Library Stuff

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.

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.”

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.”

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

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

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.

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, “research” sessions.”

Heh.

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.

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.

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…