begins a moment later.

Young James dons an under-size plastic guitar adorned with large, colorful buttons. The guitar has a wire that runs to the Sony PlayStation console, which is being stored beneath a table. Another wire then runs from the console to a projector, which shines on a large screen in the dark, cavernous room. James stares intently at the screen, navigating menus and making selections, and finally he begins to play. He is focused, postured and by all appearances, taking it very seriously.

The gameplay itself involves using the guitar-shaped controller to mimic the progression of notes in the song being performed. There is a series of color-coded animations that assist the player/performer in getting his timing right, a system not unlike the old “follow the bouncing ball” television sing-a-long methods of decades past.

Successfully following the notes and tempo of the song, the player is rewarded with cheering crowd noises. If the player fumbles, the crowd will boo.

The origin of the Thursday afternoon video games can be traced back to years ago when the Game Room, the famous Oak Bluffs arcade, bought a new game system called Dance Dance Revolution. This is a competitive dancing game that requires two players to face off, executing perfectly timed dance steps on luminescent pads. The massive popularity of this game at the arcade brought it to the attention of Ms. Tewksbury, who saw an opportunity to entice young people to the library after school. The library provided funding for the equipment, and the program was a success. Later on, when the PlayStation console was accidentally knocked to the floor and broken, Ms. Tewksbury replaced it with funds from her own pocket, such is her dedication.

“It’s about getting them in the door,” she says, as she watches the boys play. “And who knows, maybe it will inspire them to play guitar in real life!”

It’s not such a stretch of the imagination to think that performative video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero might be doing more for these kids than just luring them past the library doors. These games require focus, coordination and musical sense, and can help instill a sense of accomplishment. Mr. James Robinson has the same game at home, where he doesn’t have to wait his turn. However, he prefers playing at the library because “here, you get to actually see people do it better than you. At home, you do it by yourself, and you don’t have to wait in line, but you don’t learn anything.”

James goes on to describe what he has taken away from playing Guitar Hero at the library. “I’m not the best, but I do pretty good. Sometimes, if I am doing bad on a song, I’ll get to the end of the song and everyone is booing at me because I did such a bad job, and then I go right back up there and try it again, to show that I can do it.” Asked if he thinks it is appropriate to be playing video games at a library, Mr. Robinson responded immediately. “Yes, it is appropriate, because it is an experience to learn, to hear music. And it’s an experience to play. And if you don’t know how to play, you can train, you can learn. And that’s why it’s good.”