Games in the library
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[edit] Introduction
Games have been traced all the way back to 4000 BC in Babylon. Amazingly enough they have withstood the test of time and endured to our current day (A & E Television Network, 2008) . With such a long history and so many different types of games, we can assume that games are here to stay whether they bring us just simple pleasure and entertainment or brings us additional benefits.
When most people think of gaming, they instantly think of video games. Doshi (2006) points out to us though that "gaming is not necessarily limited to electronic or digital games." Games can range from sports with subcategories of lawn games (horseshoes, sholf, croquet) and spectator (football, soccer, basketball), board games (chess, candyland, go), card games (uno, bridge, magic: the gathering), video games (Mario brothers, sims, pong) interactive video games (dance dance revolution, guitar hero, the band), online games (World of Warcraft, puzzle pirates, 9Dragons).
But what should we consider games for the case of our article? In our instance, “a game is a structured or semi-structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes also used as an educational tool” that has to have electricity to be playable (Wikipedia “Game”, 2008).
[edit] The Real Gamers
Now that we know what a game is, who exactly are the people playing games? When you use the word gamer, most people conjure up the image of a sweaty pre teen or teenage boy. He sits in his dark room, zits coating his face, all alone as he drowns his anguish by going through level after level of some video game full of blood, violence, gore, and of course nudity.
An industry study though, showed us that the stereotype wasn’t quite what we should expect. As a matter of fact, the statistics were quite surprising (Entertainment Software Association, 2005). They found that seventy-five percent of heads of households play electronic games, and that the average age of gamers is thirty years old (Entertainment Software Association, 2005). This study also found that while a thirty-five percent were less than eighteen years old, a whopping forty-three percent were between the ages of eighteen through forty-nine years old. There was even a surprisingly nineteen percent that were fifty years older or older (Entertainment Software Association, 2005)! We can already see the idea of electronic games just being for preteens or teens melting away.
As for the idea that only males play electronic games, that was also shown to be wrong as well. They found that fifty-five percent of the people who played electronic games were male while forty-three percent were female (Entertainment Software Association, 2005). To top of this startling discovery, women over the age of eighteen represent a greater portion of the game playing population at twenty-eight percent than boys from ages six to seventeen which only covers twenty-one percent (Entertainment Software Association, 2005).
What kinds of games are these gamers playing though? Well that actually is determined by which type of electronic games we’re talking about. In video games (games played using a video game system), the best selling games were action at 30.1%, sport games came in second at 17.8%, shooters came in third at 9.6%, children and family entertainment came in fourth with 9.5%, racing games came in fifth at 9.4%, role-Playing games came in sixth with 9.0%, and fighting games came in last with 5.4% (Entertainment Software Association, 2005). Computer games (games played via a computer) were a different matter though. The top ranking was strategy with 26.9%, second came family and children’s with 20.3%, then shooters at 16.3%, role-play was fourth with 10%, adventure came in fifth with 5.9%, sports came in sixth with 5.4%, and action games came in last with 3.9%.
As you can see, electronic games do not discriminate in regards to gender, age, or ethnical background. The implications of this for library will be discussed further on in this article.
[edit] Games In The Library?
So why should we have games within a library? After all, everyone knows that libraries are quiet places where scholars go to research, a haven for wimpy nerd, and the location of philosophers musing the great questions of life. Why on earth would libraries want to spend their precious resources on something like video games?
The answer if quite simple, to survive in today’s ever changing world, libraries must adapt or become obsolete. Many people still view libraries as being a place to just research. With the invention of the internet, people run first to their computers and only after exhausting that area then come running to us for help. They go to Barnes and Nobles, Book a Million, Borders, and various other stores for story times. We are the last stop, and considering many times we are using their tax money, we must flow with the tide of change.
Considering that many people in the tax bracket play video games, what better way to bring them a service that they will enjoy. While there they might even decide to check out some materials. The idea of video games will not isolate the female population as many females play video games. People of all ages play the games together, bridge the generation gap. Grandfathers play with grandchildren, teens play with parents, and there is no limit to the age groups that enjoy playing video games. Along with this comes how this can help bridge understanding between different cultures and ethnicity. People might not speak the same language, or come from the same walks of life, but they can certain speak the language of button mashing. Pair this with the fact that video game systems aren’t that expensive and it is a win-win situation all around.
[edit] Getting Started
The easiest way to bring electronic games into a library is via a video game system. Now while it is quite true that you can find cheap computers for around $500, it’s also true that they tend not to have the quality of graphics cards and memory that can handle computers games. Also, not all libraries have computers, though a grant via Bill Gates could quickly solve that problem. Because of this, we shall focus on video game systems.
I know what you’re thinking, the Wii just came out and is impossible to find, both the new Xbox and PS3 cost over four hundred dollars. Let’s not be too ambitious now. Currently because of all the new systems, all the old refurbished systems are cheap. How cheap? A Nintendo 64 can be gotten for $20 for the system and anywhere between five and twenty dollars at a video game. Just don’t be surprised that it’s used. Have a little extra money to spend? Try a used Gamecube for $29.99, a Playstation 2 for $79.99, a Xbox for $59.99. Have to have the latest tech? Then you can get a refurbished Xbox 360 for $199.99 or a PS3 for $349.99. Sometimes you can even find them cheaper on online auction sites. So basically they don’t cost much.
Which games should be bought though? When interviewed on April 21, 2008, Ms. Debbie at McDonough Public Library suggested that people start off small with just one or two games on the lower cost end of the gaming scale. She also suggested that it be a game with a rating of E or lower. [1]
When asked what games should be bought Ms. Debbie said that could be left to the digression of the librarian but that you could never really go wrong with Mario Party or Super Smash Brothers. Those two are games that can have up to four players and with Super Smash Brothers the game can be put on a timer so that everyone gets an equal amount of time to play.
So you have your system along with a t least one game and controller? Excellent. But before you can hold the gaming time you must decide when, where, who will be in charge of it, how long it will last, and other items along those lines. She much of that is up to the library as a whole and that anyone with a little knowledge about video games could be in charge.
Ms. Debbie was quick to tell us that at her location she was the one who organized and ran the gaming tournaments that met once a month on Saturdays. She says that thus far in this new program they have had mainly children, pre-teens, teenagers, and collage age people attend. She assumes though that this is because of a negative stigma associated with gaming. Recently they have started trying to make an adults only nights which is still in the works. Because the project is still so new they have no formed teams or anything like that, but they plan to eventually do so. Instead as of now they have person versus person with some of the kids giving highlights of like sport announcers while some others are in charge of a concession stand that only operates on game nights. Other activities that include comic books (donated by the local comic book shop), a class where the kids learn to draw their favorite characters (started by a volunteer teenager), and coloring sheets. As the concept is still new she believes that as time passes new things will be added. Right now though, those are the activities and a few volunteers help her out with helping the children with the concession stands, and surprisingly enough the kids stay afterwards to help her pick up.
One thing she mentioned was that the most important thing that can be done at this point is to advertise. “You can have the best plan in the world with the best tech in the world,” Ms. Debbie said, “But effective advertising you are failed to doom.” She recommended putting the information on your blog, myspace page, library webpage, hand out fliers, post signs, and make sure especially that anyone with a teen knew about it.
[edit] Suggestions On How To Deal With Opposition
Some people might be opposed to the thought of libraries having video games within the libraries for various reasons. So what are the common misconceptions and how can you get past these objections?
One reason that people might not want video games at the library is that they see all video games as mindlessly violent entertainment that has nothing to bring to the table as well as being a source of rotting the minds of young impressionable children. With games rating it is easy to weed out those games that have a content that some might object to. Start with games rated EC (Early childhood) or E(everyone). This will help break the stereotypes that all games are full of violence and sex. Make sure to include reviews on the games including if there is violence, gore, nudity or if there is a lack therefore of.
Many people think that libraries should have quiet all the times. Public libraries are about bringing services to the community that they will use. If this includes some things that are not quiet then so be it. You might also want to remind people that story times, by their very nature of reading out loud tend to not be quiet affairs.
Video games corrupt our youths is another negative view. When fiction novels first came into being, many believed that this would corrupt youths. The same thing has occurred time and time again. Consider the rise of rock and roll with Elvis and the Beatles. Now a days, games are being used to socialize children, and teach them literacy skills. This is helped by the fact that "seventy-three percent of eight to ten year old boys play them (video games) for ninety minutes a day Barack (2005)." Along with this, think of the age where children tend to stop coming to the library, especially in the case of boys. It makes learning fun, and instead of feeling like they are being forced to do something, children often get into the fun of things. Along with this games have been shown to improve quite a few things including: pattern recognition, systems thinking, problem solving, thinking divergently, and strategic thinking (Johnson, 2004).
If the problem is that you lack funding, then listen to this very short podcast on how you can incorporate games into your library without spending money (as long as you have internet connection and a computer). The links will be listed under resources at the bottom. [1]
[edit] Conclusion
In short libraries offer participation, or we attempt to on many levels. We try to participate with our patrons, but are often times stopped from doing so by the daily grind of life and the demands of our job. Gaming, whether it be electronic or not has many positive benefits that people of all ages, genders, and nationalities can enjoy together.
Can we ignore video games and hope that they go away? In Barack's 2005 article, Jenny Levine, Internet development specialist at the Metropolitan Library System in Illinois, and a board member of the Young Adults Library Service Association(YALSA), was quoted as saying, ""We can't say 'No, don't play video games. We have to make an educated decision. It's very similar to libraries saying no to e-mail. That wasn't very effective."
[edit] Notes
- ↑ Games come in a variety of ratings. EC stands for Early Childhood and is good for children ages three and older. E stands for Everyone, and is for ages six and older. E10 is rated for everyone ten and older. T is for Teen (13 years and older). M is for Mature which is considered 17 and older. A is for Adults only and is for adults 18 and older. RP means that it is pending a rating.
[edit] References
A&E Television Network (2008). History of Toye. Retrieved on April 16, 2008 from [2]
Barack, L. (2006). Gaming at your library. School Library Journal v. 51 no.7 p. 22. [3]
Chad, K. & Miller, P.(2005). Do libraries matter? the rise of Library 2.0. Retrieved on April 9, 2008 from [4]
Doshi, A. (2006).How Gaming Could Improve Information Literacy. Computers in Libraries,26, 5 p. 14-17. [5]
Entertainment Software Association (2005) 2005 Sales, demographics, and usage data: Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. Retrieved on April 9, 2008 from [6].
Johnson, P. (2004). Fundamental of collection development. American Library Association, Chicago.Ill.
Wikipedia (2008) Game. Retrieved on April 14, 2008 from [7].
[edit] Resources
Warnings: With most free online sites, they start you off with just enough to try to get you to pay for them. Also,as with anything done online, you might want to be wary of online predators.
Adventurequest - This webpage requires you to make an account, but is for free, plus there are no uploads. Unfortunately some items and quests are not available without money. [8]
Archknight- This site is currently a pay site only, but there has been talk from the makers of it of turning it into a free site with some things only available via pay. [9]
Cartoon Network - Actually it's a website for the tv channel "Cartoon Network". They have many games in there though staring the favorite characters of cartoons. [10]
Dragonfable - Similar to Adventurequest and made by the same people. Remember, some things are free and some are pay only. [11]
Gaia- A website where you earn gold by playing games (including fishing). The gold is then used to buy clothes for their avatar. [12]
Mechquest- Made by the people who brought you Adventurequest and Dragonfable. This one is set in the future and is sci-fi based. [13]
Meez - a place where people play games to earn coins so that they can dress their avatar up. [14]
Neopets - a game in and of itself where players adopt fantasy animals. They earn clothes, foods, and other items for these creatures by playing games. [15]
Nicktoons - This is similar to cartoon network but is based on Nickelodeon cartoon characters. [16]
Noggin- This site is mainly for the Pre-school set. But what better way to get children used to working on a computer then through play? [17]
Pogo - This webpage is nothing but games. There might be controversial though as to whether this site should be allowed as they do have gambling games on their webpage. [18]
Yahoo Games- They have plenty of games, mostof which get you hooked and then you have to play. [19]
