Comments on: More on How Gaming Promotes Reading and Library Usage

By: terry

terry — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:06:47 +0000

Very cool, but I’m still waiting for libraries to treat video games like another part of the A/V spectrum.

By: jenny

jenny — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:14:37 +0000

What does that look like that is different, Terry? How will we know when we get there?

Thanks for commenting.

Jenny

By: terry

terry — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:44:02 +0000

Hmmm…. maybe I’m overthinking this, but here goes: I think we will get there when libraries don’t need to justify having games in the collection or offering video games as programming. I appreciate that these libraries have seen a connection between offering gaming and increased circulation, but I would prefer if they responded to the media by highlighting aspects of gaming which are intrinsically good or were willing to state that offering games/gaming was part of their Mission.

I don’t see articles like this about CDs in libraries’ collections or movie nights.

By: Renato

Renato — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:29:49 +0000

I may be wrong, but everything in excess doesn’t seem right to me. When one comments that “teens don’t cause as many disruptions” because they are playing games, it sounds like it’s a very comfortable way to have kids under control. The same applies to parents who let kids play videogames all the time because they become “invisible” while doing that. In a world that requires more of our time each day, we have to be careful not to do the wrong but more convenient thing, specially when everyone else seems to be doing that. I have seen teens who behaved like plants — who wouldn’t eat for 8 hours to play games, who refused to study or to work, whose brains seemed to have been burned and children who would wake up at night complaining of delirious visions, possibly because of too much game playing. These are my observations and one could argue that there’s no scientific proof that these are connected to game playing, but there’s no question that there is at least a disconnection between parents and children. And also so much time spent in virtual playing while these kids should be playing in the real world (no, the Internet is not the real world, folks) and discovering things that will actually make them better human beings. I am a web professional and aware of how newer generations are naturally computer savvy, but I repeat, nothing in excess is good, and one should be aware that it’s not because everyone is doing something that that’s the right thing to do.

By: jenny

jenny — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:29:10 +0000

Thanks, Terry. We’re on the same page on that one, and that’s one of the places I hope to end up with all of this. I do think some libraries are there, just not most of them. We did go through this with CDs, movies, and if you go back far enough, even fiction, so it’s just a matter of time and cycles.

By: jenny

jenny — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:32:53 +0000

Renato, I’m not sure what you’re referring to, as no one has advocated gaming (or anything else) in excess. I also don’t see anyone advocating that libraries should offer gaming just because everyone is doing it.

Where we do agree is that games of any type are one part of a healthy media diet, along with television, movies, books, internet, etc., all of which should be balanced with family time, friends, outdoor play, and quiet time.

I’m sitting in Las Vegas as I write this, and there isn’t much worse than watching folks putting coins in slot machines like zombies, so a little bit of everything is definitely the answer.

Thanks for commenting, and I’m glad we agree about this.

By: Renato

Renato — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:45:18 +0000

My comment is not in regard to comments done here, I’m sorry if it seemed that way — it’s in regard to the article’s sentence “Since Lincoln libraries have added game nights, teens don’t cause as many disruptions.” It reminded me of the cases I mentioned and it scares me to think it is being recommended as a solution to keep teens under control, when replacing parenting time with gaming time can actually be the source of them misbehaving in the first place.

By: Ack, vilket öde! « Peter Alsbjers blogg

Ack, vilket öde! « Peter Alsbjers blogg — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:40:10 +0000

[…] Artikel i Omaha World Herald om TV-spel på Bellevue Public Library. Via The Shifted Librarian. […]

By: Peter Alsbjer

Peter Alsbjer — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:45:49 +0000

“parents complained that their children were spending too much time at the library” - a problem connected to be too successfull, or what?
What would be the options for the kids - the local mall? the local McDonalds? the local drug dealer?

By: Libraries Host Gaming Events « Caffeinated Gonzo!

Libraries Host Gaming Events « Caffeinated Gonzo! — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:34:39 +0000

[…] librarians and libraries are beginning to host gaming nights to promote reading and introduce libraries into the lives of teenage and younger citizens. Read […]