Video Games- games requiring computer software and console to play

This category includes computer games which require software, console players and games, such as gaming computers, Xbox 360, Wii and PS3. Video games are among the most hotly contested "new" items at the library. Librarians must find a way to "sell" them to those who may object.

Research

James Paul Gee, Professor at Arizona State University has done considerable research about how video games can be used to enhance learning and specifically to develop literacy skills. His book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy explains 36 learning principles that good video games incorporate. (A shorter essay, Good Video Games and Good Learning, highlights sixteen of those principles.) Gee's principles include Identity; players must make a commitment to either a an inherited identity or must create their own. Interaction; the game gives feedback to the player along with problems that must be solved, much like the real world. Explore, Think Laterally, Rethink Goals. Good games help create space for a player to reevaluate tasks and goals and to devise new strategies accordingly. These principles are important for librarians to note especially when advocating gaming programs.

Successful Programs

  • Carvers Bay Branch Library in South Carolina: The Carver Bay Area of approximately 7,000 residents, had a poverty and  illiteracy rate of 30%, and 2% of the residents in the area had library cards.Before the library opened, they designed a literacy/ gaming program to go along with a brand-new teen gaming space created which holds 8 gaming PC’s and 8 X-Box 360’s. The program has three levels:

1) Anybody can use the games for 2 hours a week.
2) Join the gaming club- this requires a library card and a commitment to check out 4 items every month- two of which must be books.
3) Point accumulation- points can be earned by attending after-school programs, youth service organizations, and writing book reports. Points can be redeemed for extra gaming time, prizes and group parties.

The program has been popular, with 15% of local youth joining the gaming club. The project is particularly useful because youth from the rural, impoverished area are excited at the opportunity to use technology that they would not have access to otherwise.

  • John C. Fremont Library in Florence, Colorado: The small rural Colorado library started a wildly successful gaming program with tournaments every month. They started the program after new management realized there was only one shelf of YA books and no place for teens to relax, and previously only two teens at a time were allowed in the library. The library built the program strictly from donations of consoles and games. A donation  space on the library's website via PayPal was set up to help fund the program as well. The tournaments have brought in new patrons, the library is now consulted by other libraries and organizations on how to run tournaments, and the video game nights have inspired a collection of video games for circulation.

Advice

  • Just Start! It doesn't need to be fancy. John C. Fremont Library in Florence, CO started with a few borrowed consoles and games.
  • Connect with other libraries that game through available wikis such as Libsuccess ,  blogs , listservs and discussion groups such as Libgaming  for gaming tips, trades and general gaming advice. Collaboration is less costly and might earn grant money for the libraries involved.
  • Build as program grows- trading with other libraries is a great place to start but having permanent equipment to use and games available  for circulation will bring those hard to reach teens into the library. A little at a time will do it.
Page edited by Beth Vredenburg