When I started this blog, I was thinking about how online gaming could be mixed with library use to increase the relevance of libraries. Reality set it when I realized that most libraries don't have enough computers to make playing online games in a group at the library feasible. So in my last post, I talked about how console games could step in and help to solve that problem. The teen services librarian at RHPL is making that idea a reality, and I'm sure many other public libraries have similar programs.
I still think that online gaming can be very relevant to libraries, and I'm not alone. Here's an article from D-Lib Magazine titled Parallel Worlds: Online Gaming and Digital Information Services that discusses online gaming. The author concludes with this statement: "Though digital library systems and online games provide extremely different services, there is much that the development community of each could learn from the other. Both types of 'always on' service, used by millions of people, involve simultaneous participation by many distributed online people, accessing and affecting large quantities of data. Technical, interface, and communication attributes from online games are of relevance to the developers of online information and commercial services. Some tools, developed for games, are being used by such services. It will be interesting to see whether there will be a further take-up, or cross-pollination, of concepts, technologies and ideas between these sectors."
School media specialists are becoming more aware of the potential of online gaming as well. In the School Library Journal, there was a fascinating article titled "Meet the New You." The authors of this article describe how they set up a "partnership to create Eye4You Alliance, an island within the teen grid [Teen Second Life]. By setting up shop in the virtual sphere, we hoped to establish a dedicated space for youth that was both informative and interactive and could function as a bridge to other youth organizations." Librarians and teachers are working together to make the experience fun, but they are also making it relevant to students' studies: "A social studies class examining immigration, for example, is building a virtual Ellis Island, complete with the Statue of Liberty and Lower East Side tenements."
If there aren't enough computers for online gamers to actually play together at the library, there are other ways for patrons who are gaming fans to interact. Public libraries could sponsor book clubs that focus on fantasy books, which the online games often mirror. The first title that immediately springs to mind is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There's also the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. This article about Dungeons and Dragons from Wikipedia lists many, many more authors whose work the creators of that game drew on for inspiration.
Another idea that I had was for a library to sponsor a book club, but the club could meet virtually in Second Life or Teen Second Life. This type of meeting would save the library's resources and would certainly be ideal for libraries that have limited (or no) meeting areas. It seems to me that participation might be increased with a virtual book club because folks would not have to get in their car and drive through bad weather to get to the meeting.
The last link I want to post here is one that is probably familiar to my Wayne State classmates. It is Betsy Stoll's blog, called Binary Footprints. Betsy is pursuing her MLIS degree at WSU, and she is "especially interested in the ways Second Life can be used for education, business, or just to connect." She has many wonderful ideas, and reading her blog really makes me want to try Second Life. But, like most students, I don't have the time right now. Being addicted to one game (see my first post about World of Warcraft) and doing my school work is about all I can handle.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Monday, February 5, 2007
Making the Library Relevant
In thinking more about this topic of gaming and libraries, and in reading the comments I have received so far, I've come up with a few ideas. Granted, libraries' computers are a scarce resource, usually in high demand. I asked the director of the public library in my town, Rochester Hills Public Library, what their policy is about using the computers for gaming. She said that there is a time limit on computer use, but other than that, they do not have a problem with people playing games on them. The computers are there for everyone to use, and they are paid for by the public through taxes, so the library is not going to tell its customers what they can and cannot do while they have their 30 minutes (or whatever it is) at a public computer.
That said, because the computers are in such high demand at most public libraries, it isn't really feasible to have a gaming get-together to bring patrons in, if those games are going to be played on computers. There are many, many games, however, that do not require computers. Ever heard of PlayStation? GameCube? Well, some public libraries are already using these consoles in a big way.
Although I wasn't aware of it when I started this blog, the public library in my town has a gaming day once a month. The last time I was at the library, I noticed some signs about it, and I asked to meet the person in charge of the program. Her name is Megan Johnson, and she is the teen services librarian at RHPL. She started this program about a year ago, and it has been an enormous success. Last Saturday was one of the scheduled gaming days, so I dropped by the library to check it out.
RHPL is a beautiful, well designed facility. They have a very large room for meetings and presentations, which they also use for their gaming days and used book sales. This room is well away from the collections areas, so it does not matter if the event going on there is noisy. And gaming day is certainly noisy. Megan had four consoles (two GameCubes, a PS2, and an Xbox) set up, and about 50 kids were either playing or waiting patiently while watching the kids actually playing. Megan told me that this was a smallish crowd for her; she usually gets 75 to 100 kids. She attributed the lower attendance to the bad weather on Saturday. The games being played while I was there were Mario Kart, Guitar Hero, and Karaoke Revolution. The consoles were connected to projectors, so that actual televisions were not needed; the additional advantage to the projectors was that the picture was very large and projected right onto a white wall. The lights were off in the room, so the images really popped.
The way Megan sets it up is that each kid gets a chance to play. With Mario Kart, it's one race among four players, and the winner of each race gets to play again. With Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution, the play time is the length of one song. The kids can then join the line for the next console if they want, or they can go to the end of the line for the console they just played on. I was surprised at how patient the kids were, but they were really getting into watching the other kids play. Megan said that it's a lot of fun for them to be in a big group like that. Although many of these kids probably have one (or more) of these consoles at home, most probably don't have a room big enough to have 50 friends over to play with. She said that the kids police each other and themselves pretty well, but she does usually have a library page at the front to make sure that no one is bullying anyone else and that everyone is taking turns like they should. She also said that she's had a few bad apples show up on occasion, but it's rare.
I asked her about game content. She said that she does not use any games that have an "M" (mature) rating. All are rated "T" for teen or "E" for everyone. She had one mother ask her whether she had vetted all the songs on Karaoke Revolution to ensure that there were no objectionable lyrics. She laughed when relating this story and said that she told the woman, umm, no -- but it is rated "T." Other than that one comment, she's not had any parents complain about game content or gaming at the library in general.
The only downside to gaming day is for Megan personally. The library actually owns only one of the consoles and the projectors; the rest of the equipment belongs to Megan and her husband, who, obviously, are gamers. So she and her husband have to schlep the equipment back and forth from home, and if something gets broken, well, it's her property, so it's her loss. She said that they will soon be donating all of the consoles to RHPL because they are upgrading to the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.
That said, because the computers are in such high demand at most public libraries, it isn't really feasible to have a gaming get-together to bring patrons in, if those games are going to be played on computers. There are many, many games, however, that do not require computers. Ever heard of PlayStation? GameCube? Well, some public libraries are already using these consoles in a big way.
Although I wasn't aware of it when I started this blog, the public library in my town has a gaming day once a month. The last time I was at the library, I noticed some signs about it, and I asked to meet the person in charge of the program. Her name is Megan Johnson, and she is the teen services librarian at RHPL. She started this program about a year ago, and it has been an enormous success. Last Saturday was one of the scheduled gaming days, so I dropped by the library to check it out.
RHPL is a beautiful, well designed facility. They have a very large room for meetings and presentations, which they also use for their gaming days and used book sales. This room is well away from the collections areas, so it does not matter if the event going on there is noisy. And gaming day is certainly noisy. Megan had four consoles (two GameCubes, a PS2, and an Xbox) set up, and about 50 kids were either playing or waiting patiently while watching the kids actually playing. Megan told me that this was a smallish crowd for her; she usually gets 75 to 100 kids. She attributed the lower attendance to the bad weather on Saturday. The games being played while I was there were Mario Kart, Guitar Hero, and Karaoke Revolution. The consoles were connected to projectors, so that actual televisions were not needed; the additional advantage to the projectors was that the picture was very large and projected right onto a white wall. The lights were off in the room, so the images really popped.
The way Megan sets it up is that each kid gets a chance to play. With Mario Kart, it's one race among four players, and the winner of each race gets to play again. With Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution, the play time is the length of one song. The kids can then join the line for the next console if they want, or they can go to the end of the line for the console they just played on. I was surprised at how patient the kids were, but they were really getting into watching the other kids play. Megan said that it's a lot of fun for them to be in a big group like that. Although many of these kids probably have one (or more) of these consoles at home, most probably don't have a room big enough to have 50 friends over to play with. She said that the kids police each other and themselves pretty well, but she does usually have a library page at the front to make sure that no one is bullying anyone else and that everyone is taking turns like they should. She also said that she's had a few bad apples show up on occasion, but it's rare.
I asked her about game content. She said that she does not use any games that have an "M" (mature) rating. All are rated "T" for teen or "E" for everyone. She had one mother ask her whether she had vetted all the songs on Karaoke Revolution to ensure that there were no objectionable lyrics. She laughed when relating this story and said that she told the woman, umm, no -- but it is rated "T." Other than that one comment, she's not had any parents complain about game content or gaming at the library in general.
The only downside to gaming day is for Megan personally. The library actually owns only one of the consoles and the projectors; the rest of the equipment belongs to Megan and her husband, who, obviously, are gamers. So she and her husband have to schlep the equipment back and forth from home, and if something gets broken, well, it's her property, so it's her loss. She said that they will soon be donating all of the consoles to RHPL because they are upgrading to the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Libraries and online gaming
When I first started to consider which topic I would like to cover in my blog on libraries and technology, gaming immediately came to my mind. Why? Well, my name is Jody Bailey and I am an online gaming addict. There, I've said it. Most people would probably not think I am an online gamer since I don't fit the gamer stereotype of a teenage boy, probably rather geeky. I am a woman, somewhat of a rarity in the online gaming world, but becoming less so, and am far from being a teenager. I have played computer games since they first became available (e.g., I am old enough to remember Pong). I am not, however, old enough to remember the very first computer game, The Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device, for which a patent was issued on December 14, 1948 (source: Wikipedia, "History of Computer and Video Games"). When one thinks about the development of modern computers and their origins in the 1940s and 1950s, it becomes clear that gaming and computers have been intimately interwoven since the beginning.
Today, computer and video games are extremely popular among technophiles and techno-neophytes as well. From my own personal experience, I don't know anyone in the former category who does not play some sort of computer or video game, and many in the latter category who are just starting to explore computers (and who are, most likely, older people) are most comfortable starting by playing solitaire. Games are a fun way to pass time, but they can also be so much more. They can be learning tools and powerful entryways to places that many people spurn as "boring," for example, libraries.
Before discussing how mixing gaming and libraries can be of mutual benefit to the general public, it might be useful to consider exactly what is entailed in playing a popular online game, namely World of Warcraft (WoW), developed by Blizzard Entertainment. I chose this game as an example because it is one of the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), with more than 8 million subscribers worldwide as of January 11, 2007. I also happen to be one of those subscribers. Simply put, WoW is an online version of the old Dungeons and Dragons dice game, made much more complicated by the number of players and the addition of a rich graphical interface. The goal of the game is to create a character (often referred to as a toon by gamers) that starts at level 1 and, through a series of adventures and battles, to progressively build on the character and his or her abilities until s/he reaches level 70. A complex system of acquiring more powerful armor and weapons is entailed in this progression, and players can choose professions, such as blacksmithing or leatherworking, to craft armor pieces that they can use to barter with other players for goods or services, such as enchanting their armor or weapon. Players can opt to barter directly with one another, or they can use the in-game interface of the Auction House, a WoW version of e-Bay, through which players buy and sell useful items. The game includes a complex economic system that has spilled over into the real-world economy, with entrepreneurs paying people real money to play WoW and collect WoW gold, which the entrepreneurs then sell for real money (a search on Google for the phrase "WoW gold" returned 1,960,000 hits, even though this practice of buying WoW gold outside the game is specifically prohibited by Blizzard's end-user license agreement and can result in account termination). Social interaction is a necessary part of the game, as it is near-to-nigh impossible "to level" a character to 70 without grouping with other players to achieve common goals. These groups have evolved over time into guilds, which are formal groups that players can initiate and manage as they wish. Guilds can become highly structured and "hard-core"; some of them become like jobs in that there are strict attendance policies and other rules, which, if flouted, can lead to one being "kicked" from the guild.
Although this summary of this one MMORPG may seem long, it is only a very brief introduction to WoW, and WoW is only one among dozens of MMORPGs, which is only one subset of hundreds of types of online games.
Another type of online "game" is Second Life (SL) and Teen Second Life (TSL). I don't consider Second Life to be a true game because the developers of SL and TSL do not set goals for the players in this virtual world, who call their online characters avatars; instead, "Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents" who number almost 2.7 million (source: "Second Life: What is Second Life?") and who control and shape their world. Like WoW, SL and TSL have thriving economies and strong social networks.
How can these online games and social environments serve as learning tools and how can they help "to make libraries a destination and not an afterthought"? (source: Sarah Houghton, as quoted by Rachel Singer Gordon in her presentation at Wayne State University, September 29, 2006, available at http://www.lisp.wayne.edu/) I will address these questions in my next blog entry.
Today, computer and video games are extremely popular among technophiles and techno-neophytes as well. From my own personal experience, I don't know anyone in the former category who does not play some sort of computer or video game, and many in the latter category who are just starting to explore computers (and who are, most likely, older people) are most comfortable starting by playing solitaire. Games are a fun way to pass time, but they can also be so much more. They can be learning tools and powerful entryways to places that many people spurn as "boring," for example, libraries.
Before discussing how mixing gaming and libraries can be of mutual benefit to the general public, it might be useful to consider exactly what is entailed in playing a popular online game, namely World of Warcraft (WoW), developed by Blizzard Entertainment. I chose this game as an example because it is one of the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), with more than 8 million subscribers worldwide as of January 11, 2007. I also happen to be one of those subscribers. Simply put, WoW is an online version of the old Dungeons and Dragons dice game, made much more complicated by the number of players and the addition of a rich graphical interface. The goal of the game is to create a character (often referred to as a toon by gamers) that starts at level 1 and, through a series of adventures and battles, to progressively build on the character and his or her abilities until s/he reaches level 70. A complex system of acquiring more powerful armor and weapons is entailed in this progression, and players can choose professions, such as blacksmithing or leatherworking, to craft armor pieces that they can use to barter with other players for goods or services, such as enchanting their armor or weapon. Players can opt to barter directly with one another, or they can use the in-game interface of the Auction House, a WoW version of e-Bay, through which players buy and sell useful items. The game includes a complex economic system that has spilled over into the real-world economy, with entrepreneurs paying people real money to play WoW and collect WoW gold, which the entrepreneurs then sell for real money (a search on Google for the phrase "WoW gold" returned 1,960,000 hits, even though this practice of buying WoW gold outside the game is specifically prohibited by Blizzard's end-user license agreement and can result in account termination). Social interaction is a necessary part of the game, as it is near-to-nigh impossible "to level" a character to 70 without grouping with other players to achieve common goals. These groups have evolved over time into guilds, which are formal groups that players can initiate and manage as they wish. Guilds can become highly structured and "hard-core"; some of them become like jobs in that there are strict attendance policies and other rules, which, if flouted, can lead to one being "kicked" from the guild.
Although this summary of this one MMORPG may seem long, it is only a very brief introduction to WoW, and WoW is only one among dozens of MMORPGs, which is only one subset of hundreds of types of online games.
Another type of online "game" is Second Life (SL) and Teen Second Life (TSL). I don't consider Second Life to be a true game because the developers of SL and TSL do not set goals for the players in this virtual world, who call their online characters avatars; instead, "Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents" who number almost 2.7 million (source: "Second Life: What is Second Life?") and who control and shape their world. Like WoW, SL and TSL have thriving economies and strong social networks.
How can these online games and social environments serve as learning tools and how can they help "to make libraries a destination and not an afterthought"? (source: Sarah Houghton, as quoted by Rachel Singer Gordon in her presentation at Wayne State University, September 29, 2006, available at http://www.lisp.wayne.edu/) I will address these questions in my next blog entry.
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