TECHNOLOGY I Dispatches from the Field

Gaming, All Grown Up

Library gaming programs offer transformational by Jenny Levine
experiences for youth and adult users alike

and general themes have begun portant to understand the facts

T e2008
may remember
as the year in
hich gaming be-
came just like any
other service in libraries, with
librarians implementing gaming
initiatives that look very much
like those we already offer for
books, movies, music, and com-
puters for as varied an audience
as other library services are of-
fered. As gaming in libraries has
become more of a mainstream
service rather than a curious
exception, anecdotal evidence
has appeared on mailing lists, in
newspaper articles, in conference
presentations, and on blog posts,
a.
8 its patrons with their community.
E The transformations that occur
M games as an infrastructure to pro-
to emerge. Overall, it's clear that about gaming and children, as well
there are as common mis-
some com- conceptions.
mon lessons Gaminig is just Much has been
libraries one mo re way written about the
are learn- idea that there is
ing from
that lib raries can a connection be -
implement- continule to offer a tween a child's
ing gaming, mix of recreatio nal, social, video game use
and as with and violent be-
everything and communal activities, havior. Lawrence
else in Kutner and
our profession, librar- Cheryl K. Olson, cofounders and di-
ians want to share those les- rectors of the Harvard Medical
sons with their colleagues. School Center for Mental Health and
As gaming programs become Media, wrote the book Grand Theft
more and more common, it's im- Childhood (Simon and Schuster,
2008), which debunks some com-
mons myths about gaming and chil-
dren. They found that the statistical
link between gaming and violent
behavior was tenuous at best, and
that gaming actually helped children
learn valuable skills like collabora-
tion, problem- solving, teamwork,
GRN THEW and coping with negative emotion.
A library gaming program is not
just a source of entertainment; it
can further engage the library and
when libraries bring people togeth-
er around content cannot be dictat-
ed, forced, or structured. And yet,
many libraries are now using video
vide transformational experiences

JENNY LEVINE is the internet development

specialistand strategy guide for the American
Grand Theft Childhood?, the website associated with GrandTheft Childhood: The LibraryAssociation's informationtechnology
E SurprisingTruth about Violent Video Games (www.grandtheftchildhood.com) department.
M
for traditional nonusers in order to
connect with them on a personal
level. When this happens, these
connections be-
come just as Gaming may be a
powerful as the
ones today's
good opportunity to try
adults experi- something new with a low
enced in their barrier to entry.
youth, and they
give these teens
that same sense of engagement with
their libraries. For instance, the
John C. Fremont Library District, a
small, rural public library in Flor-
ence, Colorado, managed to com-
pletely reinvigorate its relationship
with children and teenagers in their
community by offering Wii gaming
tournaments.
Reaching new users
Of course, the appeal and utility of
gaming in libraries is not limited to
children and teens. The average age
of today's gamer is 35. Libraries can
reach out to twenty- somethings and
thirty- somethings, a traditionally
underserved audience itself, using a
variety of gaming programs. At the
Oak Park Public Library in suburban budget.
Chicago, after-hours gaming events
Teen Halloween Party (2008) with video games at the John C. Fremont Public Library.
geared towards these "Genre X" (the when making gaming a part of your
library's term for patrons in the 20- library, the best approach is a care-
35 age range) patrons were ex- fully planned one. The Nebraska
tremely Library Commission learned this
successful and lesson the hard way when it used
generated inter- library funds to purchase some
est in the library gaming equipment. While the com-
beyond gaming. mission made an effort to keep the
In addition to public informed of what they were
helping to in- doing, a minor public uproar en-
crease the syner- sued when some officials failed to
gy between library and community, understand the context and accused
gaming can also help the library in a the librarians of a misuse of public
very practical sense-it can be used funds (AL, Apr., p. 16).
as a means of fundraising. The July A glance at other popular media
issue of Library Technology Reports (music, movies, television, books)
looks in detail at another suburban highlights escapism and a connec-
Chicago facility, the Downers Grove tion to our local community as dom-
Public Library. inant themes in
This library When making gaming part a world hit hard
booked Rick Bol- by a global re-
of your library, the best
ton, founder of cession. Gam-
Library Mini Golf, approach is a carefully ing is just one
to stage an event planned one. more way that
where patrons libraries can
could play at a continue to of-
temporary course set up in the fer a mix of recreation, social, and
building. By admitting patrons for a communal activities in a safe, non-
small fee, the library was able to commercial space. The case studies
support both its profile and its in this issue of LTR show there are
benefits, unintended consequences,
Like any other library program, and valuable interactions that don't
happen anywhere else in the com-
munity when libraries provide com-
munal gaming spaces.
Whether your goal is to offer rec-
reation around content (similar to
book discussion groups and craft
programs), social communal space
(adult programming, rooms for
knitters), literacy programs (story-
time), interactions between differ-
ent demographics (family events.
multigenerational programming),
or something else altogether, gam-
ing may be a good opportunity to try
something new with a low barrier to
entry in terms of cost and resources.
Ask yourself what outcomes you
want to achieve at your library, and
reflect on these case studies to see
how gaming can help you achieve
them. I
LIn
Mv
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Gaming, All Grown Up

SOURCE: Am Libr 40 no8/9 Ag/S 2009

The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it

is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in
violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher:
http://www.ala.org/