I’ve alluded to the fact that ALA is doing a lot with gaming these days, some of which is happening at our Annual Conference (which starts June 27), some of which I’ve helped organize.
The biggest one is the – wait for it – “big” game, “California Dreaming.” I posted about this on the ALA Marginalia blog so you can get the details there, but I’m thrilled to see that more than 100 people have already signed up. I think this is going to be a lot of fun, and my only regret is that I won’t get to see all of the clues myself and play. Well, actually my biggest regret is that we don’t have enough prizes to award to the extra teams who have joined. I had high hopes that attendees would get into the game, but I didn’t realize they would do it so enthusiastically before we even started. You folks rock. 🙂
If you’re attending the conference, the game is free to play, and you can sign up all the way through Sunday if you get inspired as you start seeing clues around the convention center. Watch for other attendees with your team’s color on their badges to identify your teammates to collaborate and win. You can pick up your colored sticker at the California Myth Authority game HQ in the new Games Pavilion on the exhibit floor. I’ll be hanging out there whenever I can given my schedule, so if nothing else, come by and say hi.
Another milestone at Annual will be the first meeting of the Games and Gaming Member Interest Group (MIG) since it was officially approved at the 2008 Midwinter Meeting. There were far more than the 100 signatures required to start the group, and it’s great to see it form so quickly based on member interest. Dr. Scott Nicholson is the organizer, and he’ll be convening the meeting at Annual, which will take place at 10:00 a.m.-noon on Saturday, June 28, at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Plaza A/B. If you’re at all interested in gaming, come to the meeting to get an update from our expert panel from the Verizon Foundation grant, exchange tips and tricks, hear what others are doing, and learn more about ALA initiatives in this area. In fact, we also have a big announcement to make at the meeting, so there’s even some mystery to it.
I’ve also helped organize ALA’s first ever open gaming night for all attendees, which will rock out on Friday, June 27, from 7:30-10:30 p.m. Come play Boom Blox, Dance Dance Revolution, Mario Kart Wii, Rock Band, and Wii Sports, with no pressure. We’ll also have boardgames such as Hamster Rolle, Ingenious, TransAmerica, Wits & Wagers, and more. The event is sponsored by The Verizon Foundation, so we’ll even have snacks. Friends, fun, and food – you can’t ask for more than that. We even have some prizes from The Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft to give away for the videogame winners.
The other gaming-related activity I’ll be involved in is running a Dance Dance Revolution setup during the Wellness Fair on the exhibit floor on Sunday, June 29, from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. I’m getting back into DDR at home (which may be a whole other future post) because it’s such great exercise, so if you’ve never had a chance to play and you can’t make it to open gaming night, you can come by the Fair to try it for yourself.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on at Annual around gaming, and you can get an overview of the rest of the sessions on the Gaming News blog.
In addition to all of this fun stuff, here are some other places you can catch me to say hi:

• the Virtual Communities & Libraries Member Interest Group meeting on Saturday, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at the Anaheim Marriott in the Marquis Ballroom NorthEast
• the Empowerment Conference on Sunday, from 8:00-10:00 a.m., speaking with Michael Stephens about technology trends
• the panel on privacy on Sunday, from 1:30-3:30 p.m., in Room 201D of the Convention Center, which I’ll blog more about later this week (I hope to have Cory Doctorow sign my Kindle at this session)
• the Web Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, from 8:30 a.m.-noon, in Room 202B of the Convention Center

Those are the highlights, although I’ll be racing around to other meetings and sessions, too. I’m looking forward to another fun-filled, action-packed Annual and hoping for a little downtime here and there to catch up with friends. It’s strange being on the staff side of the conference, as I don’t get to hang out as much, but it’s exciting being able to help connect attendees with each other, as well as good content. I hope to see you there.