Library Stuff » Video Games

Elmhurst Public Library Board mulls violent video game policy

Steven M. Cohen — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:52:59 +0000

“Rejecting claims of a direct link between violent video games and violent behavior, Elmhurst Public Library board members Tuesday turned down requests by a small group of residents to change the library’s selection policy for violent video games. “There’s no evidence I can see between these games and violent behavior,” said library director Mary Beth Campe. Campe and board members made clear they see the inclusion of the materials in the library’s collection as an issue of First Amendment freedom of expression.” (via Chicago Tribune)

Video games and libraries are a good mix, say librarians

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:55:50 +0000

“Walk into any public library and, of course, you see books, reference materials, newspapers, magazines, and all types of the printed word. We might also see comic books, manga, and less traditional “literature.” These days, we encounter film, television, music, internet-connected computers, and other digital media. But video games? Libraries lend video games, and they have been for some time. Some folks might think video games have no place in public institutions. Some articles on the web assume that readers will cringe when they hear that this is happening. Libraries and librarians, however, seem to overwhelmingly support the practice.”

via VentureBeat

Video-game studios donate copies to local libraries to boost offerings

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:49:15 +0000

Montreal Gazette – “Montreal’s major video-game studios will help the city more than quadruple its collection of video games in local libraries. Ubisoft Montreal, Electronic Arts Canada, and Eidos Montreal announced on Friday they’ll donate 1,590 copies of video games to help bolster the collection of Montreal’s library network.

The agreement will allow games to be loaned out in all of Montreal’s 27 libraries, where previously only eight libraries had games collections. Montreal plans to make purchases to increase its total video-game collection from 1,280 to 5,000.”

Louder libraries for a digital age to open across U.S.

Steven M. Cohen — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:50:00 +0000

McClatchy – “Imagine walking into a public library filled with PlayStations, Wii game consoles and electric keyboards pumped up to maximum volume. Teenagers are munching on snacks, checking out laptops and slouching on sofas or beanbags. A carousel of computers sits in the middle, navigated to Facebook. That’s exactly how one enormous room on the ground floor of the Chicago Public Library’s main branch functions. And this noisy library model is expanding around the country. The Miami-Dade Public Library in Florida is opening a high-tech teen room in December. The Hartford Public Library of Connecticut will open one next year. Four museums and eight libraries — from California to Missouri to Pennsylvania _recently received a total of $1.2 million in grants to design new teen spaces for the digital age.”

Animated Game Created by Librarians Attracts Freshman Students

Steven M. Cohen — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:00:00 +0000

LJ – “Incoming freshman at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, don’t have to go on a guided tour to learn more about their school’s library services. Instead the staff at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library can point their patrons toward another instructive resource – a videogame. Inspired by Scene it, a series of popular DVD games that has players watch video clips to answer trivia questions, Library Scene: Fairfield Edition is a web-based game developed by the University’s Media Center and reference librarians that follows four students as they travel through key areas of the school’s DiMenna-Nyselius library to complete a 10-page research paper assignment.”

DePaul stocks video games for research

Steven M. Cohen — Sat, 21 May 2011 22:56:00 +0000

Chicago Sun Times – “For some students at DePaul University and a few other colleges, video games are now part of the curriculum.

DePaul is one of a growing number of university libraries housing video game collections for student research into game design, the school said. Other universities with collections include Illinois, Stanford and Michigan.

The collection was first proposed by Jose Zagal, assistant professor of computing and digital media, who authored the book, “Ludoliteracy: Designing, Understanding and Supporting Games Education.”

Impact of computer games on children’s brains needs research, says Lady Greenfield

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:39:47 +0000

Telegraph – “In a speech she will say there is an urgent need to investigate the impact of the computer environment on children's brains. The professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, has previously warned that children's obsessions with websites such as Facebook or Twitter may leave them with poor attention spans and an inability to relate to others in the real world.”

FCC commissioner: Warcraft is a “leading cause” of college dropouts – Boing Boing

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:14:22 +0000

BoingBoing – “An FCC commissioner has stated that video game “addiction,” especially to World of Warcraft, is a “leading cause” of college dropouts.”

Gaming: Study: Nearly a Quarter of Seniors Are Video Gamers

Steven M. Cohen — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:48:48 +0000

AP – “After a day of dirty diapers and “Dora the Explorer,” of laundry and homework time, when her four kids are finally asleep, Sarah Ninesling begins roaming the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., fighting mutants to help save the survivors of a nuclear war. The 30-year-old stay-at-home mom from New York’s Long Island plays “Fallout 3″ and other games like “World of Warcraft” and “The Lord of the Rings Online.” She plays every day, sometimes past midnight, to escape and relax and feel a sense of accomplishment.”

Playing games at the library

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:41:35 +0000

Roanoke Times – “There are mindless games, to be sure, but that is true of any medium. The works of Stephen King and John Grisham remain on library shelves, as they should. Sometimes people just want to relax and enjoy.”

Wii brings new faces to the library

Steven M. Cohen — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:30:48 +0000

Argus-Press – “For years, video games were seen as a threat to children’s reading. Now more than three decades after the medium’s conception, games are becoming a way to bring children back into libraries.”

Warning: This piece is filled with “video games will make you literate” statements.

Undergrad Library hosts gaming event

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:50:25 +0000

Daily Illini – “The University’s Undergraduate Library participated, offering both new video game systems such as a Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and vintage systems such as Sega Genesis and Atari 2600. The event was centered on a nationwide online tournament.”

Utah County library issues partial gaming ban

Steven M. Cohen — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:27:59 +0000

ksl.com – “A Utah County library says it had to put a partial video game ban on its computers to give library patrons a chance to actually look things up.”

Check it out: Libraries now happening places

Steven M. Cohen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:30:09 +0000

Arizona Republic – “Libraries around the Valley are hipper, fresher and friendlier, sporting looks that threaten to dispel the image of librarians as little more than tightly wound shushing machines.”

Despite this odd sentence, this article is a very good look into what libraries are doing these days. Good piece on gaming because it doesn’t talk about increasing literacy by playing video games. Gaming is a great community builder, but increasing literacy? I just don’t buy it.

Guitar Hero Contest in Library

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:33:32 +0000

Guitar Hero Contest in Library – “Children enjoy video games right now,â€ says Children Services Director Sandra Pierce. â€œWeâ€™re trying to use that as a vehicle to get them into the library, get them interested in what weâ€™re doing. We also carry gaming magazines and thatâ€™s a form of reading. We just want to do things that children in this town really enjoy and thatâ€™s one of them.”

Wow. There are alot of kids in that picture. And the one looks bored. Heh.

Survey: 97 percent of American youth play video games

Steven M. Cohen — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:37:01 +0000

AP – “The survey found that while young Americans don’t necessarily play the same thing, nearly all of them — girls included — play video games of one kind or another. And they don’t just play by themselves. Nearly two-thirds play video games to socialize face-to-face with friends and family, while just over a quarter said they play with Internet friends.”

97%? Holy Cow.

Professor Given $100,000 to Study World of Warcraft

Steven M. Cohen — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:24:17 +0000

David DeBolt – “A hundred thousand dollars to study a video game that pits ax-wielding ogres against a cast of other fanciful characters? That would buy about 50,000 cans of Red Bull to support those late-night gaming, er, â€œresearchâ€ sessions.”

Heh.

Video games lure teens into the city’s libraries

Steven M. Cohen — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:22:15 +0000

Here’s yet another article that talks about how video games promote literacy by providing a different type of reading. The games mentioned in the article are DDR and Rock Band. Nothing else.

Clearly there is something amiss here. Here’s hoping that there is more to this than the fluff that ALA and the MSM is providing to us.

Library sets challenge for overdue books

Steven M. Cohen — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:47:22 +0000

Manawatu Standard – “Calling all young Guitar Heros with overdue library books – outrock overdues librarian Harley Bell and get your Palmerston North City Library fines waived.”

I’ve blogged in the past on why I believe this to a bad idea.

Library’s ‘Guitar Hero’ contests a hot ticket

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:26:55 +0000

RapidCityJournal.com – "Chloe was one of 24 kids who competed in the first round of the Rapid City Public Library’s “Guitar Hero III” tournament on July 25."

Yup. That will totally increase literacy. Everytime I pick up my bass guitar, I start to remember the words of Shakespeare. C’mon, really?

Kids, don’t forget to pick up your books on your way out the door…

Can Guitar Hero Make Children Smarter?

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:41:17 +0000

Kotaku: – “I think overall the answer to the question, at least in regards to the games they are playing, is not really, but I think we should all lie and make it seem like the children are smarter just so we can stop by our local libraries and play Guitar Hero in the future”

Do Videogames Make Kids Smarter?

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:32:31 +0000

1up: – “[W]e bow down to the inevitable future of Halo-savvy librarians”

Video Games

Steven M. Cohen — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:07:55 +0000

New York Times – “And you thought libraries were supposed to be quiet. Not on Friday.”

Bring Your Video Game Skills…to the NY Public Library!

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:22:43 +0000

Gothamist – “The NYPL’s Assistant Coordinator of Young Adult Services, Jack Martin, explained, “Gaming at the library can bridge the gaps between children, teens and adults, bringing them together as families and friends under one space, or through dialog created through the users’ individual game playing.â€ (via)

Open Education Posts on Video Games

Steven M. Cohen — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:38:59 +0000

The other day, I received an e-mail from Tom Hanson, who blogs over at Open Education. He mentioned a few video game posts in his e-mail. Here they are:

1) Shoot-em Up Video Games – The Cause of Greater Anti-social Behaviors in Teens?
2) Author Reveals â€œThe Surprising Truth About Violent Video Gamesâ€
3) Experts State: Do Not Banish – Instead, Manage Violent Video Game Play

Thanks Tom.