Of possible interest, to any of you attending Comic-Con:

Saturday, July 26; 6:30-7:30 Gamers in the Library?

Did you know that at least 7 out of 10 libraries support gaming? From consoles to D20, board games to CCG’s, gaming in libraries is a hot topic. Find out about this seemingly odd combination with Kearsten LaBrozzi (Glendale Public Library, Arizona), Susan White (University of Advancing Technology), Mike Pawuk (Cuyahoga County Public Library), and Merideth Jenson-Benjamin (Glendale Public Library, Arizona). Hear about successful programs, learn pitfalls to avoid, and find out why gamers in the library are here to stay.

Room 30CDE

H&M announced the winning virtual design chosen from over 1000 entries to be created in real life. The black and white striped tunic/sundress will retail for about $15 beginning July 31.

Julie Brasil of San Francisco is the winner of the Sony G.I.R.L. (Games in Real Life) game design competition. The prize? A paid internship at Sony Online Entertainment, and a $10,000 scholarship to attend the Art Institutes School. Official G.I.R.L. t-shirts and a blog about her internship experience are forthcoming.

How could your library duplicate one of these contests? Certainly, you could provide tools for a costume or clothing design contest for the Sims or Teen Second Life, using software like Gimp or Photoshop.

And for game design, there are lots of free tools out there for making text adventure, 2-D and 3-D games:

• Adrift: Interactive Fiction Game Creator
• Alice
• Game Creator: Ben 10
• Game Maker
  
• Scratch
• Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool

Check out this article on Teaching Game Design from School Library Journal!

The Arizona Daily Star picked up the story about ALA’s $1 million Verizon Foundation grant in an article, Libraries Booking Young Gamers, and interviewed, among others, gaming panel expert Liz Danforth. Liz has some great talking points in the article. Way to go, Liz!

The Malpass Library at University of offered a second gaming night on Friday July 11. Events included dominoes, Wii DDR and a LAN party.

The London (Ontario, Canada) Public Library, produced a short and sweet blog post to introduce patrons to videogames, with links to resources on game ratings, game quality, and popular titles. “Gaming is no longer the domain of the young,” writes a staff member.

Manitowoc-Calumet (WI) Library System is offering a series of tournaments, funded by an LSTA grant. “Libraries are all about literacy, but literacy isn’t only reading and writing. … Literacy is about technology,” says Rachel Muchin Young, the library’s public relations manager

AASL is planning its 2009 annual conference in Charlotte, NC, and specifically mentions requests for information about gaming. Proposals are due by September 15, 2008.

I hadn’t heard of the LOEX conference, but one attendee wrote up a post about two sessions on gaming.

A librarian in Stanley, Idaho is launching gaming services this summer, and seeking best practices for small town libraries.

In general gaming news…

Hasbro has teamed with the Electronic Arts to create a sanctioned Scrabble game that began private testing Monday at Facebook and should be publicly available later this month. The popular Facebook game, Scrabulous, is unauthorized, and Hasbro have demanded it be removed. An interesting twist in the gaming and copyright debate!

Led Zepplin continues to decline licensing for recreating their music in videogames. “It ain’t about the money,” says Jimmy Page’s manager.

—Please distribute to other lists as appropriate–

Announcing the 2007 Gaming Census!

This is an annual survey done by Dr. Scott Nicholson, associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and is designed to collect information about gaming programs run in libraries in 2007.  This can be any type of game (board, card, video, chess, puzzle) at any type of library (public, school, academic, or special).  The focus is on gaming programs, where the libraries schedule an event of some type featuring games, and on gaming programs that were run sometime during the 2007 calendar year.

You can take this survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=64bf17n2mW5s4QdKL6ctxg_3d_3d until the end of July.

Data from last year’s census has been valuable in helping us to understand how libraries are using gaming and to get funding for other gaming programs.  Adding data abour your institution to our census will help us better understand how libraries are using data.  You can see the publications that have used this data at http://gamelab.syr.edu/publications/.   The results from this survey will be presented at the 2008 Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium.

Questions?  Contact Scott Nicholson at srnichol@syr.edu. Thanks!

An edited recording of the Games and Gaming MIG meeting from ALA annual, along with links to all of the Blatant Plugs made during the meeting, is available at the Games in Libraries podcast blog at http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/?p=7 .  More notes from this meeting can be found earlier in this blog.

Slides should be appearing soon on the ALSC wiki

My bookmarks from the session are online at http://del.icio.us/informationgoddess29/heyiwanttodothattoo

This Sunday afternoon session began with Smart Moves as people filed into the room. Smart Moves is a non-interactive DVD from Fablevision, that contains a series of body puzzles designed to strengthen the corpus collosum, the connection between our right and left brains.

The ALSC ChildTech committee put together a mini poster session to highlights successful children’s tech programs. The Showcase of Success is also online at http://wikis.ala.org/alsc/index.php/ALSC_ChildTech_Wiki

“Until you’ve tried it you don’t understand.”
~Dr. Warren Buckleitner, founder of the MediaTech foundation & editor of Children’s Technology Review journal

Buckleitner’s presentation focused on the story of Mediatech at the Flemington Free Public Library, NJ, where is a trustee, and present and future of children’s technology.  He encouraged us to consider media in two ways:

1. Interactitve media (IM) , which includes videogames, toys, handheld devices, interactive DVDs, MP3s, and electronic learning aids — thehardware doesn’t matter; focus on the behavior (interactive)
2. Linear media: Linear DVDs, books, etc.

Buckleitner imagined a school where kids want to come, where the teacher is the senior or teen, where the text is the Internet, where the bus = a bicycle. This is the vision for MediaTech at the library - a tech and gaming lab with 700 registered members that averages 22 visitors a day. Incidentally, MediaTech is not just for kids. There are developmentally appropriate things for each age range. MediaTech is open 1-5 T Thursday & Friday, 1-9 Monday - Wednesday and 11-1 on Saturday.

What would (Ben) Franklin do, in 2008? What kind of library would he build? Don’t forget that access to games & tech is like a digital divide.

Start a Mediatech in YOUR town! get a CPA, get an attorney, get the schools on board. But, embrace the uniqueness of your town. Don’t fight if you can’t win. The library provides basics, but MediaTech expands library offerings, with unique resources.

Mediatech has three types of social interactions: an opening meeting room, a cross shaped set of computers where all monitors face same direction, for individual or group use, that also face a projector & screen to enable classes and lecture hall style. iChat & video camera makes it a smart classroom.

People in community came out to help build and teach. It’s a way to showcase local talents and interests. Services were donated from a lawyer and accountant. PCS donated from PC magazine, site become first wifi spot in Hunterdon County. At first, kids did all of the custodial work but it was a disaster. Staff found ice water is a great bribe to get kids to help out. Kids make all the signage. Donors bought steps for $1000 each; one is still for sale. A Donation Jar and Suggestion Box are essential resources.

One activity is the Series Games Testers Club that meets weekly - they dissect gender, violence, commercialism of a game circulating game collection. This is just like doing a book discussion group.

MediaTech owns 4000 game and software titles, all donated. There are no M or A/O rated games. The collection is being cataloged by library and will be shared to other libraries in the county. Kids play games online (FunBrain , Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean) and on consoles (Rock Band! \m/)

The filter is being able to see all the monitors; duct tape is a great theft deterrent. So is a (fake) webcam that is “recording everything they do.”

Buckleitner advised that we “make it inconvenient to steal!” Build a sense of ownership - kids will take care of it. A daily inventory keeps stock of all items. Everything is labeled, and outlined, so it’s easy to see at a glance when something is not in it’s place. A receptionist records who comes & goes. Members have to be registered members. When items go missing, every parent gets a phone call. Items get returned. All software is labeled MediaTech. Security locks are also an option.

Noise can be an issue, even with MediaTech on the second floor. Headphones help; kids self-regulate volume very well.

There are no time limits - the kids work it out - staff training on child management is provided. The “go outside & cool down” approach is often a workable solution).

Lessons Learned:

• you’ll laugh and cry
• If you build it they will come
• it belongs to all
• never say no
• everyone has a crisis at one point or another
• someone always needs help
• ask for help
• be an asset, not competition
• needs the most help at first
• Listen to your gut and trust your instincts

Don’t just link to game sites! Have things for kids to create on every computer. “Get kids off addictinggames.com” said Buckleitner. Instead, look for games and software that encourage socialization, expand skills and knowledge and offer multiple challenge levels.

Some Recommended Software:

• Scratch, game design software
• Google Earth, 3-D maps
• Animationish, doodle pad & flipbook software
• iMovie, movie creation & editing software
• Garage Band, music & podcast creation software
• PBS Kids, games & interactive media
• Other bookmarks to good websites
• Hook up a musical keyboard or microscope with a USB port to one computer for kids to play with

Consumer Reports WebWatch: Kids Online

• http://www.youtube.com/cwwkids
• http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/pdfs/kidsonline.pdf

The Case for Rock Band:

• Quality time
• Multigenerational
• Teamwork
• Reading
• Biofeedback - pitch
• Report card style feedback - serious skills needs improvement

Looking toward the future of children’s tech:

• More Nintendo (Warren compared the DS = 1 laptop per child. Touch screen, Wifi Voice recognition, droppable…)
• Bigger Interaction
• More connectedness
• More power per dollar
• Sandisk MP3 recorder
• Growth: from 2 platforms to 20 different platforms

Next, Buckleitner showed 87 things in 2 minutes! I wish this had been the focus of the session. Here is what I caught, as things that are notable (not necessarily good, but notable). I caught 25%:

1. EyeClops, the bionic eye that plugs into your TV and magnifies the stuff you focus n up to 200 times
2. Hyper Dash, an active game
3. SingStar, a karoake game for PS2 & PS3
4. Kid Works, software to build creative writing skills
5. Giggles, computer software for babies
6. Plant Tycoon, a real time gardening sim
7. Lego Universe, a Lego MMOG
8. Barbie Girls Club VIP a virtual world dedicated to the Barbie universe
9. Disney Fairies create a fairy, play games
10. Inspire Data, a data literacy tools that shows data visually
11. Drawn to Life, a DS game where your drawings make the game
12. Jam Sessions, a DS guitar simulator game
13. Boogie game for Wii, PS2 & Nintendo DS
14. Kidizoom Cam, a digital camera for kids that contains games on it
15. Pusle Smartpen, a digital quill for taking notes
16. Tango Desktop software
17. Rock Band for Wii, PS2, PS3, & XBox360

Why Interactive Media?

• You can fix your mistakes: undo, save, reverse features
• Symbolic & abstract
• Adapable to level
• Control, trial & error, empowerment
• Supplements text
• Opportunity to build a better mousetrap
• Computer use is through the roof, but book circ is NOT decreasing

A great tip for librarians: there might be no way the powers that be will let you spend 10K on videogame equipment… call it interactive software & you’re in.

Circulation Issues

• Saved content an issue - create a policy that the library is not responsible for saved games or personal data; take out of circ until you are ready to clean off content
• All the disks get a label - permanent marker like a sharpie
• Use the same security you do with CD or movies
• Some will get scratched, you can buff it out, you’ll loose some

Two resources that I shared in the Q&A sessions:

• On Cataloging Games: How do you circulate portable Video Games?
• On the Legalities of Games: Games and Public Performance

Contact: warren@mediatech.org

Are now up on the YALSA blog!

Gaming at ALA got the attention of the Chicago Tribune, in the form of an article that covers gaming at conference and gaming in libraries. ALA president Loriene Roy says, “Libraries are adapting to new technology. It ties in with one of our key values, which is equity of access.” ALA staff had their own gaming day back in April, and photos are posted on Flickr.

James Stubbs wrote a great article for School Library Journal on board, card and miniatures games for videogamers. If tabletop games are not familiar to you already, check out “Cardboard for the Silicon Set.”

Charlotte & Mecklenberg County Public Library is hosting a citywide Brawl tournament; their $1000 seed money three years ago lead to a 69000 grant to pay for high end gaming computers and consoles for the library system. During the program at her branch, librarian Brittani Thompson she displays game tutorial books, graphic novels and books on game design. The Charlotte Observer reports the program serves 3000 people a year.

Gaming is just part of the Orlando (FL) Public Library’s technology innovations. Every branch has a Wii and an XBox 360, and there are 300 game titles in circulation, and the Washington-Centerville (OH) Public Library is about to start loaning videogames. “Our library strives to be on the leading edge of library service,” said library director Cindi Klinck, noting their library will be one of four in the state, and the only one in the county, to circulate videogames. Interestingly enough, the collection is being split into 2 age groups - family games for all ages, and games for ages 10 & up.

North Carolina residents are encouraged to take advantage of library services during tough economic times, services like music, movies, board games and classes.

Dante Namiba wrestles with gaming in the school library on his blog, Wrestling with Dewey.

Other Gaming News…

Halo - the Board Game! Halo is being reinvented as a strategy board game for ages 10 & up, and will be available this fall.

“The American Library Association (ALA) will launch an innovative project to track and measure the impact of gaming on literacy skills and build a model for library gaming that can be deployed nationally.  Funding for the project will be provided by a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation. ”

The funds helped us to pay for the Open Gaming Night and collect model programs from a dozen libraries, programs that will be instituted  in non-gaming libraries. We’ll also be creating “The Librarians’ Guide to Gaming,” a comprehensive, online literacy and gaming toolbox.

The Official Press Release from ALA

Coverage:

The Earth Times

Street Insider

EDIT 7/10/08: Audio from session available!

20 people attended the games and gaming member interest group meeting Saturday at 10AM. The mission of the group is to address larger issues of games and gaming in libraries. It’s a cross platform group not intended to take the place of divisional interest or discussion groups. One of our goals is in 3 years, to be a round table: 600 member signatures are needed. Member roles may include gaming ambassadors to get info to state conferences, liasons to ALA divisions, liasons to gaming vendors/industry, people to run gaming night, market our events and programs, and more.

Communication Venues for The Games & Gaming Member Interest Group:

Add your name to the member list at http://gaming.ala.org/resources/index.php?title=Games_and_Gaming_MIG_Members! ALA Community Spaces is coming, and there is a mailing list at http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/gaminginlibraries. Messages are being cross posted to the LibGaming group. Sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/libgaming.

Resources
ALA Gaming Blog

ALA Gaming Wiki

Games in Libraries Podcast

Game Lab Research Articles

The first half of the meeting was introductions and sharing. A rundown of some of the great projects from public, special, academic, school, and virtual librarians:

• Aligning games with AASL standards http:// sls.gvboces.org/gaming
• Aligning games with ACRL standards
• Syracuse Game Lab
• 21st century learning skills acquired in World of Warcraft
• Second Life, Game design classes, a Game Lab, LAN and online gaming, all at Imaginon
• Senior Center “Transforming life after 50″ grant
• Online RPG to teach info lit skills
• Senior spaces @ old bridge library
• Bringing in materials to support use of games in curriculum, and investigating games for info lit at UIUC @ urbana champaign
• Game collection for circulation to university students
• Public library gaming in 21 libraries in Columbus OH, with a tournament to utilize AADL software
• Console based gaming @ Hennepin County Library System
• University of CA-Davis in Second LIfe
• Gen Con Trade Day for Educators - using games for curriculum

We gave a quick overview of proceedings at Open Gaming Night, which was only a preamble for annual 2009. Open Gaming Night and the Gaming Pavilion have been well covered by ALA press. Verizon Foundation welcomed us, and Presidential Citations for Gaming presented by Loriene Roy. (winners were Brian Myers of the Wilmette Public Library, Julie Robinson, Branch Manager of the KCPL Ruiz Library, and David Ward and Mary Laskowski at the University of Illinois Library. For next year, we hope to have better PR, better signage, and assessment of the event. The program is a development of a Best Practices Model for Gaming Night for librarians at your local library conference

Shameless plugs followed:

• The new International Journal of Games and Computer Mediated Simulations is working on issue 2, deadline is ongoing.
• The Cartoon Network has a free game design software called Game Creator that reached 1 million users in the first month.
• In May, there was a scientific convergence conference in World of Warcraft on the Earthern Rings server Guild: US Science
• Check out a gaming literature review and survey on learning skills gained in WoW at http://whygames.pbwiki.com
• There is a Librarian Guild on WoW now, Kirin Tor server

Upcoming Events

Now-July 15
2007 Gaming Program Survey by Library Game Lab of Syracuse

July 9-10, 2008: Games Learning & Society in Madison Wisc
video of sessions will be posted at http://glsconference.org

August 14-17 2008
GenCon - Gaming Convention in Indianapolis, IN

Nov 2-4, 2008 Games Learning and Libraries Sympoisum, Oak Brook, IL
Register soon! One thing to look forward to this year: bathroom breaks!

November 2008
CA library association preconference for technology (will include gaming)

November 15 2008
National Gaming in Libraries Day
Hasbro is donating 16,000 copies of Pictureka for simultaneous play on Saturday November 15

2009 Program Planning followed. After tossing around ideas like Legalities of Gaming, How to Run Game Night at your Local Conference, and Games You’ve Never Heard Of, we settled on Gaming Advocacy program to highlight the value of games and go over talking points, and host a poster session at open gaming night to showcase games you’ve never heard of.

Join us in Denver for our next meeting, time, date and location to be announced!

ALA received 33 submissions in three categories for the first ever Presidential Citation for Gaming, for libraries –and librarians — of all kinds that use games and gaming as tools for learning, literacy development and community development.

All of the programs were wonderful! For all categories, applications that clearly incorporated all three elements of learning, literacy, and community development rose to the top. Additionally, we looked for applications that focused on accomplishments, rather than future events, and that stood out from other similar programs because of unique content, structure, or outcomes. Finally, the program had to be incorporate the category element it was submitted under (education, learning, innovation).

Winners were announced in Anaheim by ALA President Loriene Roy at the Open Gaming Night on Friday June 26. Details about the winning programs follow. All of the programs will be be added to the ALA Gaming Wiki very soon.

EDUCATION: Wilmette Public Library, Wilmette IL
Brian Myers, staff member of the Wilmette Public Library has developed Game Maker Academy, a program that teaches young people how to create their own computer games. Game Maker Academy offers a multidisciplinary educational framework combining computer programming, storytelling, graphic and audio editing, animation and analytic thinking, and other disciplines. Using a variety of free and open-source computer applications, students learn to make their own platform, scrolling, tile, RPG and sports games, while developing media literacies and foundational programming skills. Since its inception, over 100 teens have participated in Game Maker Academy and the series is now being offered at area libraries and as an outreach program at Chicago’s Intel Computer Clubhouse.

RECREATION: Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO
Julie Robinson, Branch Manager of the KCPL Ruiz Library, created Runescape@Ruiz to forge a bond with the teens in a small urban neighborhood. During the summer of 2007, teens gathered every two weeks for Friday night lock-ins of gaming, snacks, teamwork and problem solving. For entry to all-night lock-ins gamers must produce report cards with solid grades or win reading contests. The popularity of these events has gathered lively diverse teens who proudly declare ownership of their library. Teens diligently police themselves and peers to preserve their lock-in privileges. Appreciative parents have also joined the fun, when teens permit.

INNOVATION: The University of Illinois Library, Urbana, IL
David Ward and Mary Laskowski at the The University of Illinois Library have developed a combination of public and classroom support programs to investigate best practices for integrating games as teaching tools into academic curricula. Their “Gaming Initiative” supports innovative teaching and research partnerships both within the academic community, and between campus and the gaming industry. Learning outcomes include: students analyzing how culture and technology affect societal growth using Civilization IV on reserve and in a library gaming lab; and students discussing and comparing the role of music in gaming through a program featuring campus researchers and local game company Volition.

Thanks to everyone who submitted, and congratulations to the winners!

Someone left a blue leather diary at the Beyond Game Tournaments session at 8AM in the Marriott this morning - get in touch with me if it’s yours! informationgoddess29 AT gmail DOT com

Board game night went over big at the Paola (KS) Free Library, with over 60 attendees enjoying snacks and board games like Twister, Uno, Chutes and Ladders, even poker.

Games for training and learning tools were highlighted at the Special Libraries Association Conference. A roundup of the conference was published in the Washington Post; Elizabeth Lane Lawley, the director of the Lab for Social Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said game developers are a lot like librarians as they classify, disseminate and determine how knowledge is found. Interesting!

Westerville (OH) Public Library gets a Wii game system at last - they’ve been gaming for 2 years. Library spokesperson Linda Wilkins says, “Since (the) introduction of gaming in the library, we’ve seen a 22 percent increase in teenagers getting library cards and a similar increase of 23 percent in the circulation of young adult books and magazines. (Teens) come to play, sign up for a library card, and wind up staying to study or using their new card to check out materials.”

Racine (WI) Public Library is hosting game days for ages 55 & up, featuring Wii Sports, Wii Play and Guitar Hero. “Now you’ll have a chance to [try videogames] in a non-threatening and stress-free atmosphere,” writes Jill Lininger on the library’s blog.

Peters Township (PA) Library is already doing this, with teen volunteers to offer assistance as needed. Participants are quoted in the local newspaper, the Observer-Reporter, as saying that playing Wii Bowling is social, competitive, and good exercise!

Last but not least, this column aimed at parents published in the Bennington Banner from Wesley Knapp, superintendent of the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union. counts board games, videogames (but not GTA) and going to the library this summer amongst  activities that help students maintain skills.

Gaming Nite in the Malpass Library was covered by the Western Illinois University campus newspaper, The Western Courier in this article, “The library isn’t just for books anymore.” “It’s a good thing to have gaming in the library because it brings people to the building,” said Dr. Jeffrey Darensbourg, Marketing and Outreach Librarian at Malpass.

The Westfield (IN) Washington Public Library has been awarded an LSTA grant to purchase a Wii and games for multigenerational gaming.

Librarian Mr. Raroo makes a compelling case for circulating videogames on his blog.

The new teen area at the North Gloucester Branch of the Ottawa Public Library (Canada) hosts a Wii. “The whole idea of the library is that it’s more than a place to see books … it’s a community space, a meeting place…” says Lori Nash, President of the Friends of the Library.

New Jersey’s Bordentown Branch library offers a Wii Bowling Event for seniors.

Laconia NH library director Randy Brough is honored by his local paper for creating a renaissance at the LPL, that includes a 3 million dollar renovation, audiobooks, and Guitar Hero. Says Brough, “[Libraries are] maybe a little noisier than before,”  and that’s a function of the fact that a library has increasingly become “more of a community center, I think.”

If you missed Library Journal’s webcast on serving teens, it’s still available! The final speaker is Scott Nicholson, who talks about playing games vs. creating a gaming experience, discusses research on gaming in libraries, and mentions a couple of gaming resources and ALA events.

In other gaming-related news…

Game sales for Jan-May 2008 were 6.58 BILLION; it’s anticipated games sales will top 21-23 billion in the US in 2008.  With the high price of gas, people appear to be spending money on home entertainment, like games, instead, writes John Gaudiosi for WRAL.Techwire.com. Guitar Hero 3 is still outselling Rock Band almost 2:1, and althought GTA IV was the top selling game in May, Mario Kart for the Wii was a close second.

The free trial of Electronic Art’s Spore Creature Creator is now available for Mac or Windows platform!

Nintendo has added two new titles to the WiiWare Library, Cocoto Fishing Master and Block Breaker Deluxe.

Gamer dad Torrence Davis demonstrates Scott Nicholson’s point about the games are not as important as the gaming experience. For a graduation party for his son, he offered a videogame tournament of retro games like Midways Atari Classics, Street Fighter III Second Impact, Ikaruga(DC) Super Puzzle Fighter HD,  Sega Rally Revo, and more, on original PSOne, Dreamcast and Sega consoles. This translates well to a library setting. Kids can have just as good a time playing old school classics - having the newest thing isn’t as important as you might think.

Speaking of new games, both Harmonix (Guitar Hero) and Konami (DDR) will be releasing games that feature drumpads. Guitar Hero 4 and Rock Revolution are both due out this fall.

The Serious Games Initiative is coming into it’s own, and getting some notice from librarians. Serious games focus on education, training, health, and public policy, so they are educational in nature and may be easier to justify in some libraries. One type of serious games are games for change; titles that have a “change the world” or social justice slant to them.

Jenny Levine attended the Serious Games conference at the beginning of the month, and blogged it over at The Shifted Librarian — look for entries from June 3 & 4.

Jennifer Borse provides some serious games resources over at Tidbits of Interest.

Kelly Czarnecki talked a little about serious games in the thrid episode of the Games in Libraries Podcast.

The following may be good games to link to from your library website, or, games to build programs around. Of course, no media should be consumed in a vacuum, and playing serious games and then talking about them is fast, cheap and easy program that may lead to citizen activism, volunteer projects, fundraising and more.

Darfur is Dying
An advocacy tool to raise awareness for conflict in Darfur. The goal is to take on the role of a water forager, get water back to your refugee camp, and keep the camp functioning in the face of possible attack by the Janjaweed militia.

AYIT: The Cost of Life
Designed by kids, this simulation of life in impoverished Haiti challenges players to balance education, money and happiness. Pick a goal and lead a family of five over four years.

Free Rice
Getting correct answers not only builds your vocabulary, but earns grains of rice (20 for each correct answer). Approximately 20,000 grains of rice provide enough caloric intake to sustain an adult for one day. In exchange for advertisements on the website, various sponsors donate the money necessary to pay for the rice and other costs to run FreeRice. There are no facts about world hunger integrated into the game play; players are directed to Poverty.com.

Wow, there are almost enough activities for a whole gaming TRACK at ALA! Sessions and Events are listed on the ALA Conference Wiki; here’s what I added to my Event Planner:

I love starting conference with a low-key social event, and here’s a free one! On Friday June 27 from 7:30-10:30pm, ALA hosts Open Gaming Night sponsored by the Verizon Foundation at the Hilton Anaheim - Disneyland Hotel. Games include Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, Boom Blox, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Sports. Free food, and prizes for high scores, this is going to be a hot spot. I wonder if they’ll have board games too.

Saturday June 28 marks the start of the Big Game, California Dreaming. I’ve read Steinbeck, visited a dozen different towns in CA through my work with Infopeople, and listened to the Beach Boys, but I’m notoriously bad at trivia. I might have poor recall, but my Google Fu is pretty good. Hopefully, it will come in handy for California Dreaming.  It’s like a conference-wide scavenger hunt to test your information-seeking skills and problem solving abilities, with clues to decipher dropping from sessions, events, exhibitors… Maybe I better hook up with a team, instead of going it alone. I hear prizes will be awarded, from Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts & more!After the Exhibit Hall opens  at 9:00am on Saturday morning, I’ll be making a beeline for the new  Games Pavilion. This pavilion will group gaming industry suppliers in one specific area of the exhibit floor making it convenient for attendees to find your products and services for your library. The Games Pavilion will feature board games, electronic platform companies, furniture, and electronic games that can be used for curriculum-based teaching and recreation.

The first gaming program session is hosted by LAMA, on Saturday from 8:00-10:00am. At Are You in the Game? Harnessing Millenial Learning Strategies to Market (LAMA PRMS) at the Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Center Ballroom, millennial learning strategies in terms of gaming and Second Life will be discussed by speakers who have worked with these technologies at Arizona State University and Fresno County Public Library. Participants will work on a sample idea in break-out groups. Hands-on is ALWAYS a good strategy for gamers!

Maybe there will be Big Game clues at the Games and Gaming Member Initiative Group (MIG) Meeting! It runs from 10:00am-noon on Saturday at the Sheraton Park Hotel Anaheim, Plaza A/B.

After lunch, I’m co-chairing the YALSA Teen Gaming Interest Group Meeting at the Disneyland Hotel, North Exhibit Hall, Meeting Room F from 1:30pm-3:30pm. A new convener of the group will be elected during this meeting by a show of hands vote. If you are interested, please attend; if you are not able to attend, but are interested, please email Beth Gallaway or Kelly Czarnecki and let us know and we will add your name to be voted on at the meeting. Review convener responsibilities and recommended meeting guidelines first! Anyone that shows up at the meeting, is a YALSA member, and supports the mission of the group, is eligible to be a convener. Other agenda topics include creating a publication for YALSA, sharing best practices and resources.

I’ll be up bright and early on Sunday for a panel discussion sponsored by the YALSA Teen Gaming Interest Group on  Beyond Video Game Tournaments. That’s at the Anaheim Marriott, Salon E from 8:00-10:00am. we know; it’s EARLY. By if you arrive by 8:15am, you can get a  door prize entry slip to win either a copy of Multimedia Fusion, a copy of animation software (either Toon Boom Studio or Flip Boom or a t-shir. (Thanks to Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool for donating!). At the session, you’ll discover best practices beyond gaming tournaments in such programs as avatar creation, character worksheets, video game clubs, machinima contests, Cosplay and more. Elizabeth Saxton, Cleveland Public Library; Craig Davis, Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool and Amy McNally, Ridgedale Library, Minnetonka, MN, with teens Karina Grimaldi and Brigit Boler, share their successes in delivering high quality engaging programs that go beyond game play to spark creativity and broader types of participation. The second half of the program consists of a breakout session to try program activities and exercises yourself. There will be door prizes available of the following software.
This is an ambitious program! If you are an early riser and would like to pass out/collect the slips for the door prizes please show up at the panel presentation at 8am and let us know! OR,  If you are going to attend the session and want to contribute a non-gaming activity to run in the second half or donate use of your laptop for game testing, please let Beth Gallaway or Kelly Czarnecki know.

My next session is right at the same hotel, the Anaheim Marriott! After lunch, I’m going to the ALSC gaming session, Hey! I Want to Do that, too!: Gaming and the Elementary Age Child from 1:30-3:30 pm at the . Children are excited to play electronic and online games. What’s available and appropriate for children in second to fifth grade? With a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review, will share his knowledge of child development and emerging technology products, followed by a discussion of electronic game collection development, age-appropriate online games, and implementation of gaming in your library/media center.

On Monday June 30 from 8:00am- Noon, ACRL is sponsoring a FOUR HOUR SESSION on “Next Media.” One Part Inspiration: Creative Trends that Further Science Learning takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center in 201 D. Social and cultural changes resulting from new technology continue to have an exciting impact on libraries as well as the scientific community. Why do some ventures into cyberspace find an immediate and extensive audience, and how can we apply their playful aspects to encourage learning? This program will combine a theoretical look at phenomena such as gaming and Web 2.0 with the whimsical viewpoint of those who are actually creating and applying the “Next Media.”

Can’t make it to the events? I’ll be covering most of them right here on this blog, with links to session presentations as speakers make them available. Stay tuned, and to those of you who will be competing, at Open Gaming Night, the Big Game, or in the Gaming Pavilion - good luck!

This MONDAY June 15th marks the deadline for proposals for the Gaming, Learning & Libraries Symposium in Oak Brook (a Chicago suburb), IL from November 2-4, 2008.

Topics of particular interest include game design, the gaming industry, accessibility, and assessment and evaluation of gaming programs. The Call for Presenters on the ALA TechSource wiki has details, or you can complete a form on Zoho Creator.

Good luck!

Listen up at http://www.gamesinlibraries.org.

In the wake of this week’s Games for Change conference in NYC, Kelly Czarnecki talks about the Serious Games initiative, especially in terms of partnerships with libraries like NYPL, and a recent post on the ACRL blog by Michelle Boule. Check out Immune Attack, or the 3-D modeling software, Maya.

Jason Puckett reviews the Wii version of Lego Star Wars, touching on the gameplay aspects and applauding the humor and attention to detail of the fun series based on Lucus’s films. Lego Indiana Jones came out Tuesday June 3.

What’s the deal with game ratings? Beth Gallaway provides an overview of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board process and ratings.

In the school library segment, Chris Harris explains how librarians in his district align AASL’s educational standards with games and recommends Settlers of Catan and Puerto Rico, in particular.

Eli Neiburger delivers a WiiWare Roundup concerning content that can be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel directly to your Wii console. Titles mentioned include:

• Pop
• Defend Your Castle
• LostWinds
• Critter Roundup
• Star Soldier R
• Family Table Tennis
• Dr. Mario Online
• Wii Fit

Wondering if a gaming program at the library constitutes public performance? Scott Nicholson discusses the hot topic of the week, Public Performance of Games in Libraries and the precedent setting 1996 case of ALLEN v. ACADEMIC GAMES LEAGUE OF AMERICA 89 F.3d 614 (9th Cir. 1996).

Jenny Levine gives an ALA update that incorporates information about ALA Gaming Blog, the ALA Gaming Resources Wiki and ALA’s I Love Libraries initiative, then names of the Gaming, Learning & Libraries Sympoisum’s keynote speakers, and information about gaming events at ALA-Anaheim. This year will features a Gaming Pavilion in the exhibit hall, a Gaming Member Interest Group (MIG) meetup, and a Gaming Night (Friday June 27 from 7:30-10:30 at the Hilton).

What did you think of episode 3? We’d love to hear your comments!

Want to contribute to Games in Libraries podcast? We’d love to hear about your gaming stories–successes AND flops!–as well as game reviews and other topics. Send MP3 files 5-10 minutes in length to Scott Nicholson.

Inspired by a presentation on gaming at the Cape Cod and Islands Library Association meeting, WoWer Conàn formed “The Librarian,” which means members are running around with “The Librarian” hanging over their heads as they complete quests. In just a matter of weeks, the Librarian is up to 75 members and has a Guild Bank with 4 tabs, “Just like in real life,” writes Conan, “The Librarian is all about community, sharing, learning, and fun!” Further details, including Roster, Schedule of Events, and News, are on The Librarian guild webpage.

The main purpose of the Guild is to build community, not power level other players. The guildmaster states, “We don’t want to have too many rules. At the end of the day, it’s just a game.” In an effort to be drama free, only one rule stands: be civil. A brief etiquette for instances (group questing in dungeons) guide is provided, with commonsense guidelines like, “don’t pick ‘need’ if you don’t really need it.” The rules conclude with, “In the words of Nancy Pearl, it’s not all about you.”

A party for all Guild Members and interested Recruits takes place this in World of Warcraft this Saturday, June 6, beginning at 10AM Server Time. Location? The Stormwind Royal Library of course! If you are new to the game, the Royal Library is located in Stormwind Keep in the Northeast corner of city at the approximate coordinates are 74, 20. Head to the Keep, take the first left, then a right, a left, and another right. Prizes and fun are to be had; GM Conàn encourages this as not just a meet & great, but an opportunity to swap crafted items, too.

New to World of Warcraft? A free download of the software is often available from Blizzard’s website. You can also borrow install disks from a friend, download the updates and use a trial code from a buddy’s prepaid access card to get your own 10-day free trial. A WoW subcription costs about $.50 a day. Prepaid cards can be purchased from gamestores, or you can use a credit card online.

“Eaten by a Grue” is a new blog on videogames & libraries, with a focus on research libraries.  Dave Carter at University of Michigan’s Art,
Architecture & Engineering Library reports that the library is starting up a computer & videogame collection/archive, that will be a  a ‘usable’ archive, where students & researchers can come to the game room and use the games. The intent is to offer “everything from the early 80s consoles to the latest and greatest!”

This is only the second  permanent library space I’ve heard of to be dedicated to gaming (the first is Syracuse’s GameLab, of course) . Both projects goes way beyond a PlayStation in the Teen Area or hauling out some consoles for an after-hours program.

Follow the progress of the program at http://libgames.blogspot.com/.

If you’ve got a space like this in the works, we’d love to hear about it!

* What’s a grue? A nod to Zork, a popular interactive fiction text adventure circa 1977.