September 24, 2008

7 Comments

  1. […] value of gaming in libraries or if you’ve been skeptical about the whole idea, please read Gaming Is Not Bowling Alone by The Shifted Librarian. Jenny has done a great job pulling together some highlights from a couple […]

    Pingback by The value of gaming « Just Beth on Libraries — September 25, 2008 @ 8:42 am

  2. The most promising thing in all of this to me is not the gaming, which has a great thrill factor. But its the fact that libraries are being showcased as pliable platforms for informal learning. I just read John Holt’s seminal book, “How Children Learn” and he describes the kind of experiences that can happen in libraries. Thanks for sharing the study, Jenny.

    Comment by Patricia Martin — September 25, 2008 @ 10:22 am

  3. I still don’t get it. By emphasizing gaming and its role in civic participation and social interaction, aren’t libraries simply becoming community centers? There’s nothing wrong with community centers – they are awesome. But they aren’t libraries, which are awesome in their own way.
    Libraries have their own purpose, and it is simple: they are virtual and physical spaces that should provide environments conducive to acquiring and exchanging information. The actual buildings are nice because they are relatively quiet places kids can go to study when it may be difficult to do so at home where siblings and other distractions abound. Library web portals can be of great value to patrons by allowing them to focus on the information they need while lessening the ever increasing amount of noise that is generated on the web and in the rest of the world.
    Yes, I know younger generations have an innate ability to multitask, and research strategies vary, and the world she is a-changing, but what many see as the evolution of libraries seems to me to be desperate straw-grasping in the form of trend-mongering.
    The main argument I have heard for having GuitarHero in the library is to draw people in and hopefully they will check out the information-related amenities while they are there. This is akin to timeshares giving out free televisions or trips to Chichen Itza; a few people buy what they are selling, but the majority of people walk away from the sales pitch not having purchased anything, feeling a little sad for the pathetic company they have just duped into giving them completely unrelated free crap.
    I want to believe that gaming in libraries is productive, and will add to the value and positive image of the library as institution, but nobody has been able to give me solid proof or statistics that indicate this. There are so many other things libraries can do, so many relevant things, to increase their value.
    Add a coffee shop (people drink coffee while they read and research and study), or provide needed community information-related services (like job-hunt consultations or tax help or basic real estate courses or tutoring or ESL & college prep classes or internet & computer & research skills sessions). Work with schools to bring students in early on so they know what a library is. Work with the government to offer easier access to information that is often only accessible by cutting through rolls of red tape. Work with local businesses (car dealerships, organic food co-ops, doctor’s offices) to aid in educating the consumer or patient. Focus on enhancing what libraries are, not changing them into something else.
    We are getting distracted. DDR is flashy and fun, but irrelevant. We need to concentrate on doing what we do best, not attempting to do what others already do (and it doesn’t matter anyway because next year the Wii will be soooo 2008).
    What I see is not the evolution of libraries, it is the extinction, for which librarians are the biggest proponents.
    Seriously, if anybody has any statistics on gaming in libraries, please post them, because I want to understand!

    Comment by Melissa — September 27, 2008 @ 6:04 pm

  4. Hi, Melissa —
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this.
    From my perspective, libraries have been community centers for decades and this type of programming is just an extension of an existing service. Many public libraries already offer boardgames, craft programs for kids, programs for adults, meeting rooms for the public to use, movies, book clubs, concerts, and more. I don’t think “library as community center” is a new concept that started with gaming. I’m not sure I understand why a coffee shop is okay but a gaming program where the participants actually interact with each other isn’t? Can you elaborate more on that? Many libraries are already doing most of the things you named, so I think we can do those *and* gaming. As I keep saying, it’s “and,” not “or.”
    “Libraries have their own purpose, and it is simple: they are virtual and physical spaces that should provide environments conducive to acquiring and exchanging information.”
    I think you’re making an assumption here that everyone views the library as you do and that your perspective is the one “right one.” Libraries are many things to many people, going back to a beginning with archives that were available to only a select few. Your definition also assumes that recreational activities in the library don’t exchange information. Are you advocating that we kick the knitting club out of our meeting rooms?
    “The actual buildings are nice because they are relatively quiet places kids can go to study when it may be difficult to do so at home where siblings and other distractions abound.”
    Again, this is one view of what kids are supposed to be doing in libraries. Back when libraries did not offer fiction because it corrupted readers’ minds, we also didn’t offer services to children at all. But things change, and many of us believe that the mission of public libraries (which is actually stated in many institutions’ mission statements) includes recreational use. We say adults should be able to check out fiction and attend programs at the library for purely recreational reasons. Why does that not apply to kids, too? As a child, I would have hated to have someone else box in my view of what I could do in my library.
    “what many see as the evolution of libraries seems to me to be desperate straw-grasping in the form of trend-mongering.”
    You are entitled to your opinion, but did you feel the same way when libraries introduced music and movies? Because games are just another content format, and many of us believe libraries are in the business of content *and* information. I also remember hearing colleagues say that offering public internet access, especially for reading email, was a desperate grab to hop on a trend and remain relevant.
    “The main argument I have heard for having GuitarHero in the library is to draw people in and hopefully they will check out the information-related amenities while they are there. This is akin to timeshares giving out free televisions or trips to Chichen Itza;”
    I think you’re comparing apples and oranges because the timeshares concept is a one-way sell that hopes only to take one specific thing from the person sitting there. With gaming, libraries engage the participants who get to interact with each other and come together around content. When this happens in a library, these kids are surrounded by the wisdom of the world and information guides to help them navigate it. That’s a powerful formula that no other “community center” can offer, and it’s a very different equation than a timeshare pitch, because the participant can get out of it whatever she wants.
    “I want to believe that gaming in libraries is productive, and will add to the value and positive image of the library as institution, but nobody has been able to give me solid proof or statistics that indicate this.”
    I’ve written about this many times, so I encourage you to go back and read through the archive at http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/tag/gaming-in-libraries/. Most recently, I directly addressed this concern in a post called Does Gaming Promote Reading?. Also check out Scott Nicholson’s 2007 census of gaming in libraries, Who Else Is Playing? The Current State of Gaming in Libraries, in which librarians reported specific numbers supporting the statement that gaming improves the image and use of the library with users who come in for the games.
    If you think DDR is flashy and irrelevant, then focus on the pieces that are important to you and help your library enhance them. Gaming is not taking away from them, it is adding to them. My guess is that gaming is taking up such an incredibly small percentage of any library’s budget and resources that it’s probably not even denting 1%, which leaves more than 99% for the other services you named.
    If you truly want to learn more, I again encourage you to go to a library gaming event and talk with librarians who offer this service. I’m confident that you’ll find that far from feeling “extinct,” these folks are building on new relationships with new library users, in addition to creating better relationships with existing ones. This truly is the best way for you to understand how powerful a service this can be.
    Jenny

    Comment by jenny — September 28, 2008 @ 9:45 am

  5. Hola,
    I think Jenny pretty much said most of what I was wanting to say, so this will be short. As stated by Jenny, libraries (minus strictly academic ones that would be found on a college campus) are for all purposes community centers, and have been for some time. Many public libraries now hold events of all kinds that lend to all aspects of the community (summer reading clubs and events to with them, weekly story times that are in all respects community events, lending meeting rooms out for non-library sponsored events, etc.).
    Parts of my own library are quiet and ideal for the gathering, digesting, and sharing of information. Other areas of my library are purely for community interaction (the teen area, children’s area, meeting room, etc.). We deal equally with both parts because that is what a public library does, and should do. Much has changed over the last few decades, and for many areas the library is a supplement to all aspects of life (education, community, and personal). Decades ago, these libraries might have been the only real source of education for many, but education is not the sole purpose of a public library now. If that was the only thing that public libraries focused on anymore, then that would lead to the extinction of said libraries.
    I think what most peeple fail to realize is that public libraries have not forsaken information in any regards. instead, they have adopted additional features that surrounding communities need (also keep in mind that not all communities have dedicated community centers). All the informatin is still there, and for the most part it is more accessible than before due to the multitude of ways it can be passed on. You see teen gaming as a senseless act of mind-numbing crap (funny, that’s what I see reading “classics” as, but that is only my opinion). However, I see it as an opportunity for teens to pass information (that they see as important and that others see as important) to each other, and expose them to other opportunities that they could use, while providing meaningful social interaction that might be tough for them to normally receive.
    I have many teens that have began using our homework help center, or have come to an educational event solely on the fact that they see the public library as a great community tool. If we were merely a place to sit down, shut up, and find some information, our ability to pass informatin would be severely hindered as only dedicated scholars (a very prestigious profession and one that often can’t be afforded until retirement), or self inflicted prudes would seek such a sad, gloomy, and unfriendly place to visit.
    These are just my rambles, but I believe that this is the correct direction for public libraries to take. I have nothing else… for now.

    Comment by Jolli — September 29, 2008 @ 12:55 pm

  6. This is a fascinating read, as is the comment stream regarding libraries as community centers.
    Have you considered the idea of starting library-organized player communities in online games? For instance, the guild “The Sleeper Cartel” in World of Warcraft (www.sleepercartel.com) features many of the aspects of civic participation that you describe in this post; recently they’ve been doing in-game events for charities, and in the past older guild members have helped out younger ones with writing assignments and such. Kids who are interested in community organization and management can also get a lot of experience helping manage these virtual communities. The main thing missing from this, of course, is the fact that there’s no physical proximity, and perhaps this puts it out of the scope of what a library should be involved in; but still, the idea of a library-run guild that actively promotes these kinds of civic activities is interesting.

    Comment by Atul — October 11, 2008 @ 3:56 pm

  7. I like the site and am glad to have found it. I also sent you a message on Facebook. After sending the message I found out more about what I was asking about on the ALA connect.

    Comment by Kelly Alipour — August 10, 2009 @ 3:24 pm

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