This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on January 12, 2010.

Just a reminder for those attending the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting this weekend in Boston…

The Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group is meeting on Saturday, January 16, in the Otis Room at the Westin Waterfront from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.

According to Scott Nicholson, the group will share their gaming experiences, talk about upcoming opportunities, and explore interest in upgrading the MIG into a Round Table.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on June 9, 2009.

If you’ve been following Scott Nicholson’s free YouTube course on Gaming in Libraries at GamesInLibraries.org/course, this isn’t news to you. But for those who may have skipped it so far, Dr. Nicholson sends along word that the class is about to get a whole more interesting (not to say it hasn’t been riveting so far):

Because starting from today’s lesson (number 7), we’re moving out of “intro” territory. Today is about the history of games in libraries, and Thursday and Friday, I’ll be presenting a new conceptual model I have developed about how to think about game experiences, and all of next week will be applying those models.

This is new research and a different way of looking at games that makes it easy for libraries to justify game selections back to the mission of the library.

You can see Lesson Number 7 below and all of the previous lessons are archived online at GamesInLibraries.org/course:

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on March 6, 2009.

Syracuse University is offering an experimental course this Summer dubbed “Gaming in Libraries”, which will be taught by Dr. Scott Nicholson. Guest lectures will also be given by memebers of the Expert Panel from the ALA’s Libraries, Literacy and Gaming initiative. The best part is that the lectures and student responses will be freely available to the public through Syracuse’s YouTube page. The public is also invited to post their own responses to the lectures in the comments section of the videos on YouTube.

A blog with links to all of the videos as well as course notes can be found at the Games in Libraries site: GamesInLibraries.org/course.

And here’s a little more information about the instructor…

Dr. Scott Nicholson (srnichol@syr.edu) is an associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and is head of the Library Game Lab of Syracuse. He has been doing research on games in libraries since early 2007 but has also designed his own games and hosts the video series, Board Games with Scott, and the podcast, Games in Libraries. He started the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group for the American Library Association and is working with the ALA on funded research about games in libraries.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on November 4, 2008.

Here are some more session notes and presentation details from the currently ongoing 2008 Games, Learning & Libraries Symposium courtesy of the ALA’s News About Games and Gaming blog:

• Real Data on Video Game Violence – Dr. Larry Kutner, author of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games, discussed the truth about the connection between video games and youth violence. Quick Preview: There isn’t one.
• GamerDad: Helping Kids & Parents Find the Right Games – Andrew Bub, founder of the GamerDad website, explained why “You have to be a gamer to understand games!” and discussed some of the worries around video games.
• The Power of Play – Jon-Paul C. Dyson of the Strong National Museum of Play talked about the importance of play.

Today is the final day of the symposium.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on November 3, 2008.

The 2008 Games, Learning & Libraries Symposium is currently taking place in Oak Brook, IL (and runs through November 4). If you couldn’t make it, ALA’s News About Games and Gaming blog is posting for session notes for a lot of the speakers and presentations:

• GLLS Keynote: Marc Prensky – Marc Prensky, author of Don’t Bother Me Mom, I’m Learning, talked about the educational and entertainment value of games and how kids today are playing games.
• State of the Union: Gaming in Libraries in 2007 – Scott Nicholson of the Syracuse Gamelab talked about the overall state of gaming in libraries in 2007.
• Teens, Games, and Civics: Amanda Lenhart, Pew Internet & American Life Project – An overview of the recent Pew Research study that found nearly all teens play video games.
• Alignment: How Connecting Games Opens Doors – Christopher Harris and Brian Mayer discussed board games and their paper “Board Games: Alignment With the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.”
• GT System Update – Eli Neiburger, author of Gamers… in the Library?, gives an update on the online tournament system currently in use at 29 libraries.

The fine folks at ALA’s News About Games and Gaming blog have promised more from GLLS 2008, so be sure to check back with their page (and this page) for more.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on July 23, 2008.

The presentations from the 2008 Gaming + Learning + Society Conference are now online for your viewing pleasure. The conference was held on July 10th and the 11th and if you work with games in a school or educational setting, the following topics of discussion might be right up your alley:

• Leadership and Games and Games for School Leadership
• Real-Time Research: (Concluding) A GLS Experiment in the Design of Scholarship
• Two Approaches to Language-Learning Games
• Talks: Games & Incivility
• Talks: Games in History Classrooms
• The Virtual World Exploratorium Project: Initial Findings and Future Directions
• Talks: The Future of Mobile Gaming
• Talks: Thinking Through Game Design
• Values at Play: Tools for Activist Game Design
• GameQuest: Designing Higher Education Games and Simulations
• Games and Funding
• Talks: Games & Civic Engagement
• Design Practices, In and Around Games
• Talks: Game Mechanics & Learning
• A Walk Through Portal: An Act of Videogame Analysis
• Hybrid Stories, Hybrid Identities: Conceptualizing Performance Texts
• Talks: Games for Science Learning
• Taking Youth Production Seriously: Analyzing Multimodal Data to Understand Identity in Action
• Talks: Games & Assessment
• Real-Time Research: (Starting) A GLS Experiment in the Design of Scholarship
• Talks: Beyond Games
• Talks: Youth Programs for Games & Digital Media Literacy
• Opening Plenary Panel and Breakfast

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on July 16, 2008.

This year’s Comic-Con convention in San Diego will feature two panels that should be very interesting to any librarians interested in adding gaming/geekiness to their library:

Gamers in the Library?
Saturday, July 26 6:30-7:30
Room 30CDE
Did you know that at least 7 out of 10 libraries support gaming? From consoles to D20, board games to CCG’s, gaming in libraries is a hot topic. Find out about this seemingly odd combination with Kearsten LaBrozzi (Glendale Public Library, Arizona), Susan White (University of Advancing Technology), Mike Pawuk (Cuyahoga County Public Library), and Merideth Jenson-Benjamin (Glendale Public Library, Arizona). Hear about successful programs, learn pitfalls to avoid, and find out why gamers in the library are here to stay.

Graphic Novel Help in Libraries
Sunday, July 27, 11:30-12:30
Room 3
Graphic novel collections are booming in libraries. How can a librarian manage when there seems to be a new “must have” title coming out every week? Jill Patterson (La Habra Branch Library) Merideth Jenson-Benjamin (Glendale Public Library), John Shableski (Diamond), and Hillary W. Chang (McCully-Moiliili Public Library) discuss practical ways for librarians to survive their graphic novel collection.

San Diego Comic-Con 2008 will be held from July 24th through the 27th.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on June 30, 2008.

The American Library Association has announced that they have received a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation to “track and measure the impact of gaming on literacy skills and build a model for library gaming.” The eventual plan is to offer this model to librarians across the country.

The grant was announced at the ALA’s annual conference, which took place over the weekend.

As part of the grant, the American Library Association will work directly with 12 leading gaming experts to document the use of gaming as a literacy tool and monitor the results of gaming initiatives. The information will be used to build “The Librarians’ Guide to Gaming,” a comprehensive, online literacy and gaming toolbox, which will then be field-tested by additional libraries.

The gaming experts that will build this Librarians’ Guide to Gaming come from the following libraries:

• Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor, Mich.;
• Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, N.C.;
• Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, Ohio;
• Georgetown County Library, Georgetown, S.C.;
• Minneapolis Public Library, Minneapolis, Minn.;
• Old Bridge Public Library, Fords, N.J.;
• Pima County Public Library, Tucson, Ariz.;
• Reidland High School, Paducah, Ky.;
• School Library System of Genesee Valley BOCES, Le Roy, N.Y.;
• The New York Public Library, New York;
• Todd Wehr Library, De Pere, Wis.;
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Ill.

For those who regularly contribute to the LibGaming Google Group, the names of these libraries (and the librarians who have been tagged as “gaming experts”) may look familiar to you. I wish them the best of luck as they build the Librarians’ Guide to Gaming and I hope to hear more about their progress soon.