Philly Libraries Partner With Nerd Street for Esports League

Beginning this fall, the library will host Nerd Street esports teams among 10 library branches and offer participation in the Youth League free of charge, said Rachel Hludzinski, library supervisor at the Field Teen Center at the Parkway Central branch.

“I see so many teens that come into our teen center that are really passionate about gaming,” Hludzinski shared with Technical.ly. “I’m excited to do a program like this, to give them a way to practice what it would be like to truly be on a team.” 

The Free Library will host three teams at 10 branches across the city. Teams will participate in the program from Sept. 22 to Dec. 8. While Nerd Street’s youth leagues had previously been limited to school programs or recreation centers, according to Ben Beaver, the company’s head of programming, beginning this year, they are open to any youth organization in Philadelphia.

Registration for the libraries’ teams is free. Signups are also open to the public and will be held in person at each participating library branch beginning this month. The teams are open to teens ages 12-18. Participants must have a library card and be able to attend weekly competitions in person at their local library branch. Each branch will host three teams of six people.

Participating Free Library branches include the following: