There’s an interesting post on Future-making Serious Games titled Retro Remakes Competition: Serious Gaming For Accessibility that includes a call for “entrants to create accessible updated counterparts of real or imagined arcade games from the 1920’s to date.” This is a topic I hadn’t really considered before, and I’ve been learning more about it as I’ve been planning the program for the 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium. There’s that saying that you know you’re old when you insist that your generation’s music is better than that of the current generation, right? Well, I apply that to videogames, too - my favorites will probably always be the ones I grew up with (although Mario Kart Wii and Boom Blox are pretty great), so I love the idea of making retro games accessible for everyone.

All of which is also a segue to note that we have a session dedicated to Integrating Non-Visual Access Into A Library’s Gaming Experience at the Symposium, as well as some other unique content I don’t think you’ll get anywhere else. Here are just a few of those types of sessions that I’m really looking forward to attending:

• Gender and Gaming
  “Beth Gallaway shares an overview of research and statistics on gender and gaming; Ph D candidate Beth King discusses how World of Warcraft develops literacy skills and creates community for teen boys and how The Sims develops literacy skills and creates community for teen girls; librarian Alison Angell facilitates a discussion on gender and gaming and teases out potential best practices for libraries seeking to serve each gender to their best ability.”
• H4cking ur Library for the Gaming Industry
  “This session will present collection development and promotional ideas for creating a materials collection that supports users interested in the gaming industry as a rapidly growing career choice, including a look at how gaming is cross-pollinating with several other industries, including movies and music.”
• Subject Access to Videogames: Beyond LCSH
  “The Library of Congress Subject Headings are useful for nonfiction print materials, but the options for subject access to video games are limited. Learn how to provide improved access to your library’s video game collection based on your community’s needs with locally-developed genre and subject headings.”
• What Every Librarian Needs to Know about Videogames and the Law
  “This session will cover two topics that I know a lot of people in the industry have questions about: video games in the library and machinima, movies made using rendered engines. First, the question of what to do about having a video game tournament in the library will be addressed. The discussion will include specific discussion on the legality of the tournament, the possible penalties, and the remedies to make a tournament in the library compliant with both copyright law and the End User License Agreement for the games played.

  Second, as more and more groups wish to offer machinima contests, we will discuss the basics of the law as it relates to machinima. The session will cover both the concerns for the movie makers and the contest host. By the end of the session, all those in attendance should be armed with the knowledge they need to take on some of these new, innovative programs at their own facility.”

If you have questions about these kinds of topics, then GLLS2008 is where you want to be to get them answered. Register today!