Gaming naturally suits an adolescent developmental need to indulge in interactive technologies. However, in the last ten years, computer and video games have become increasingly popular for among adults. Beth Gallaway’s “Gaming By the Numbers” (2007), is a great SLIS-sponsored webcast in which we discover that the average age of the gamer is higher that we think—33 years old—and in 2008 is now up to 35! In 2006, the video game industry raked in $7.6 billion and is currently about $10 billion. These days, 65% of American households play computer and video games (Entertainment Software Association (2008).
With only 13% of public libraries hosting video game programs, Gallaway (2007) encourages libraries to discover the benefits of gaming in relation to entertainment, culture, learning, literacy, and child/adolescent development:
- Collaborative learning environment—teaching and learning with others of all ages
- Tactic for stress-relief—gaming provides a temporary escape from real life
- Fun and enjoyment
- Critical thinking—through strategy design
- Information literacy—research, reading, and writing documents about characters, strategies, and playing tips
- Simulation—video games can create simulations that can be quite educational—take Second Life for example!
- Computer programming—some games allow programming creativity, encouraging players to design their own components of the game
- Hand-eye coordination—“doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 percent fewer mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27 percent faster than their counterparts who did not play video games” (Levine, 2006, p.15)
- Safe communal experience—community of gamers at the library provides safe connections and learning experiences (Levine, 2007, slide 31)
Unfortunately, video games are not all positive. Libraries can serve as a venue to support teen development through appropriate collection development and gaming programs that encourage healthy competition and collaborative learning. The cons of video games include:
- Violent or sexual themes—there are a percentage of games that are not appropriate for all ages
- Physical inactivity—for the most part, video games involve many hours of sitting. Some arcade games, and now the Nintendo Wii, engage the players in physical movements that can be a great source of exercise
- Obsessive video-gaming behavior—cult followings and obsessive gaming can serve as distracters from other responsibilities, roles, and real-life relationships
From the “Teen Spirit in the Library—Best Practices in Teen Library Services Webcast” (2008), I appreciate the concept of teen environment (physical and virtual) and positive staff attitudes. Placing radical trust in teens and providing them with a “third space”—a safe and resourceful lounge where teens can be themselves—empowers them to make important decisions and accept greater responsibility. Teens live and breathe technology and can easily assist with coordinating gaming events, contributing to web content, and many other technology-based projects. Exposure to successful teen spaces and gaming programs across the nation makes me wonder why many of our California public libraries are lacking the proper staff support and funding for YA departments. We desperately need more strong-willed youth advocates to bring about these changes within libraries!
Also from the “Teen Spirit Webcast” (2008), the most interesting statistic that Scott Nicholson presented from one of the research studies was that 76% of users who attended a gaming program then later returned to a library to attend a non-gaming event. This is some critical evidence proving that gaming can be beneficial towards strengthening traditional library programming. It frequently takes special programming to make that preliminary connection with teens—gaming, book clubs, movie nights, chess clubs, homework centers, and summer reading programs draw young adults into the library. Once teens develop relationships with library-loving peers and librarians, the ease with which they attend future programs, consult librarians and staff members, and access other library resources, is highly dependent on that initial contact. It is ultimately these relationships that keep them coming back for more!
In her book, Social Software in Libraries (2007), Meredith Farkas echoes a warning to libraries, urging them to reclaim the adolescent population through attractive services and programs. She states, “Libraries are losing this population at a rapid rate, raising the question of whether these teens will ever come back to the library when they are adults” (p. 211). Farkas goes on to provide a description of many types of games that appeal to a diverse population of patrons, including teens, adults, males, females, and children. She suggests that libraries can use gaming parties, tournaments, and designated gaming areas to provide a physical third space that will not only lure teens back into the library, but will ultimately turn gamers into readers through a well-developed collection of games and books on game strategies, design, development, and storyline series.
On Saturday, April 11th, 2009 both the San Lorenzo and Union City branches will be holding free six and seven hour Super Mario Brother’s Smash Quest tournaments. Hoping to learn more about gaming programs in my own county library system, I e-mailed the two librarians listed as the contact people for upcoming gaming events. After several days of no response from either librarian, I called both branches and spoke with each. They both told me they hadn’t had time to respond to my e-mail but would contact me after the events. The following is the e-mail I sent to my local county library in regard to their current programming. I am looking forward to hearing back from them within the next few weeks!
My name is Janine Weston and I am a graduate student (MLIS) in my last semester at SJSU. In my Web 2.0 class we are discussing immersive environments and gaming this week. I live in Fremont and have not been aware of any teen gaming events at the Fremont Main branch. I noticed on the AC Library events calendar that you are both coordinating a video gaming tournament on Saturday, April 11th. I wonder if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions for me…
- How long have you been offering gaming programs for your teens?
- How often do you have gaming tournaments?
- How well have they been received in your community?
- What age range are allowed to participate?
- Has your branch purchased console(s) or do you use your own or those of your patrons?
- At alternate events, do you offer other games or just Super Mario Smash Brothers?
- How many kids can play at a time?
- Can you network consoles together?
- Please describe your set up (numbers of screens/consoles/etc.).
- Do you set up in a separate room?
- How do you publicize your gaming events?
- Do you find that gaming works to get your teens into the library and checking out books/DVDs?
- About how many attendees will you have for one tournament?
- Any other additional info you would like to share?
Thanks for your help,
Janine Weston
In the meantime, I have watched video footage of gaming events at the
Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama and explored the teen gaming programs and related resources at Orange County Library System in Orlando, Florida. Last Spring, my family purchased a Nintendo Wii—together, we enjoy playing the more aerobic games such as the Wii Sports boxing, bowling, tennis, baseball and Dance Dance Revolution. Even my two-year-old daughter is coordinated enough to get a strike when bowling! In addition, in September of 2008, I attended the grand opening at the Redwood City Public Library Redwood Shores branch and noted that they included a separate teen room with a door that had a large screen and a Nintendo Wii gaming console. In the future, I hope to be influential in creating more teen spaces in school and public libraries.
Years ago, I considered myself to be quite good at playing games such as Zelda and Super Mario Brothers on the original Nintendo. Compared to the graphical interfaces of today’s games, they seem so simple. Although life is busy, I have still managed to challenge my family members to an occasional tennis match in Nintendo Wii or fly through Second Life. When I have completed my degree and have more free time, I plan on trying several of the social computer-based games through Yahoo! Games, Pogo.com, MSN Games, and EA Nation. As my own children grow up, I am sure they will provide plenty of encouragement for reading the latest teen books and playing new computer and video games.
In “Using Video Games to Teach Game Design” (2009) Kristen Mastel, an academic librarian, and Dave Huston, a game-design-school graduate, team up to share their top recommendations for building a game-design lab and library collection. They state, “With a forecast value of $10.3 billion by 2011, video gaming has moved from the perspective of a pastime toy to a driving economic force” (p.41). Although there are already over 24,000 video-game employees in the United States, academic game-design programs are rapidly being developed at colleges and universities to accommodate the increasing demand. In the article, Mastel and Huston make recommendations for adding games to the collection that can be used to teach specific elements of game design such as the anatomy of human and animal forms, the physics of interactions within virtual worlds, physical space, architecture, interior design, landscapes and multi-level design, storytelling, graphic design and game marketing. They include a list of games with accompanying descriptions from each category to assist academic institutions in collecting quality resources for their game-design programs. The list includes Spore Creature Creator, The Sims 2, Half-Life 2, Gears of War, Warcraft III, Halo 3 and the Halo series in general, Final Fantasy X, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Rock Band.
In conclusion, gaming is a fantastic way to draw more teens into the library. They come to play, watch others, create their own games, talk about video games, checkout games to play at home, and read books about gaming. It is a shame that a large percentage of libraries have let teens down by not providing more attractive programming. As librarians we can heed the advice of Jenny Levine in “Gaming and Libraries: Intersection of Services” (2006) to become as “technologically adept as our users are so that we can deliver services to them when and where they wish to use them and in their preferred medium and platform” (About the Author). By playing computer and video games ourselves, we can better motivate teens to come in to the library by better understanding the process of hosting gaming events and developing collections of appealing resources.
References
Entertainment Software Association. (2008). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry: 2008 sales, demographic and usage data. [PDF brochure]. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2008.pdf
Farkas, M. (2007). Social software in libraries. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc.
Gallaway, B. (2007). Gaming by the numbers. SLIS Colloquium.
Levine, J. (2006). Gaming and libraries: Intersection of services. Library Technology Reports, 42(5).
Levine, J. (2007). Gaming in the library. SirsiDynix Institute.
Library Journal and Polaris Library Systems. (2008, June 10). Teen Spirit in the Library: Best Practices in YA and Teen Services. [Webcast (available until June 10, 2009) and accompanying slides PDF]. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6570886.html
Mastel, K. & Huston, D. (2009, March). Using video games to teach game design: A gaming collection for libraries. Computers in Libraries, 29(3), 41-44. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology (EBSCO) at persistant link.
Tags: Human Relationships, Information Specialist, Instructional Leader
