LIS 9763

There are three main ideas on gaming in the library. One is centred on providing games and gaming related events in the library, another is about having a presence on or providing library services in online game environments (such as Second Life), and the third is adding gaming elements to libraries and instruction. These are three different things, so I am going to focus on the former today.

Why have video games in the library? While many of the articles focused on the educational possibilities of virtual worlds and online games, successful real world application of games in libraries seemed to be more focused on playing console video games (i.e. Playstation, Xbox, Wii, etc.) in the library. While some games on these systems may have the richness of experience and educational possibilities that virtual worlds offer, ultimately it appears that the most libraries have been using video games for entertainment purposes.

Danah Boyd spoke about the loss of youth social space and the rise of social networking sites such as Myspace. Similarly, while there has been a rise in both interest and knowledge of video games among the general populace, I think that there has been a gradual loss of real-world social space for people who play video games, and this likely correlates to the popularity and success of gaming events at libraries.
 
Arcades were traditionally the place that people who like to play video games could meet and play other gamers, however, arcades have been in decline for a while. When I was in undergrad, there was an arcade in the basement of my university’s student union building with picture sticker machines, various fighting and dance-dance revolution type games. I heard that it's been closed down (or they were trying to do that) along with other arcades around the city. As technology in gaming for home consoles have improved, they’ve pretty much matched or exceeded with what arcades had to offer and thus decreased the need for people to pay to play at arcades. As well, the rise of the internet and online gaming has allowed people to play against other people across the world from the comfort of their homes. The decline of arcades, however, limited people to either play against known people, such as friends, or gamers online. So gaming events held at libraries are meeting a socialization niche that is being underserved, among (male) teenagers and gamers. Likely these events are being spearheaded by those who Squire and Steinkuehler calls the Nintendo generation.

Pros: It can be fairly low cost to provide these activities. Many librarians may have or have friends and families with consoles or games that can probably be borrowed.  You may be able to get players to bring their own favourite games to the event. From a parental perspective too, if the kids are in the library playing video games, they are in a fairly safe place as it’s a monitored environment. 

Cons:  There is still the view that library should be about educational value and canonical works of literature. Also in world of recessions and dwindling resources, actually purchasing games and equipment may need some sort of justification. So given such a climate, if you post videos on youtube showing library people playing video games without a patron in sight, this may cause problems.

The best practices from Hialeah Public Libraries and Clinton Public Library give some practical tips on things to keep in mind when planning this event, such as time frames and providing other forms of engagement for downtimes since not everyone can play at once. 

Tip #6 from Clinton Public Library cracked me up:  “A prize is not always necessary. Males (who will be your primary audience in the video game and Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments) enjoy bragging rights above all else. A simple trinket or certificate will make their day.”

If I have time, I’ll post some thoughts on Second Life and virtual worlds as well this week.