The American Library Association will celebrate its second annual National Gaming Day on November 14th at hundreds of public, school, and academic libraries across the country, inviting others to visit their locations and take part in gaming activities, including a national video game tournament.

Last year's inaugural event attracted over 14,000 people to 600 libraries, and the ALA promises that 2009's National Gaming day will have more participating locations and more board and video games available. Players will also have an opportunity to see how their scores rank on local, regional, and national leaderboards.

The ALA believes gaming has recreation and educational value, and can potentially teach leadership, problem-solving, and team-building skills. It also pointed to a recent Pew/Internet study indicating that in-person social gaming encourages "encourages civic engagement among teenagers and helps them become invested in their community."

"Historically, libraries are well known as key providers of print resources," says the ALA. "With new digital formats such as downloadable audio, video, and board and video games, libraries continue to create and promote modern educational opportunities for their users. They play a valuable role in providing a social gaming experiences not found elsewhere in the community in a safe, non-commercialized space."

You can find more information on National Gaming Day and see if your local library is registered for the event at I Love Libraries.