LIS 9763

 
I am a gamer; I grew up playing Turbo 16, NES, and Atari.  My brother was once a die hard Civ III player. Last weekend, I went to an Anime conference to help my cousin sell used video games (It was a whole new level of nerdy). I have been immersed in gaming culture all of my life; I get gamming, and I think it has a place in libraries.
 
Throughout this weeks readings, there were two points the stuck out.
1)      Games can get users into the library
This was demonstrated in the article byKurt Squire & Constance Steinkuehler. Civilization Three players have been known to research the time period to enhance their game play. The thing that we need to bare in mind is that, Civilization III came out in 2001 (http://www.civ3.com/civ3.cfm). To focus solely on Civ III would be a mistake. There are several popular games that could engage users. Fallout three, for example has an on-line fan following. The theme of the book centres on a nuclear fallout. A library could engage this user group by providing information that would support gamers play, or by providing some context to the game, by providing literature on nuclear fallouts.
 
2)      Teach the Nintendo generation information literacy using there gaming interest.
I love doing lit searches. Why? Because it’s like a treasure hunt.  I have tools, and I have to find something. The only difference between a lit search and a game (Other than graphics and music) is the gratification you get from finding information for someone, is far superior to completing a game.   
Teaching information literacy using an approach that encourages users to think of information literacy as a search, can engage users. This could also show patrons that academy is not all business, that aspects can be fun.
 
 
There are so many possibilities. I haven’t discussed virtual worlds like Second Life and World of War Craft; applications that are a hybrid of game play, and socializing, or educational games that libraries have created to teach information literacy. I think there is a lot of potential for libraries to engage gamers. I also believe that as the Nintendo generation inherits the earth, there will be an expectation to provide resources, and information in a way that appeals to them.