Gaming in Libraries

New Trends

What We Are Going to Cover

Brief Recap of Why Games are Important

Examples of the Marketing Potential of Games in Libraries

Examples of Things You Can Do in Your Library

Why Should I Care About Games? What’s the average game player’s age?

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What percentage of people over the age of 50 play video games? 24%

Who is a bigger part of the game playing population – women over 18 or boys between 6 and 17? Women over 18 (31%) Boys are 20%

Numbers from the Entertainment Software Association's 2007 Sale, Usage and Data Survey

What Does This Mean?

Many adults and teens equate games as a medium with movies, books and music.

Games appeal to all ages and both genders

What is Happening Now

How many libraries have some form of in-house game activity? 40%

What percentage of the librarians surveyed reported that attendees returned to the library for non-game related activities? 76%

Go Back to Start: Gathering Baseline Information about Gaming in Libraries by Scott Nicholson, Associate Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies.

What Does It All Mean?

Games Have Become Common in Libraries

Libraries Are Using Games to Reach New Customers

Games Have Educational Value

Educational Value of Games

Many games are intellectually rich environments

Games aren’t in place of literary activities – they are a reading and writing activity

Promotes a variety of career skills Modding Teaching Positive social interaction

Using Games to Teach Customers and Staff

Let’s them work at their own paceMakes learning more funStudents with certain learning styles will

retain the information betterAdvertises services and teaches concepts

to patrons who use the library website

University of Waterloo

More Waterloo

Even More Waterloo

Carnegie Mellon University

Teach students how to shelve Avoids using valuable staff time for teaching the

same thing over and over Easy to evaluate student pages’ understanding

of Library of Congress Teach reference

Shows what is actually involved with working at a reference desk

Orange County Library

Using a Game to Advertise Services Traditional arcade style shooting game with

anthropomorphic orange Shows the player the different types of

materials available at the library At the end of the game, the player sees the

gaming programs and books about designing video games at the library

I Don’t Know How to Program and I Want a Game

PMOG Doesn’t require technical knowledge Fun Can only be used to teach online

Learn How to Do It Gamemaker

Outsource Have someone else build a game for you

What Makes a Good Game

Have a Point to Your Game Remember It Should Still Be Fun! Be Open to Feedback and Use It

For More Information

http://animeted.org/4librarians/video-games/Video-games-in-libraries.htm

Video Games in Libraries

www.ydacs.com/www.ydacs.com/ Further Reading:

Gazer, S. (2006, November 10). Video games. CQ Researcher, 16, 937-960. Retrieved July 14, 2008, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006111000.

Kathy:

kmakens@durhamcountync.gov