In a Techsource post a couple of months ago, I talked about the hot video games for the Fall and holiday season. This time around, I want to introduce readers to a type of game that they might not be aware of: the Alternate Reality Game, or ARG. ARG's are becoming more and more popular, and libraries need to be aware of them and ready to embrace them. Read more »

Strike!
Originally uploaded by cindiann

Saturday was National Gaming Day, and the kids and I braved the cold, wet weather to check out the Wii games at the Village Branch of the Lexington Public Library. The staff report that the crowd was smaller than other, weeknight gaming events, but they were no less enthusiastic! The kids were playing Wii Bowling when we first arrived; here is the group's reaction to the final score.

Guitar Hero
Originally uploaded by cindiann

Next up was Guitar Hero (also Wii). This one was so popular that the kids had to draw numbers to see who would go first. The rocking party was still going strong when we left. The newly-expanded Village branch is located in the Village shopping plaza, on the west side of Lexington. Gaming events are held in the Teen Center; the library also includes a small collection of materials, easily-accessible "airport" restrooms, and a newly-expanded meeting room and computer lab. The four-year-old library, one of six branches in the medium-sized Central Kentucky city, also boasts bilingual (Spanish/English) staff.

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Saturday, November 15, is National Gaming Day @ Your Library, and gamers are gearing up for major events around the country. Hasbro donated their game Pictureka to hundreds of libraries nationwide, an effort coordinated by ALA. Our goal is to get a mind-blowing number of people to play the same game on the same day. Wizards of the Coast offered 1,000 libraries a choice of their games Dungeon and Dragons or Magic: the Gathering. ALA Editions author Eli Neiburger and his colleagues at the Ann Arbor District Library will be running a national videogame tournament on their GT System.

At ALA TechSource, we recently heard from an old friend who is busy promoting gaming in libraries once again. Former ALA TechSource editor Teresa Koltzenburg launched this blog, recruiting Jenny Levine, Michael Stephens, and Karen Schneider. It was Teresa and Jenny who initiated the Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium.

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Our friends at AL Focus have once again provided some great video coverage, this time from last week's Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium.

To relive your fantastic memories, or to find out how much fun you missed, check out this post by Greg Landgraf.

Greg Landgraf at American Libraries has some outstanding coverage of the symposium over at AL Inside Scoop. You can read his detailed and comprehensive coverage symposium events here, here, here and here. Read more »

My parents never bought me a Nintendo when I was a kid. They had this crazy idea that reading was the best way for me to learn and entertain myself, so I had to go over to my neighbors house when I wanted to play The Legend of Zelda or Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. I’d go back home after playing and describe how cool these new games were to my parents, who inevitably rolled their eyes, frustrated at this trendy, expensive new toy their son was dying to have.

As I write this from the 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium, I can’t help but think how far gaming technology has come since the days of 8-but graphics and cheap midi sound effects. At this symposium, gaming is hardly a game—it’s a rapidly evolving and increasingly important part of our profession. More and more, librarians are using gaming to help students of all ages learn, to help adults improve and hone their skills, and to draw young people into a lifetime of library use.
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As we crawl towards the Christmas season, all of the major video game manufacturers are starting to bring out the big guns for the holidays. If your library has embraced gaming as a way of socializing with patrons or drawing people in, what are they likely to be looking forward to this Fall? Or if your library actually checks out games, what's going to be the hot ones for the next 4 months? Here's a few titles to watch out for... Read more »

It seems like the role that gaming plays in libraries is expanding exponentially. What once seemed like a trend is now a deeply entrenched part of our profession. Gaming is playing a bigger and bigger role in academic, public and school libraries all over the world and librarians are not only increasing their gaming content and its availability, but are also using it prominently in library programming and public service.

Our colleagues have been working hard to keep up with constantly evolving technology and increasing demand, while trying to ensure that there is a method to the madness of the gaming world. Gaming played its largest ever part in the 2008 ALA Annual convention, with hoards of librarians attending gaming-related programs, meeting with vendors and participating in the open gaming night at the Anaheim Hilton. The blogosphere is abuzz with positive feedback about this year’s programming. Read more »

Registration for the 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium is now open! Last year we sold out at 300, and this year we expect the 350 spots to go quickly, so we encourage you to sign up early.

We're in full swing for planning the second annual ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, which will take place on November 2-4, 2008, in Oak Brook, IL (a western suburb of Chicago).

There's some preliminary information on the site about registration, the location, and keynote speakers, but we've also just posted the official Call for Presenters. If your library is doing something innovative with gaming, if you're doing research around gaming and libraries, or if you have ideas to propose and share, please submit a proposal. We want to offer another great program chock full o'the best sessions, and that could include you!

The deadline for submitting your proposal is June 15, 2008, and we'll respond by July 1. Help us make GLLS2008 even better than last year's event! Read more »