I own an XBox 360 and find there are few games appealing to girls or children – it was designed for 18-30 year old male gamers, and the library of titles available follows suit. I am loving Lego Star Wars II and just got Viva Pinata, so maybe these 2 titles will make me rethink it, but LSWII is available for every console.

I did get a Nintendo Wii at last, last week, but it has taken three months to find one. Accessories, as well as the consoles and games, remain scarce. The four player options and backwards compatibility are huge bonuses, and the game play IS absolutely revolutionary. I am finding the graphics unimpressive and the play slow, and the remotes sometimes unresponsive. And, it’s not terribly intuitive (took me WAAAAY too long to figure out how to send my miis to friends).

Reading over some of the comments on WHY to offer gaming, I agree that story is inherent to games, and libraries are all about stories and information in many formats. The best reason to offer games is to build developmental assets of teens, not to make future taxpayers, or increase book circulation, but to show them that their interests and needs are valid and important, and the library is relevant to their lives.

I own an XBox 360 and find there are few games appealing to girls or children – it was designed for 18-30 year old male gamers, and the library of titles available follows suit. I am loving Lego Star Wars II and just got Viva Pinata, so maybe these 2 titles will make me rethink it, but LSWII is available for every console.

I did get a Nintendo Wii at last, last week, but it has taken three months to find one. Accessories, as well as the consoles and games, remain scarce. The four player options and backwards compatibility are huge bonuses, and the game play IS absolutely revolutionary. I am finding the graphics unimpressive and the play slow, and the remotes sometimes unresponsive. And, it’s not terribly intuitive (took me WAAAAY too long to figure out how to send my miis to friends).

Reading over some of the comments on WHY to offer gaming, I agree that story is inherent to games, and libraries are all about stories and information in many formats. The best reason to offer games is to build developmental assets of teens, not to make future taxpayers, or increase book circulation, but to show them that their interests and needs are valid and important, and the library is relevant to their lives.

I got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas.
Perhaps I am in the honeymoon period between the novelty of the controllers and systems but I am completely swept off my feet with it. The controllers were amazingly easy to get used to, but incredibly sensitive to the slightest movement. The Wii’s homesite sets up more like a personal webpage, and also has its own avatar maker and social chatrooms built in… in short they have really taken the system in a completely new direction.

I’ll quit my “comment” here. If you want to read mroe about my Wii review then go to other blogsite in the next couple days and I will have a post ready

I got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas.
Perhaps I am in the honeymoon period between the novelty of the controllers and systems but I am completely swept off my feet with it. The controllers were amazingly easy to get used to, but incredibly sensitive to the slightest movement. The Wii’s homesite sets up more like a personal webpage, and also has its own avatar maker and social chatrooms built in… in short they have really taken the system in a completely new direction.

I’ll quit my “comment” here. If you want to read mroe about my Wii review then go to other blogsite in the next couple days and I will have a post ready

Point is…

This is a major part of people’s lives. Look at the hype over getting the next-gen consoles and playing the latest games.

Public libraries struggle with teen services. If we can get them in the library, we can try to lure them into using our other services.

Why do they put milk at the back of the grocery store?

My library has received a grant for marketing to teens. We are racking our brains to get teens in the building. We have a Teen Board and they actually wanted genealogy programs.

We were stunned.

But we are open to trying new things.

Point is…

This is a major part of people’s lives. Look at the hype over getting the next-gen consoles and playing the latest games.

Public libraries struggle with teen services. If we can get them in the library, we can try to lure them into using our other services.

Why do they put milk at the back of the grocery store?

My library has received a grant for marketing to teens. We are racking our brains to get teens in the building. We have a Teen Board and they actually wanted genealogy programs.

We were stunned.

But we are open to trying new things.

I think the simple reason for why we offer it is because it is something to get the kids into the library in the first place.

While I agree that this can be a valid reason to include gaming in library materials/services for teens, I think it’s not the only one. I’d argue that games can also be a way for teens (and others) to explore the nature of narratives. Just like movies, books, and materials in other media, games often have complex storylines – and many games (particularly role-playing games) allow players to contribute to the plots, characters, and settings they encounter. If our goals include exposing teens to stories that speak to them, and helping them become critical readers/creators of the stories they encounter, I think providing access to games can be one step toward meeting these goals.

I think the simple reason for why we offer it is because it is something to get the kids into the library in the first place.

While I agree that this can be a valid reason to include gaming in library materials/services for teens, I think it’s not the only one. I’d argue that games can also be a way for teens (and others) to explore the nature of narratives. Just like movies, books, and materials in other media, games often have complex storylines – and many games (particularly role-playing games) allow players to contribute to the plots, characters, and settings they encounter. If our goals include exposing teens to stories that speak to them, and helping them become critical readers/creators of the stories they encounter, I think providing access to games can be one step toward meeting these goals.

I think the simple reason for why we offer it is because it is something to get the kids into the library in the first place. It is something to make them look at the library differently than traditional terms and more of a comfortable place to kickback, relax, study and have a little fun.

As for desired outcomes, it fights the stigmata that gaming is an anti-social pasttime. Gamers are very social creatures and they enjoy the chance to come out of their home and show their stuff. Gaming in libraries bring social opportunities to our teen patrons, sometimes ones who wouldn’t even look at eachother at school.

It also allows the librarian a chance to push circulation of materials; movies, music, books… whatever. If they do a gaming event right, there can be stations of entertainment which spotlight materials the patrons would find interesting. They look at them, check them out and up the circulation statistics therefore making the incredibly strong argument of just how valuable libraries are to communities.

I think the simple reason for why we offer it is because it is something to get the kids into the library in the first place. It is something to make them look at the library differently than traditional terms and more of a comfortable place to kickback, relax, study and have a little fun.

As for desired outcomes, it fights the stigmata that gaming is an anti-social pasttime. Gamers are very social creatures and they enjoy the chance to come out of their home and show their stuff. Gaming in libraries bring social opportunities to our teen patrons, sometimes ones who wouldn’t even look at eachother at school.

It also allows the librarian a chance to push circulation of materials; movies, music, books… whatever. If they do a gaming event right, there can be stations of entertainment which spotlight materials the patrons would find interesting. They look at them, check them out and up the circulation statistics therefore making the incredibly strong argument of just how valuable libraries are to communities.