GAMERS IN THE STACKSREBECCA STEFFEN JULY 16TH, 2008

WHY GAMING PROGRAMS Improving the relationship between the

library and teens Meeting the communities content needs

“We’ve also learned that content is not just about text, andthat media doesn’t have to be socially redeeming, or evenany good, for our patrons to want to consume it….

…If we were supposed to restrict ourselves tooffering materials with purely redeeming socialqualities and educational value, we’d have to throwout half the collection.”

Jenny Levine jlevine@ala.org February 4, 2008-- Eli Neiburger, “Gamers…in theLibrary?”

HOW BIG IS GAMING? 2007 sales in the United States reached 18.8 billion The top ten selling games of 2007 totaled over 27 million There are approximately 111million consoles being used in the United

States. 69% of U.S. Designated as heads of households now play some video games

•http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c50376

HOW MANY LIBRARIES OFFER GAMING?

About 75% of libraries support gaming About 80% allow patrons to play games on

library computers About 40% run gaming programs About 13% run video gaming programs About 20% circulate games

•Jenny Levine Feb. 4 2008 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/presentations/2008/20080204DominicanGaming.pdf

REASONS LIBRARIES OFFER GAMING PROGRAMS 80% Provide a source of entertainment for

members of the community 79% Provide additional service for a group of

active library users 76% To attract underserved group of users

to the library 74% To increase the library’s role as a

community hub.

WHERE PEOPLE ARE GAMING PC Internet Console

Popular consoles Nintendo Wii Xbox 360 Playstation 2 Playstation 3

Handhelds Popular handhelds

Nintendo DS PSP (Playstation Portable)

Cellphones

TYPES OF GAMES VIDEO GAMES Action/Adventure

Lego Indiana Jones Shooter

Brother in Arms Fighting

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Racing

Mario Cart Puzzle

Boom Blox Sims (Simulation)

The Sims

Sports NHL 08 Wii Play

Minigames/Party Games Mario Party

MMO’s (Massive Multiplayer Online game) World of WarCraft

Music Guitar Hero Rock Band

U.S. RATINGS 85% of all games sold in 2007 were rated

teen or younger

•http://www.dabbledoo.com

GAMING SERVICES Collection development

Gaming related magazines, books, DVDS Reader’s advisory Open play Tournament play Game creation

•Jenny Levine jlevine@ala.org February 4, 2008

MAGAZINES FOR GAMERS Official Xbox Magazine Tips and Tricks EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) Playstation: The Official Magazine Computer Games GamePro

GAMING PROGRAMMING Tournament

Multiplayer Rating Time Investment

Official Ref. Time Limit or limiting entries Other activities Scoring System PROMOTE

Free play Console and Computer

Borrow or Purchase? Wii $250 for console, about $50 per game

Guitar Hero $99, Rock Band $140, DDR $70 PS2 $129 for console, about $20-40 for a game

Guitar Hero $55, Rock Band $99 Xbox $299 for console, about $60 per game

RESOURCES Gamers in the Library?!: the why, what, and how of

videogame tournaments for all ages – Eli Neiburger Video Games as a Service: Three Years Later, Erin V.

Helmrich and Eli Neiburger. Voice of Youth Advocates. June 2007

Gaming: YALSA, teen tech week 2008 @ your library. http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw08/resourcesabcd/techguide_gaming.pdf

If Your Not Gaming Your Loosing (video), Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer, DOK Library Concept Center: http://www.vimeo.com/1208483

The Role of Gaming in Libraries: Taking the Pulse – Dr Scott Nicholson. http://gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Who_Else_Is_Playing%3F_The_Current_State_of_Gaming_in_Libraries

The Shifted Librarian Wiki – Jenny Levine http://theshiftedlibrarian.pbwiki.com/

ONLINE GAMING SITES

http://www.popcap.com – Numerous “pick up and play” web games. All games are available online and should require no installation (note: some games might require an active x installation that will be prompted when starting a game. Once the active x program is installed, there shouldn’t be any other installations for other games). Great for all ages.- http://www.addictinggames.com – In the same vein as popcap. Some of the games may be more properly suited for older children- http://www.womgames.com/index.php - Home of the ever popular “snood”. Snood is a puzzle game that imitates the popular arcade game “bust a move”. I know quite a few people addicted to this one.- http://www.runescape.com – The popular free massively multiplayer game that sets players in a semi-medieval adventure. After researching, I’ve found a parents guide to the game located here: http://www.runescape.com/kbase/viewcategory.ws?ref=main&cat_id=884

It appears they have a chat filter built in the game to help prevent poor language.

- http://www.battleon.com/ - This is the site for the very popular “adventure quest” game. Adventure quest is an online role playing game aimed at a younger audience.

Resource sites

- http://internetgames.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm - About.com resource site for commonly used gaming jargon.- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games - Wikipedia entry on the history and future of video games. Interesting read!- http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp - The ESRB (entertainment software ratings board) is the standard for rating all games before they go to retail. These ratings help determine the age group and what content will be exposed with a game. You can also use this site to search for games for a certain age group.