How do you maintain your public computers?
Librarians want to know.
Librarians want to know.
If you've read any articles about gaming, or you've sponsored tournaments at your library, or you've attended a library conference lately, you've likely heard the buzz around gaming in libraries. I LOVE watching librarians giggling and having fun playing Rock Band during conference down-times. At the recent ARSL conference, a certain someone was heard belting out classics while her colleagues accompanied her on drums and guitar (who knew that Margaret Miles--also a member of our steering committee--was such a rocker?).
At a North East Florida Library Network (NEFLIN) convening recently, contributors to the Cookbooks from the Suwannee River Regional Library were seen rockin' out--wonder what song Danny Hales and Sherry Millington were singing?
If you live in Michigan, you may be lucky enough to attend an in-person Cookbook Book Club on Oct. 22 on gaming at your library. The Book Club will be held at the Kalamazoo Public Library, hosted by Jean Montgomery of the Superiorland Library Cooperative. Meet to discuss how libraries are using games, and get a sneak peek at a chapter on gaming in our next Cookbook! If you're interested in attending, please email me: sarah [at] techsoup [dot] org.
WEBINAR ALERT!
TOPIC: Get Your Game On: quick tips to start a gaming program in your library
WHEN: Oct. 16, 11:00 am (PST)
WHERE: WebJunction's webinar space (register here)
Join Lori Reed, Employee Learning Coordinator at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, as she interviews Beth Gallaway for "Get Your Game On: Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library." This will be a fast-paced and interactive session introducing the idea of gaming programs in libraries. Hear what others have done, share your experiences, and think about what you might want to do in the future.
Beth Gallaway was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2006 for her work in advocating for videogames in libraries. She is an independent library trainer/consultant specializing in gaming, technology, and youth services, and is a YALSA certified Serving the Underserved (SUS) trainer. Visit her website at informationgoddess.info.
Take 30 minutes out of your day to learn from the experiences of others and get something started. This is a part of the MaintainIT Cookbook webinar series where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what you can do to get started with projects like theirs. Please come!
Bringing kids, teenagers and adults into the library is what it is all about. This summer, for the teens I decided to have a gaming night. We are a very small rural library in the U.P. of Michigan; our patron count is about 500. I like getting the input from our children/young adult patrons on things we can do in the library. I suggested a Game Night and the kids loved the idea. I brought my daughter's PS2 Rockband game and instruments and my son's Wii from home. I set them up in the library, each on a different television along with some card games, chess/checkers and other board games. The young adults loved it. To make sure that everyone got to play the different games each teen would pick a colored poker chip (Red, Blue, White, Black) and for twenty minutes they got to play on ONE game and then they rotated every 20 minutes (that is approximately the time it takes for two people to complete a game of bowling on the Wii). There was no arguing and I threw in pizza, pop, prizes and everyone had a great time. The younger kids found out about our game night so we set aside another day and time for the younger kids to enjoy. We had so much fun that our Township Board heard about our night and decided to buy a Wii with Rockband and the Sports package. Good luck to everyone who tries this. It is a blast!" Jan St.Germain, Richmond Township Library, Palmer MI
Hope to see you at one of the events, and keep your eyes out for the next Cookbook, to be released soon!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Tell us about your daily routine maintaining public computers, or a moment when you were particularly proud. Don't forget that what might be "that's nothing" to you may be an "aha!" to someone else!
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Game On!
I am a librarian at Rochester College in Rochester Hills, Michigan. For the last two years, my co-workers and I have hosted video game tournaments at our library once each semester. We have dubbed our events with the moniker: GAME ON!
From 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM on a Friday night in September or January, we turn the library into a full scale arcade with various consoles and games, food, beverages, and a tournament complete with prizes. The students love the events, and several have become regular attendees.
Some things that we have discovered over the years have helped us to make the events even better.
If you would like to see how some of our events have gone, please visit my webpage: http://home.rc.edu/bangell/game_on.htm
I also recommend Eli Neiburger's book "Gamers... in the Library?!?" This book provides a wealth of knowledge about hosting tournaments for just about any audience.
Have a great time, and GAME ON!
- Brian